It’s best to be intentional about how you introduce parental controls. Make some time to sit with your child and have a good conversation about them. Here’s what to cover:
- Discuss what your child uses or wants to use their smart device for
- Together, identify potential risks of using a smart device
- Discuss and then agree on appropriate rules for device use
- Configure Kidslox in line with the rules you agreed
The conversation doesn’t end once Kidslox is set up though. Make sure to follow up with you child regularly. Ask them about the good and bad sides of having a smart device. What content are they interacting with? Have they identified any new risks since they started using their device? Use the information provided in Kidslox statistics page to inform your conversations.
Detailed conversation ideas:
1. When you 1st install the controls, talk with your child about what they use their device for (or what they hope to use it for if you’re about to give them a 1st device).
2. Together with your child, identify potential risks of using a smart phone. Be sure to include:
- risk of missing out on other important areas of life if you spend too much time on phones,
- risk of people (strangers or people you know) using the online space for bullying,
- risk of strangers trying to manipulate you,
- risk of encountering bad language, bad behaviour or other content which you wouldn’t accept or stay for in real life,
- risk of giving away too much personal data,
3. Discuss what appropriate limits might look like. If possible, agree on the rules you will implement, if that’s not possible, tell them the rules you will implement. Either way, make clear:
- the reasons for the rules;
- the consequences of trying to bypass the rules;
- the time when you will review these rules again together (maybe after trying the rules out for a bit you will decide together that they should be less or more strict, depending on your child’s response).
4. Set up Kidslox in line with the rules you’ve decided, remember you can use Kidslox to:
- set daily limits of device use
- set scheduled times when device use is allowed or not allowed
- see which apps were used, which websites were visited, and which videos were watched
- see where they’ve been and get notifications when they arrive
- give screen time as a reward
Follow up:
Talk with your child regularly about what they see and do online, who they talk to, who they follow, what they play, etc. If you see that they are tempted by the edges of the boundaries you set, talk to them about why that is, encourage them to leave some leeway, not pushing their behaviour to the edge of what is allowed.