Putting a smart device in the hands of a child or teenager can be incredibly nerve-racking. As online dangers are becoming better understood, parental controls to protect children from dangerous features and content are becoming more intuitive and accessible by the day.
Let’s talk about what they can do and how to use them!
What Are Parental Controls?
Parental controls are simply settings that can be added to devices, apps, or games that limit activities and screen time. They prevent online chats, limit online content and access, and censor inappropriate content and language.
Parents should be careful not to assume that parental controls function like a cure-all for internet dangers. Some parental controls are intuitive and are incredibly difficult for kids to break through but others are ineffective and easy to bypass. Even with good protective measures in place, it’s important to have open, ongoing conversations with kids about online dangers.
Benefits of Parental Controls
The research on the effect of parental controls on families is limited. One review of multiple studies showed mixed results when it comes to benefits of parental controls and concluded, “the review found little support for advocating parental controls as a stand-alone strategy, [but] parents valued them when embedded in a broader approach to parental mediation and parent–child relations.”
