How Parental Control Helps to Protect Children on Social Media?

Recently, I read news about how social media platforms expose children to cyberbullying, online predators, and inappropriate content. Therefore, I follow professional advice and install parental controls on my kids’ devices.

It helps me to monitor my teens’ activities every time with just a few clicks. That’s why I advised you to set up parental controls and read this article to understand how parental controls are crucial for protecting your little ones on digital platforms.

Do Social Media Apps Have Parental Controls?

Yes, social media apps often have parental controls in place to safeguard children from age-inappropriate content.

Parental controls typically include tools for managing screen time, setting privacy options, restricting adult content, and monitoring children’s friend lists.

Renowned apps, such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, offer built-in parental controls, accessible through their Family Center and Supervision features, which enable you to supervise your kids’ activities.

I also set up parental control settings on my kids’ social media accounts to keep an eye on their friend lists, direct messages, and other interactions. This way, I can create a safe digital space for their browsing.  

Should Parents Control Children’s Social Media Accounts?

A balanced approach is essential to control children’s social media accounts that strike a balance between freedom and safety.

As a helicopter parent, you should focus on providing guidance and safety measures rather than full control over your children’s social circle. This approach involves: 

1. Open communication about the dangers of using social media without careful monitoring.

2. Establishing rules together, which also helps to gain the trust of your little ones.

3. Enable the built-in parental controls and regularly check their social media activities.

4. Educate your kids on how to handle digital challenges so they make the right decisions on their own.

5. Monitor with transparency by discussing with whom they can interact and what they browse on the internet.

However, social media’s built-in parental controls are not sufficient to safeguard your children from cyberattacks and explicit content. According to the APA (American Psychological Association) report, social media designs, features, and functions are inherently unsafe for youths.

That’s why I recommend that you monitor your children’s social media regularly, rather than trusting any big tech companies.

Also Read: Snapchat Parental Controls: The Complete Guide to Keeping Your Child Safe 

What are the Benefits of Social Media Monitoring? 

There are numerous benefits to social media monitoring, such as preventing harm, limiting excessive use, tracking for mental health, and strengthening relationships.

Therefore, I’ve jotted down these benefits in great detail. Let’s take a look!

1. Preventing Exposure to Harmful Content

If you monitor your children’s social media accounts, you can identify dangerous and harmful actions earlier, resulting in safeguarding them from cyberattackers. This will protect their confidential details, including personal information like name, age, phone number, and other banking details.

2. Limit Excessive Use

You should limit their screen time or phone usage to prevent them from damaging their mental and physical health. Additionally, you should encourage them to play outdoor and indoor games to enhance their cognitive skills.

3. Tracking for Mental Health

Teens are mostly private to themselves. So, you have no idea about which issues they’re juggling with and how they’re dealing with these concerns. As a concerned parent, you should pay close attention to their posts, stories, shares, and likes to get valuable insight into their mental health and seek professional help when needed.

4. Strengthening Relationships

Moreover, you should engage with your kids’ online activities, monitor their interests or dislikes, and discuss their experiences. It creates opportunities for you to build healthy relationships with your little angels, including understanding their social circle and teaching safety measures.

What are the Most Child-Friendly Social Media Apps?

You should introduce child-friendly social media apps like Messenger Kids, YouTube Kids, Kinzoo, and JusTalk Kids to your kids for safe browsing.

Let’s review the following parents-approved apps for in-depth guidance.

1. Messenger Kids

Messenger Kids is developed by Meta. It is designed to prioritize children’s safety while chatting with family and friends. The app offers robust built-in parental control features and interesting filters, stickers, and doodles to unleash their creativity.

2. YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids provides a more secure environment for kids, making it easier for parents to watch over their activities. Children can enjoy a lot of age-appropriate videos without having to scroll through harmful social media apps for education, entertainment, games, and other activities.

3. Kinzoo

Kinzoo is another child-friendly app that aims to provide the best chatting and video calling experience without the dangers associated with large platforms. Furthermore, it provides tons of stickers and face filters while restricting strangers and ads to create a safe and enjoyable social space.

4. JusTalk Kids

JusTalk Kids is a parents-approved app that lets your kids connect with family members and friends instantly. It prohibits strangers and random messages, prioritizing their safety. Minors enjoy video calling and messaging with crazy and funny personal themes and doodling.

Also Read: Best Parental Control App for iPhone: Every Parent Must Know About

How Saferloop Helps You Protect Your Children?

Saferloop parental control app provides a wide range of advanced tools and features to safeguard children’s safety and privacy.

You can utilize Saferloop features, including:

• Monitor messages and calls of your kids’ contact lists from your smartphone.
• Restrict inappropriate content for safe browsing.
• Block unsafe websites and apps to create a safe digital space for your children.
• Send alert messages when something suspicious is detected.
• Keep track of the real-time location of your children.
• Set screen time limits to promote healthy habits and physical activities.

Overall, Saferloop offers top-notch solutions for all your parental problems. It has robust and advanced tools compared to social media’s built-in parental controls, which protect your children.

Wrapping Up!

While there are built-in social media parental controls, you should opt for the best parental control apps to enhance your children’s safety.

By installing a reliable parental control like Saferloop and fostering open communication, you can efficiently manage your kids’ screen time, restrict strangers, track their activity 24/7, and ensure their security.

Also Read: TikTok Parental Controls: Step into Digital Parenting With TikTok Family Pairing

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