One of the things that you see when hanging around at a busy mall or almost anywhere during the weekend is the picture of a mother that holds a smartphone in one hand, and a kid in the other. And very often even the kid is also holding a smart device. Yes, these are the days we live in. Parents use smart devices such as tablets and smartphones to keep the little ones entertained, the same way they entertain themselves. It looks like a scene of ‘Black Mirror’ as this is something that would not have been the case about 10-15 years ago.

With great power comes great responsibility

And of course, do not get us wrong, there are enormous benefits for our kids when it comes to cellphone and tablet usage. When properly controlled, they have access to vast amount of information and entertainment that previous generations could only have dreamed of having in the palm of their hand at any time.

However, with great power comes great responsibility. Many parents nowadays ask questions similar to when a child should become digitally independent and what the risks are and how a parent would be able to guide their children to a responsible use of their devices.

Well, the short answer is that before we let our children be digitally independent, we have to teach ourselves how to be a good role model for them.

Taking responsibility for their children’s behavior on the internet

Currently, it is not a secret a significant percent of parents take responsibility for their children’s behavior on the internet. Many solutions allow parents to be in control of their children’s digital lives. For example, mobile carriers here in the US have found a way to make an extra buck by giving parents the option to limit the amount of GBs they are using on the internet.

They are also able to restrict the amount of usage of an individual device. For example, you can setup a timer on your child’s tablet and give him screen time of 2 hours per weekday and 3 hours during the weekends. Those services are sometimes pricey, as we all know mobile carriers are greedy. So there are solutions offered by companies like Panda Security that allow you to track and control your children’s online behavior at a better price without the need to restrict them. Getting more for less sounds great, doesn’t it?

Solutions are there, so what is the problem?

The problem is that even though the percentage of responsible parents is high, parents still do not know how to control their children’s digital lives. For example, recent research shows almost one-third of the parents in the US are not managing their teenagers’ digital lifestyle at all.

The reason is that they are not entirely educated on the dangers smart devices hold. The last few years have certainly seen digital education added to a sizeable list of parental worries that include the more traditional staples of handing over the car keys and “who’s that guy she’s dating?”.

Safely monitoring

While it’s important to be on top of your child’s online security, parents do have to walk a fine line between spying on their kids, and safely monitoring their online activity from a distance. This is not easy if you don’t have the right tools, so Panda Security is here to the rescue. Our parental solutions give you the option always to be aware of any dangers while maintaining your child’s trust.

Let them be digitally independent whenever you want but continue to keep an eye on them. You do not want your kids to feel repressed, but to be safe. So instead of fighting with him/her, just install the right software that will give you the needed piece of mind and will keep your kids safe.

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Source: Panda