Has your child asked you to buy them a cell phone?
Are you concerned about what your child will do with a smartphone?
We all know as parents that at some point in time, we have to trust our children. The average age of children getting their first cellular phone is now 8 years old. Our children are more tech-savvy than most adults, and that is a scary thought. We are giving a phone to a child who may be able to outsmart us and get around programs we put in place to ensure their safety. The content that a child can access on a smart phone today is astounding. So how can we, as parents, feel comfortable handing our child their own smart phone?
Are you concerned about what your child will do with a smartphone?
We all know as parents that at some point in time, we have to trust our children. The average age of children getting their first cellular phone is now 8 years old. Our children are more tech-savvy than most adults, and that is a scary thought. We are giving a phone to a child who may be able to outsmart us and get around programs we put in place to ensure their safety. The content that a child can access on a smart phone today is astounding. So how can we, as parents, feel comfortable handing our child their own smart phone?
Asher Fried, COO of Shield Wireless had these exact same concerns, being a parent of 5 children.
Through a partnership with Kajeet®, Shield Wireless Inc™ was born. Shield Wireless offers parents the peace of mind of handing their child a smart phone. By giving parents administrative controls, parents now have the peace of mind that they are giving their child a SAFE phone.
Shield Wireless’ slogan is SMART ∙ SAFE ∙ SECURE.
Parents can set the rules by controlling the following:
Set Time Limits
Monitor and regulate which calls can be placed when. Set auto shutdown times for homework hour and bedtime, or manually disable the phone when your child is behind the wheel or in class.
Contacts
Protect your child by keeping tabs on his or her social network and contact circle. Create a complete block on numbers you don’t feel comfortable having your child communicate with.
Texting
Regulate or limit texting to specific contacts, time of day, or usage volume.
GPS Tracking
Keep constant track of your child with the Shield Wireless-enabled GPS Phone Locator. The Kajeet™ powered GPS technology gives you an unlimited number of locate queries, as well as the ability to schedule locates to recur on specific preset days or times.
Some of our GPS features include:
• Interactive mapping
• Alerts
• History of locates
• Map Landmarks – Home, school, etc.
• Schedule locate queries
Shield Web
Create a safe web environment for your child by choosing which websites he or she can access and which are off limits – even on smartphones! With the Kajeet™ Smart Blocker™, parents can turn web access off completely, or set custom levels for site and content access.
Cut Costs
Shield Wireless offers a pay-as-you-use plan flexibility, allowing you to suspend service for months when phone is not in use such as summer break. It also provides the option for short-term activations for times like vacation or other occasions.
You can get more information by visiting www.shieldwireless.com
A Question From a Parent that I Thought was Worth Sharing...
Hi Lori,
I have two daughters in 7th and 8th grade and they been asking me to get
Instagram. Please let me know your thoughts and if you think it's ok for
them to have it, what restrictions should they have?
Thanks
Instagram is an interesting social network. It is all photo-based, so therefore
it really is dependent on the child as to whether or not they’re ready to
have it.
They need to understand that none of their photos will actually be private,
and Instagram will eventually own all of their content and can choose to do
what they wish with these photos. It’s not the policy as of right now but I do
anticipate it will change at some point just as it has with Facebook in the
past.
I like Instagram. I use it with my family and only have 25 followers. I’m
careful about what I post and who I allow to follow me. Although pictures
leak out via the likes and comments, people can’t really interact with you if
they are not following you.
My rule of thumb is simple, my followers will appreciate my posts, react
positively, and not repost anything of mine in order to embarrass me.
For example, I posted a picture of my six-year-old daughter when she got
new glasses. She was nervous about what the kids at school might say
so I posted the picture so my 25 followers could comment and say nice
things. They all did within about 15 minutes, and now that my daughter
could see, she read the posts and felt much better. Those are the right type
of followers.
I don’t follow celebrities, but I’m an adult. I know that kids love to follow
celebrities on Instagram because it makes them feel like part of their
world. It’s just important that your kids know they cannot interact with other
people who also follow the celebrities, or the celebrities themselves. There
has been a lot of hoaxes out there that try and get the kids to believe that
someone from One Direction is contacting them directly. It’s just not true.
If they can understand that, then they can probably understand how to
use Instagram safely.
Hope that helps.
Through a partnership with Kajeet®, Shield Wireless Inc™ was born. Shield Wireless offers parents the peace of mind of handing their child a smart phone. By giving parents administrative controls, parents now have the peace of mind that they are giving their child a SAFE phone.
Shield Wireless’ slogan is SMART ∙ SAFE ∙ SECURE.
Parents can set the rules by controlling the following:
Set Time Limits
Monitor and regulate which calls can be placed when. Set auto shutdown times for homework hour and bedtime, or manually disable the phone when your child is behind the wheel or in class.
Contacts
Protect your child by keeping tabs on his or her social network and contact circle. Create a complete block on numbers you don’t feel comfortable having your child communicate with.
Texting
Regulate or limit texting to specific contacts, time of day, or usage volume.
GPS Tracking
Keep constant track of your child with the Shield Wireless-enabled GPS Phone Locator. The Kajeet™ powered GPS technology gives you an unlimited number of locate queries, as well as the ability to schedule locates to recur on specific preset days or times.
Some of our GPS features include:
• Interactive mapping
• Alerts
• History of locates
• Map Landmarks – Home, school, etc.
• Schedule locate queries
Shield Web
Create a safe web environment for your child by choosing which websites he or she can access and which are off limits – even on smartphones! With the Kajeet™ Smart Blocker™, parents can turn web access off completely, or set custom levels for site and content access.
Cut Costs
Shield Wireless offers a pay-as-you-use plan flexibility, allowing you to suspend service for months when phone is not in use such as summer break. It also provides the option for short-term activations for times like vacation or other occasions.
You can get more information by visiting www.shieldwireless.com
A Question From a Parent that I Thought was Worth Sharing...
Hi Lori,
I have two daughters in 7th and 8th grade and they been asking me to get
Instagram. Please let me know your thoughts and if you think it's ok for
them to have it, what restrictions should they have?
Thanks
Instagram is an interesting social network. It is all photo-based, so therefore
it really is dependent on the child as to whether or not they’re ready to
have it.
They need to understand that none of their photos will actually be private,
and Instagram will eventually own all of their content and can choose to do
what they wish with these photos. It’s not the policy as of right now but I do
anticipate it will change at some point just as it has with Facebook in the
past.
I like Instagram. I use it with my family and only have 25 followers. I’m
careful about what I post and who I allow to follow me. Although pictures
leak out via the likes and comments, people can’t really interact with you if
they are not following you.
My rule of thumb is simple, my followers will appreciate my posts, react
positively, and not repost anything of mine in order to embarrass me.
For example, I posted a picture of my six-year-old daughter when she got
new glasses. She was nervous about what the kids at school might say
so I posted the picture so my 25 followers could comment and say nice
things. They all did within about 15 minutes, and now that my daughter
could see, she read the posts and felt much better. Those are the right type
of followers.
I don’t follow celebrities, but I’m an adult. I know that kids love to follow
celebrities on Instagram because it makes them feel like part of their
world. It’s just important that your kids know they cannot interact with other
people who also follow the celebrities, or the celebrities themselves. There
has been a lot of hoaxes out there that try and get the kids to believe that
someone from One Direction is contacting them directly. It’s just not true.
If they can understand that, then they can probably understand how to
use Instagram safely.
Hope that helps.
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