Gaming, learning, and chatting are some of the activities that today’s kids engage in online. With that, there has been a steady increase in time spent on digital devices, resulting in exposure to various risks like harmful content, online predators, and cyberbullying.
Parenting techniques have had to evolve to keep pace with these risks and ensure children’s safety and well-being. At the heart of this has been modern parental control and monitoring solutions, such as ClevGuard. In this article, we examine the rise of digital risks and how digital tools like this support parenting in today’s world.
(Source: ClevGuard)
The Rise of Digital Risks for Children
The gradual digitization of our lives has had a transformative effect that cannot be ignored. However, it has also brought with it digital risks for children.
Cyberbullying, manifesting as trolling, abusive language, and other forms, is more rampant than ever and affects many kids’ mental health. At the same time, involuntary exposure to adult content occurs frequently, with most children unaware of the long-term effects that such media has on their perception of the world. Parents also have to deal with kids addicted to their screens who then become disinterested in regular socialization activities, experience poor sleep patterns, and fall behind in school.
The increased reliance on digital devices for entertainment, communication, learning, and other purposes only serves to exacerbate the situation. However, with no possible way to discard all these devices, modern parenting must adapt to ensure that kids are digitally empowered while simultaneously protected from these risks. The adoption of parental control and digital monitoring solutions is undoubtedly the best approach.
What Are Parental Monitoring Tools and How Do They Work?
(Source: ClevGuard)
Parental control and monitoring tools are software solutions that enable parents and guardians to monitor, manage, and restrict their children’s online activities and use of digital devices. They come with different built-in features that help to ensure kids are safe and engage with appropriate content.
Some of the common features you will find in popular parental control apps like KidsGuard for Children include:
- Location Monitoring: The tools can track your child’s device’s location in real-time using GPS tracking or show you the location history of the places they’ve visited. Others also include Wi-Fi logging that shows all the Wi-Fi networks the device has connected to.
- App Blocking: A critical aspect of parental control as a modern parent is restricting access to particular apps on your child’s mobile phone or computer. The best tools will include an app blocking or blacklisting feature that simplifies this task.
- Screen Time Limits: Considering the amount of time kids spend in front of screens today, tracking and regulating it is essential for fostering healthier digital habits. Screen time limits in parental control tools help you do this conveniently.
- Web Filtering: The web filtering capabilities of these solutions enable you to restrict access to specific websites and filter the type of content your child sees while browsing the internet from a monitored device.
- Activity Tracking: Digital parenting also requires that you stay vigilant of all activities your child engages in when using a mobile phone or computer. With activity tracking, you can see everything from which apps they use, who they contact, their browser history, and more.
Although some of these solutions will be limited to a particular device or platform, most are now shifting to cross-platform compatibility. This means you can have a parental monitoring app that works across iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS platforms without any hiccups.
Even though it is tempting as a parent to be hypervigilant and monitor every minute detail of your child’s life with these apps, ethical considerations must be made. Consider involving your child in the decision-making process, explaining to them the importance of monitoring and informing them that you will track their device as they use it. This way, you not only obtain explicit consent but also avoid any privacy violations.
Why Monitoring Tools Are an Essential Part of Modern Parenting
As with most things when it comes to parenting, some parents argue against the use of monitoring tools. However, in my opinion, these solutions are indispensable in modern parenting.
Firstly, their role is not just surveillance. They are crucial for establishing healthy boundaries between what can be monitored and what is private. Additionally, they help reinforce in children the idea that adult and other forms of inappropriate content are not safe for them.
Secondly, whereas most parents experience friction when it comes to raising teenagers and enforcing disciplinary measures, with the help of monitoring tools, this challenge is easily overcome. Open communication, recommended to obtain their consent for monitoring, ensures transparency and builds trust, which goes a long way in making modern parenting easier.
Lastly, children’s digital literacy is boosted as they learn about parental controls and monitoring and use digital devices more responsibly. Remote and working parents also benefit from using a real-time online dashboard, such as KidsGuard Pro, which provides them with visibility into their children’s whereabouts, activities, and device usage insights, thereby offering peace of mind.
How to Choose the Right Parental Monitoring App in 2025
Now that you are convinced you need a parental monitoring app, how do you choose one in 2025? Below are some factors to consider when finding the right digital parenting solution.
- Your child’s age. Younger children require stricter parental controls, while more flexible solutions and rules are better suited for older teenagers.
- Whether you are monitoring a mobile phone or a computer.
- Specific features that you need in the perfect parental monitoring app.
- If the solution operates in stealth mode.
- Your budget.
Some trusted brands worth looking at include KidsGuard Pro, Norton Family, Bark, and Qustodio.
Summary
We’ve looked at the critical role that parental monitoring solutions play in modern parenting. These tools are not just spy apps, but empowerment tools that parents and guardians use to ensure the safety of kids as they use digital devices and surf the internet.
As such, selecting the right app is a significant decision that should involve both the parent and the child. However, even with the multitude of options available, KidsGuard Pro stands out as a comprehensive solution that provides parents with the much-needed visibility into their children’s activities while protecting the child’s data and privacy.
