In today’s advanced period, it is no longer impossible for anyone from children to adults to get access to information about virtually any place on Earth.
Though this opens up a great learning opportunity for all, what is concerning here is this has also led to addiction and extended screen time in children.
Data shows that 63% of parents believe that online activities have negatively impacted their children’s health and sleep schedule (Source: Internet Matters, 2024)
Considering this fact, it has become excessively necessary for parents to adopt a useful technique that can assist them in keeping their children far from the screen.
Parental control application is a prominent approach in this instance that will assist you in looking into your teen’s mental health and controlling their online activities.
Read through to grasp more details regarding parental control apps, and how parents can utilize them adequately so they can safeguard their children from the harmful impact of virtual engagement.
Understanding the Risks
The first and foremost thing that a parent must do is list and understand the potential risks the children often or might face when exploring the world of the internet.
Social Media platforms must be at the top of your list as this is the main source for today’s teens entertainment and communicating with friends.
Such apps have very little protection, hence, there are likely chances the children might get trapped in cyber trouble.
Therefore, it is pivotal to understand the risks so you can know what to look out for in their online activities.
Even in educational spaces like TikTok and Reddit, many young people face cyberbullying and are inadvertently exposed to inappropriate content.
Here, parental control apps assist parents in having accounts of their teens’ social media platforms so they can stay in the know about what they are posting and who they are interacting with.
Monitoring Online Activity
Parents who have already gone through some issues with their teens must want to make sure they are not being exposed to anything online that can be triggering or cause mental health issues.
Mental well-being is so prominent, especially for young people, and the increase in digital activity for them has proven to be detrimental to their mental state.
If your child has already been through a partial hospitalization program (PHP) and is trying to transition back to normal daily life, implementing parental control apps can help you better here.
This approach helps parents keep an eye on what apps their teens are using and if they are affecting their behavior.
The Benefits of Parental Control Apps
The parental control software is designed to help parents monitor and guide their teens’ online activity.
They offer various tools that assist them in managing screen time, blocking harmful content, and monitoring interactions.
These apps can also help prevent premature exposure to certain parts of the online world like adult and violent content.
This is some kind of a layer of protection for your children where there can still be open communication between parents and kids.
Managing Screen Time
Overuse of screen time can be a big issue for teens, especially if they are also using tablets and computers all day at school.
This habit also can be linked to sleep disruption, headaches, weak eyesight, and increased stress.
Being in middle or high school is already a very stressful experience, so adding too much screen time to the mix can be disastrous for young minds.
These parental control apps can monitor how long your teens have been on their phones or other devices and can restrict access after their allotted time has expired.
This strategy will encourage them to do other things like get outside with friends or read a book.
Do You Know? Increasing use of social media and gaming is contributing to the average screen time for teens climbing to 8 hours.
Protecting Against Cyberbullying
Although parental control software cannot protect your teen from in-person bullying, it can help you prevent toxic online communications and stop them in their tracks.
Some of these applications can flag potentially harmful language being used in conversations on the used platforms and can alert parents if they need to step in and cut off certain communications.
The below chart demonstrates the habits of children spending large amounts of time online.
Fostering Digital Literacy
When parents communicate or discuss with their children about the risks and safety of the usage of the internet, they help foster digital literacy for both.
They help young minds understand how to use and behave online and, as digital technology advances, it is pivotal for both parents and children to stay educated together.
This means they will know how to navigate the internet responsibly and won’t end up in any dangerous or mentally detrimental situations.
Monitoring Mental Health Warning Signs
As you monitor your teen, both on and off the screens, many parental control apps contain features that flag concerning behaviors.
This can include searches for harmful content or engagement in worrisome conversations.
Once alerted to these concerns, you can decide how you want to approach your teen and talk through the concerning behavior.
All teens want is to be independent and being online and using social media apps is one of the top ways younger generations like to express themselves.
Thus, by approaching all these tips that have been mentioned in this blog, you can build a healthy relationship with your kids and the Internet so that their mental health does not suffer.