Parental Control Software
Related Pages: Teens & Computer Safety ... Computer Access for School-aged Kids
Parent Q&A
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Parental control software or service?
–Apr 3, 2023I'm interested in recent reviews of parental control software. What are folks using to ensure their kids are safe online (in addition to ongoing conversations)? Our 12-year-old is much more tech-savvy than we are and we're concerned he will easily be able to disable the parental controls. Common Sense Media recommends Bark, NetNanny, Quostodia, among others--do folks like these services?
Additionally, I'm curious if there's anyone we can hire to give us more specific guidance based on our needs. Recommendations?
Thank you so much in advance!
Apr 3, 2023parental controls on grandparents' phone?
–Aug 22, 2022Hi neighbors. I am looking for a parental control app/service that makes sense to use on a grandparent's iPhone or iPad (iOS).
My child does not have her own phone, but I do want to limit/monitor her use when she is at her grandma's house. Specifically, I want to limit access to social media, sexual content, and the downloading of certain apps.
Any recommendations?
P.S. I also did share these resources with them:
Aug 22, 2022Electronic parent controls expert to hire-?-
–Aug 29, 2021We held out until 14 but have just given our son a phone and are somewhat dismayed at how fast going down the rabbit hole has been. We are looking for a computer expert who intimately understand iphone and macbook parental controls and can consult with us on how to allow access to only those thing we have agreed on. If this person doesn't exist then it seems like a really good business opportunity for someone!
Aug 29, 2021Can I totally block YouTube on a BUSD-issued Chromebook?
–Aug 21, 2020My children use district-issued Chromebooks for online school. YouTube is restricted but there's enough to be very distracting. How can I totally block YouTube on those Chromebooks? I'm not allowed to add BlockSite or other apps because the district is the administrator.
(We don't own a Chromebook or laptop ourselves. Worth getting our own for that reason?)
Aug 21, 2020My 15 year old with ADHD and a mood disorder is addicted to her phone - forgoing meals, sleep and bathing when she really gets going; yelling and screaming when we remind her it's time to put it away. We've discussed the physical and mental health consequences with her. We've set limits and made rules. We take the phone away when she doesn't comply. But, the process of physically taking the phone feels like we're teetering on the edge of violent disaster. She had a very traumatic childhood (she's adopted) and gets easily triggered. I have Verizon Smart Family App on her phone but the time limits haven't been working, either because the App doesn't work very well, or because she's learned how to disable it, or both. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good app? I'd like to be able to to cut access to the cell network and our home network at certain hours of the day. I can unplug our router if necessary so cutting access to the cell network is my major goal. It's such a frustrating and disheartening situation. Thanks for your help.
Aug 30, 2019Parental Controls on 17-y-o's Laptop?
–Aug 30, 2017I have a 17-y-o heading off to boarding school for the first time - entering as a junior. The primary reason my teen is going to boarding school is for a better fit - this is a bright teen who is floundering in the local public and private school systems. I'm hoping a change in environment, a school with supports for gifted w/ ADHD students, and routine and structure implemented by someone other than parents will be a good thing.
Like a lot of teens, mine is completely distracted and consumed by technology use. The boarding school will manage this to a point, but I'm thinking it would be a good idea to have parental controls in place as well (we've had them in place on devices all along to some degree of usefulness).
My question is this: what parental controls on a MacBook have you found to be useful in supporting a teen's use of the device as a learning tool, while limiting their ability to use it for excess distraction or, worse, nefarious (keeping Tor and Bitcoin off, etc.) purposes?
This has proven to be a helpful and insightful forum for me in the past, so thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Aug 30, 2017Hi,
I'm overwhelmed by the plethora of apps out there that filter content and restrict time on the internet for kids. Does anyone have direct experience with one they really like? I'm looking at Net Nanny, for instance. Also Screenlimit. There is a new one called unPlug that sounds great but the reviews are awful. My 14 y/o daughter has an Apple Pro Book and some of them don't work with MacOS. I need something that can work with our smart TV, her iPhone and Pro book, and that I can set up on my PC and access on my Android phone. Thanks for any help.
Aug 7, 2017Parental Control recommendation? NetNanny or other?
–Sep 19, 2016With a tween daughter, I realize we are at the point where we will need to manage/screen what she accesses? The various options (NetNanny, Qustodio, etc.) are confusing and prior to shelling out for a subscription, I would love to hear from BPN on your experiences.
Sep 19, 2016Parental controls and blocking adult content on Wifi
–Aug 7, 2016I recently discovered that my almost 15 year old son has been accessing porn on his computer. When he was much younger I tried to put parental controls on his computer, but the basic features on the Mac didn't seem to work very well and would block too much such that when he wanted to watch youtube or access sites that were legitimate, he could not get to them. My husband was annoyed about having to constantly deal with the access issues and complained so much that I took all controls off years ago. A few months ago I checked my son's browsing history and found that he was accessing porn regularly. And even though we have (loose) rules about where the computer can be used, he occasionally takes it in his room while working on hobbies, or in the bathroom. In addition, there are plenty of times when we leave him home alone for several hours while we run errands or exercise. My son is very sensitive and sometimes when I bring up difficult issues, he refuses to discuss them with me. I don't find it easy to talk with him. My therapist recommended I have my husband handle the conversations "man to man", particularly because I didn't want my son to shut me down or feel "shamed" by me. My husband talked with him about the concerns of porn and asked him to watch some documentaries about how abusive and damaging the porn industry is to the women who participate. A few months have gone by and he is still accessing the adult content, and even worse, writing fictional porn in a sort of journal. I only know this because I regularly check his computer and devices, although he recently changed his password on his phone so I can't access it. My husband would never bother to do this and while he is concerned, doesn't really want to get into the habit of monitoring. I recently installed a device on our WiFi called "Circle by Disney" which I can control through my phone or iPad. It filters adult content, tracks websites accessed, tracks total device usage, has the ability to limit time and hours for wifi access, can lock out access to any app (such snapchat, FB, instagram) and pause the internet on demand. I wish this device had been available when the kids were first getting computers and phones and the restrictions would have just been part of the deal. My husband is reluctant for me to implement it because he feels it is passive aggressive to just restrict the access without getting a "buy in" from my son. While I agree that we should talk about our rules for internet usage, risk about porn, etc, I have told my husband that the decision to restrict access is like deciding not to have junk food, cigarettes, guns or anything else in the house that you don't want to expose your kids to. It reminds me of when I was a teenager and I had a friend sleep over. While my parents were out for the evening, we drank some of their alcohol and got drunk! Not long after that I noticed that all the alcohol was put in a locked cabinet. Would love any thoughts or advice on this.
