Regardless of what games, apps, or social media you allow your kids/teens to have, too much of anything can have negative effects. Some of these negative effects can be depression and isolation which can have tragic results. Watch for warning signs. It is important to make an HONEST assessment of your kid’s personality and social interactions. Do they have friends? […] Read more
Filed in : Android, Apple, Products
On May 8th Net Nanny® rebranded their Zift mobile protection application to Net Nanny® 10. That was probably a good branding decision since Net Nanny® has been a leader in this space for years and the name “Zift” lacked product explanation. Tom’s Guide, which named Net Nanny® 10 the best parental control application for iOS, has updated their detailed review […] Read more
Filed in : Parental Controls, Parenting in the Digital World, Router Filtering
Protecting children from online threats isn’t easy, but parents often make it more difficult that it needs to be. Implementing safe technology in your home starts with making safe technology the number one priority for all technology related purchases. Since the majority of what we do with technology involves the internet, that is where we have to start. EVERY SINGLE […] Read more
Filed in : Parental Controls, Router Filtering
CleanBrowsing was started by parents in the technology industry who appreciated what OpenDNS was doing for families but saw the need for some additional features. This quote from their website perfectly describes the problems with so many of the filtering solutions offered: “This project was started by a group of engineers and security professionals, that were also concerned parents unable to […] Read more
Filed in : Parenting in the Digital World
Dr. Jeane Twenge, Professor of Psychology and author, was a guest on a recent episode of the Laura Ingraham Podcast. She shared good information about the effects that social media and phones have on our kids. They also discussed some practical solutions and age appropriate considerations for use. Click below to listen: Link to Podcast […] Read more
Filed in : Apple, Filtering, Parental Controls, Pornography Concerns, Router Filtering
What about the kids who use their products? Apple iOS offers basic and lackluster options for filtering access to undesirable websites so they are only really useful for very young children. A report last year from Research Methodology highlights a plethora of programs that Apple has implemented for Social Responsibility. The list adds up to multiple billions of dollars for […] Read more
Filed in : Parenting in the Digital World, Pornography Concerns
I recently had the privilege of joining licensed therapists, Joshua Nichols and Carrie Kyger for an episode of RecoveryTV, their YouTube channel. We discussed the difficulty of parenting in today’s culture and what concerned parents need to do to protect their children. I met Joshua several years ago at an event aiming to shine the light on the dangers of pornography. […] Read more
Filed in : Parenting in the Digital World, Pornography Concerns
With all of the discussion of sexual abuse going on this week surrounding the supreme court nomination, it seemed like a good week to post about the topic as it relates to protecting children online. Sadly, in most of the discussions and #MeToo appeals about sexual abuse very few people ever bring up the role that pornography plays in the sexual […] Read more
Filed in : Apple, Parental Controls
Considering that we are on the 12th iOS, I think it is fair to say that Apple was late to the parental control party. While they have had “Restrictions” available in Settings for a while, the controls were hardly robust. Now, with release of iOS 12, it appears that they are finally STARTING to take parental control features seriously. If […] Read more
Filed in : Parenting in the Digital World
The article linked below from Real Simple online, shares the tragic stories from several families. The stories differ in the details, but there is a common factor, technology. These stories reveal the difficulties parents face and the need for them to appropriately respond to the impact that technology can have on their children. If they don’t, the consequences can be […] Read more