Now that the school year is winding down, summer plans are in full swing. As much as I'd like to spend the entire 9-weeks away, traveling with my family— the reality is that we'll be home for the majority of the time.
This post is brought to you by Net Nanny. All opinions are my own.
Our daily scenario will go something like this: My husband and I will be working, and our 12-year-old daughter will be occupying herself on either her iPhone or laptop. Yes, of course we have other daily activities planned to get us all out of the house, but at least some portion of the day will be spent online in some capacity. For my tween, that includes playing games, watching videos and talking to friends.
As much as I trust my daughter to not actively seek out inappropriate content, I know it's out there, and statistically, she will be be exposed to unsuitable websites or photos at some point... it's just a matter of time. It's estimated that 82% of children are exposed to inappropriate content before age 11!
As a parent, I want to do whatever I can to protect my daughter. This includes keeping her safe from online predators, cyberbullying, and inappropriate photos and videos. This summer, I am using Net Nanny to keep an eye on her activity when I can't be there.
Here are a few more stats to consider—
- 43% of teens were victims of cyberbullying in the past year
- Over 50% off kids, between the age of 10-17, have posted risky comments or photos online
- 8 out of 10 teens had friends who tempted them to share inappropriate content of pictures on social media
- 82% of online sex crimes originated from social networking sites that predators use to gain insight into their victim's habits and likes.
That is some scary stuff! The tween and teen years are tough enough for parents without all of these extra worries.
Monitor Your Child’s Time Online With Net Nanny
Like I mentioned above, I recently installed Net Nanny to help monitor my daughter's time online. With the increased usage of the internet by kids during the summer months, it's more likely than ever that they will be exposed to pornography, online predators, cyber bullying, and other threats that compromise online safety. Net Nanny helps keep families safe by offering these essential features:
- Internet filtering software with pre-defined age based settings and unlimited customization options
- Blocking or Allowing Specific Websites
- Time limits and schedules for Internet use
- Profanity masking to limit exposure to unwanted language
- Safe search enforcement
- Alerts to know when websites are blocked, when children request additional access or time and summary reports to review online activity
- Remote Cloud-based Parent Console to see reports and make changes to settings
- Nanny Social protect kids from online threats and monitors activities related to “friends,” cyberbullying, predators, privacy concerns, and reputation-damaging pictures or videos
I like how Net Nanny not only blocks unsafe websites, but also scans and analyzes each site based on my customization— this includes masking profanity. It can also be installed on smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers on any platform. Personally, we're going with the Net Nanny Family Protection Pass that installs on 5 devices of our choosing.
Net Nanny Free Trial!
If you want to help protect your kids from the dangers of the internet this summer (and beyond!), take advantage of Net Nanny's FREE 15 day trial offer for Mommy Musings readers — click here to get started.
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