Aug 7, 2016
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Questions |
Computer screening devices re: Porn
May 2009
I would like to know about what parent's experiences have been with screening devices or screening programs for computers? We have a MAC. Much thanks.
I need it now.
I mentor a number of teenaged young men. With them and their families I often suggest x3watch. It doesn't stop the sites, but it does send you a report of sites visited twice a month that empowers you to have a conversation with your son about it. The website where you can read more about it is: http://x3watch.com/ The free version is available for mac. Goodluck, I'd love to know what you finally choose. Erik
We used during a difficult time a software program called Safeeyes. It is like Fort Knox. I know my son and his friends devoted hours and much research on unprotected computers to trying to hack it, and were unable. It can be set to stop porn, drug info, cheating sites, suicide info, etc. It can also record all IM conversations on a machine. (When I turned this on, I told my teen I had done it, and that I would only go in and review the conversations if I felt I had to do so for his safety. That time came, and, even though he knew in advance about the recording, there was useful information there.)
The downside was it can be a pain. It can block legitimate sites, requiring parents to go through a routine to OK them (which of course always happens at midnight when something is due the next day..) At one point it blocked all google images; a real pain for my art student child - and it took quite a bit of work to find a workaround for that. It took over an hour to manage to uninstall it on one of my kids 18th birthdays (perhaps their favorite gift!) But the phone support is good.
I would recommend this if you have a serious need to block. do what's necessary mom
Computer software to monitor teens' game time
March 2007
I'd like help finding computer software to monitor the amount of time my teen spends playing games. Any assistance would be appreciated; where have you found programs? can they tell you the amount of time on different games? how easy are they to install and use? I would prefer something transparent so we can all see the amount and talk about it together. Thanks
Mom tired of arguing
I like Child Safe, because you can not only monitor what they are doing, but you can also give them a set amount of time they can be logged on. Its not as invisible as some of the ''spyware'', but your kids know that you are watching, so they are much more conscious of where they go and what they chat about. http://www.webroot.com/consumer/products/childsafe/features.html
Jenny
Need to block porn sites on our IMac
Oct 2006
We need to put parental controls on our computer. It's an Imac, the newer one with the intell chip. I'm frustrated because there seems to be limited choices for macs, and I've heard that these kinds of controls really slow down the computer. We also don't want to have separate profiles for each user. It's a family computer and we sometimes work on the same projects and it is just too complicated to have separate profiles for everyone. We have several browsers, and tho I guess we could limit that I'd prefer something that would work with different browsers. I'm only interested in blocking porn, not chat groups, politics and violence. Is there anything out there that will work for us? Unfortunetly it is not possible to get the guilty party to knock it off. I am sad to be in this position and very grateful for any advice that you might have, Thank you
I'm running Kids GoGoGo. Seems to work well for us. http://www.makienterprise.com/kggg/kidsgogogo.html
Jeff
My friend Anne who edits Net Family News (my absolute favorite source of info for all things family & tech-related) told me about SafeEyes (www.safeeyes.com/safe-eyes/ toprated/) which she says is a favorite among software reviewers for filtering on both PCs and Macs. Check out netfamilynews.org while you're at it... I've been reading netfamilynews for years and always find useful info -- and eye-opening letters written by parents and kids themselves. (Also, an aside, Anne just co-authored ''My Space Unraveled, a parents' guide to teen social networking''/ might be useful) Susan
In my experience as the parent of a young adult, it is effective to work with your child over time to teach them responsible online habits, with no apps, software, or contracts. You already noted this! Great! This is effective for the long term. Call me skeptical, but I am sure parental control software and consultants are just marketing to take advantage of parents' fears. Check in with your child periodically to make sure they are getting enough sleep, getting their homework done, getting enough exercise, are not disturbed by any contact they may have intentionally or unintentionally seen, etc. If too much online/phone time is a contributing factor, then ask open questions and *really listen* to their responses to come up with solutions. I also don't recommend time limits, I have seen this lead to sneaking and endless negotiating.
BARK worked for us, I highly recommend it. Wish we had done it when our daughter was 12. We didn't do it until she was 15 and looked on her phone one night because she was acting strangely. I couldn't believe what we found. So all the talking in the world didn't help our kid make good choices. I like BARK because we don't have to go thru her phone, it just sends an alert to you when it detects troubling content in texts such as bullying words, self harm, drug use, sexting, etc.. then you can speak with your child if you choose. If there are nude pics it will send you a blacked out version of the pic with a notice (this contains sexual imagery). Also, you can set it to block certain apps (only by age, such as your child can only download apps for 12 and under, etc) You can set it to turn off at the same time each night (our daughter's goes off at 10 but she can still listen to music but has no internet and can't text). You can also set it so they cannot add new contacts unless you approve them. This helped a lot.