March 06, 2019
The Importance of Parental Control Software
The protection of a child is the most essential objective of any parent. As technology increases and the amount of online options multiply, protecting children from the many dangers the internet provides is becoming more difficult than ever. Long gone are the times when parents could simply tell their kids that they weren't allowed on the internet. Our world has become so dependent on technology that many kids' educations are being decided by their ability to navigate their computers successfully.
Parental control software can help to curb the dangers associated with internet surfing and allow parents the opportunity to better evaluate exactly what their kids are doing on the internet. From preventing interaction with potential predators to confronting cyber bullying, parental control software can literally serve as a life saver for parents and their children.
Let's take a deeper look into exactly what parental control software is and what it can do.
What is Parental Control Software?
Parental control software is basically a type of software that allows parents or guardians the ability to monitor the activity of their children on the internet. The software can monitor the different sites that a child visits while also preventing them from ever visiting a site in the first place. It also has the ability to prevent harmful downloads and software.
Many types of control software will also allow parents to place time limits on the amount of time that a child spends playing a certain game or on a particular site. It can even disallow participation after a certain time, ensuring that your children aren't spending time on their computers well after bedtime.
Why is Parental Control Software Important?
The easy answer to this question is for protection. As we've already mentioned, there is no more important objective for a parent than protecting the welfare of their child. Parental control software helps parents protect their children while they're doing something that is difficult to monitor through other methods.
Parental software can help parents monitor everything from emails to inappropriate content to the types of people that they're interacting with online. Most software companies will also offer a monitoring system that allows parents to see the entire chat script from any social interaction that has taken place.
Children are curious. There's no getting around that. Parents are never going to be able to completely avoid having their child search different sites and do different things that would be deemed inappropriate by adults. Control software, however, can help to curb that curiosity of children and help to teach them right from wrong in situations where their judgment may not be where it should be.
What Can Parental Control Software Do for Parents?
Parental software has the ability to do a ton of different things to ensure that children are protected and monitored at a high level. Let's take a look at a few of the many things that parental control software can do for parents and guardians:
Record Online Activity
Recording online activity is a must for any parent in order to teach their children what is and isn't appropriate for them to view. As we've mentioned, you're not going to be able to completely prevent a child from surfing the internet. Monitoring the sites that they visit is the next best option in order to ensure that they aren't regularly sifting through inappropriate or undesirable content. This software has the ability to show parents and guardians exactly how a child is spending their time online.
Protection From Predators
A parent's worst nightmare is almost certainly the thought of having a sexual predator take advantage of the naivety of their child. Most parental software allows parents to see the exact chat scripts that their children have participated in to be sure that nothing is going on that would potentially put them in danger. Most software can also prevent a child from ever visiting potential predator hot spots like chat rooms in the first place.
Block Inappropriate Content
The curiosity of children can certainly be a dangerous thing. Parental control software gives parents and guardians the ability to prevent a child from ever being able to go unto a site with inappropriate content. While most software services will be able to sift through and prevent searching on adult content sites, parents may still have to monitor and then block other inappropriate sites that they don't want their children searching through.
Preventing Misused Personal Information
Many people would be shocked if they knew exactly how easy it was for a scam artist to steal their identity. What easier way for that scammer to get the necessary personal information than to ask a potentially naive child?
Children are obviously not going to be as keen and aware of circumstances that may lead to a stolen identity. They can often give away credit card, address, or other personal information that lead to a major issue down the road. Having parental software allows parents to monitor this situation and prevent their children from making these potentially costly mistakes.
Preventing and Confronting Cyber Bullying
Cyber bullying has recently become a major issue throughout the world as Facebook and other major social media platforms are being used as tools for bullies to digitally beat down on others. The seriousness of cyber bullying is obvious, as it can lead to depression for a child and can even put them in a situation where they attempt suicide. Having parental control software can help parents confront this cyber bullying from the very beginning and ensure turn it into a life lesson instead of tragedy for both people involved.
Time Constraints
For parents finding it difficult to get their kids off the internet for bed, parental software can allow guardians to place time limits and cutoff times for when their children are allowed to play games or search the internet. This can help prevent overuse as well making sure they're getting to bed on time.
Conclusion
While the main objective of parental control software is to protect the child, it can also serve as a major convenience for a parent. With all of the advantages that it can provide and potential tragedies that it can prevent, parental software should be a no-brainer for any parent.