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Welcome to Tween/Teen Tuesday at My Crazy Good Life! Today we’re talking about monitoring your tween’s internet use. I’ve partnered with Cox Communications to bring you some great tips about safeguarding your family in the digital age.
Did this statistic surprise you? 92% of parents monitor their child’s internet behavior on home computers, but only 68% of parents monitor their child’s internet behavior on mobile devices at home.
The average family has five Internet-enabled devices at home. Five. That seemed high until I thought about our home…
1. Desktop computer in my office
2. 3 smartphones
3. 2 gaming consoles
4. 2 iPads
5. One smart tv
We have nine Internet-enabled devices at home.
I can’t even say when I was little, but… When I was younger, parents only had to worry about monitoring the home computer to keep their kids safe online. The internet has changed the way we parent today–we make rules for the boys that weren’t relevant when I was younger. Here’s something that we are always telling Michael:
I’m going to take a guess that this is the way most of you who have tweens are parenting right now. We make a rule, realize it’s not working as we thought it would, then have to change it. Being honest about this helps Michael and Jack understand when we have to make changes to a rule we created.
Right now, Internet use is doubling every two years, which represents a dramatic increase in online activity. While we are finally gaining ground monitoring our kid’s online behavior, kids now have access to content through mobile devices such as smartphones, game consoles and tablets, which poses new challenges for Internet safety.
How are you keeping your family and kids safe online? There are a few resources that I depend on often:
1. Common Sense Media This is my go-to site for video game and movie reviews–real ones. The staff at Common Sense Media makes sure parents have the information they need to make informed decisions about what their children are playing and watching. I completely agree with their stance on technology: media sanity, not censorship!
2. List of Dangerous Apps for Tweens and Teens Today we’re looking for dangerous apps that tweens and teens might be interested in. Go grab your child’s phone and let’s chat. We have some apps to look at.
3. National Cable & Telecommunications Agency (NCTA) This site is fairly new to me, and I love how the NCTA is stepping up and realizing that they play an important part of online safety. Learn how to set parental controls on your cable box, see how the NCTA television show rating system works and find the NCTA’s favorite places to learn about media management.
Tell me…
What Are You Doing To Monitor Your Tween’s Internet Use?
I was compensated for this post by Cox Communications. While Cox Communications provided a topic for me to discuss, I was not asked to share specific information with my readers.
Becca – this is great info! Thank you!
Lots of great info! I bet that there are a lot of parents that do nothing to monitor what their kids are doing online… my guess is that they simply aren’t informed as to what they can or should do though.
My youngest daughter asked for a Facebook account and when I said no she asked for a Twitter account… like I was going to say yes to that one. LOL! After I explained my reasoning she seemed okay with it but it didn’t change the fact that she still wanted one or that her friends have one.
People just don’t realize the importance of this! I’ve seen parents hand their 12 year old an iphone with no restrictions and I don’t care how “good” your kid is..that’s just asking for trouble! The internet is fabulous and great, but even adults get into a LOT of trouble on it!
I was lucky because it wasn’t in every device possible when my kids were in the tween/teen years. We had one family computer which was in the family room and the kids were only allowed an hour a day. I was right in the room when they were using it and I could see the screen. :)
We have nine devices too – and I just bookmarked all three of those sites.
I love how you addressed the rules for your son. I need to tell my kids that. Thanks for the info.
We have a cellphone contract between me, my husband and my daughter. We use parental controls on the TVs and her computer. And no social media accounts until she can prove she is responsible.
I won’t have a tween for a little while yet, but this is sure interesting!