;Resize=(1200,627)&hash=51459b81db0a2d06f20f73eb709bb2c52fbb827e9116d505e66dfeafd68278ed "This is what parents need to know about their children’s cell phones – This is what parents need to know about their children’s cell phones"){kind=logo}
This is what parents need to know about their children’s cell phones: This is what parents need to know about their children’s cell phones
Many children in Germany are exposed to bullying, and today this mostly takes place in the digital space. As a parent, you should therefore take technical measures to protect your children from this – but that alone is not enough.
The issue of bullying is complicated. Unfortunately, it takes place every day in German schools and doesn’t stop when classes are over. From the 5th grade, the mobile phone is usually part of the standard equipment of the students, then it starts with class chats and endless other possibilities to annoy others.
Important:
The problem of bullying cannot be solved with technology alone, even if it often takes place via technical devices. It is therefore important for parents to have a trusting relationship with their children and to be attentive. For example, signs such as sleep disorders or a sudden drop in performance at school can indicate bullying. Do not leave your children alone and keep in touch with the school and teachers.
But you should also use the technical possibilities to prevent bullying in the digital space. You can set these 5 things immediately on your mobile phone. The Family Link app (download via CHIP) for Android smartphones and screen time for iPhones will help.
1. Limit usage time
Even apart from the topic of bullying, children today are growing up with the Internet and mobile phones. But life doesn’t just consist of the internet and mobile phones, which is why you should set usage times.
You can find recommendations on the duration for different age groups in this article on CHIP. Note that cell phones are not the only thing. PCs, televisions, games consoles or tablets are also part of media use. You can set the usage time for children with on-board resources on the cell phone, for example if you operate a tablet with the same account, then the whole thing also works across the board.
Android offers the Family Link app for this (download via CHIP), with Apple you set the usage time via the setting
screen time
firmly. It is also important that you set a bedtime. It often happens that class chats are also very nocturnal. Protect your child from this.
You can also consider setting up a shared charging station for all family cell phones, for example in the hallway. In this way you prevent the devices from lying in the children’s room at night.
2. Allow specific apps
In real life it is inconceivable that you would simply let your children go everywhere unobserved, often on the internet. Because even if you set a screen time, in the allowed hour there are no hurdles for your child on the net and as everyone knows, everything can be found there.
A first step is therefore that you specifically select the apps that your child is allowed to use. It is best to do this with the child. Surely it will come up to you from time to time and say that everyone else can use a certain app. Take a look at the application yourself and discuss the use with your child.
Once you have reached an agreement, the app can be installed and used. If not, everyone else uses the app, but not your child. It is particularly important that you explain the decision to your child and not just issue a ban.
3. Use protection settings in apps
Now it’s slowly getting down to the details. Going through the settings for new apps is a good strategy anyway. Do this with your child too.
Can you store age information in the app to activate certain filters? Is it possible to turn off an integrated chat function? Unfortunately, there is a trend that apps simply take things out of their mouths, which are then sold as convenience for users. Adjust where it goes.
Many apps and services often have a minimum age requirement in their terms of service. If this is not fulfilled, the explicit declaration of consent from the parents is required. For WhatsApp, that’s 16, YouTube is 14 and up, and TikTok, Insta, and SnapChat set it at 13.
4. Time limit apps
From a parent’s point of view, there are good and bad apps. The sprinkling of videos on YouTube or TikTok is not well received by adults, but when the kids are cramming Latin with the vocabulary app, things look different.
What you should do: Also set usage times for each application or category. This prevents kids from wasting all their screen time on a pointless app or getting too much social media.
Whatever works: your child can ask for an extension of the mobile phone time for certain tasks. For example, if you have a presentation and there is good content on YouTube, you can extend the time for it on request.
5. Filter content
30 minutes in the browser a day without a filter means that your child can explore pretty much every corner of the internet for half an hour a day. Do you really want that? In addition to talking about media use, you should also start a content filter that ensures your child only sees age-appropriate content.
Apple, for example, allows web content to be restricted so that adult sites are filtered out. Alternatively, you can also create a list of allowed or forbidden websites yourself. For example, with Family Link you can also link the restriction of YouTube content to your child’s age.
The original for this post “What parents need to know about their children’s cell phones” comes from chip.de.
