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No amount of meditation and even enlightenment can stop a parent from worrying about well being of their children. At some point, as parents we were only worried about providing food, shelter and education but times change.
Content:
This guide will be particularly helpful for parents with pre-teens and or teens.
If you are that cousin of your cousin who is a parent and stumbled upon this, you are probably wanting to share this information. Do it. You are a good soul!
The need for restrictions.
Fast forward to the times of high speed internet, we are now more worried about our children’s exposure to the vastness of mature and sensitive information that lay before them and all at a finger’s tap away.
By now we have realized how the internet is mostly a junkyard of false news, hate, scams, spams and adult content. And there is nothing social about social media?
Inappropriate information at inappropriate age can be detrimental for a child’s mental development. So regulating internet usage and controlling access to such information takes priority.
Cutting off the internet is not an option given the convenience of online skills that can add value to a child’s education and development. With millions of websites and apps, monitoring your kids internet usage can prove to be a herculean task.
Thanks to technology we have apps for that.
With the parental control option on your router app you can
1. set Internet usage time limit
2. set Bed time and Work time
3. block individual websites and
4. block a device/devices from accessing the internet.
The settings are straight forward, follow the video at the end of the blog.
If you are already familiar with parental control setting on your router, there is no better person, who understands the value of this simple tool.
How to set the parental control options
First, login to your router admin page, to do that use the IP address 192.168.1.1. On the login page you will need to enter username and admin password. Contact your ISP to get your username, in some cases your ISP account number will the username. In most cases the admin password will be “admin”!
Once you have logged in, go to gateway setting > home network > Mac Filtering
enable it, select your devices MAC address.
I’m kidding of course!
If none of that made sense, then you are with me.
I promised you Easy so here it is.
Using the router app to manage access to devices: video
I use a TP-LINK Wi-Fi router that comes with its own easy to use app. Well known brands like TP-LINK, Netgear, D-link, Tenda have their own app that provide for a seamless setup experience.
If you see an app for your Wi-Fi router, install it and follow the instruction to set it up.
Already have the app? You are good to go, follow the video.
Don’t have an app? Well, you may need to upgrade your router, but read on to familiarize yourself on how it’s done. Should you choose to upgrade the router, go for a “mesh router” These have better WIFI range and can support higher bandwidth for multiple devices.
PS: Google family link for android and Microsoft Family Safety for windows are popular parental control tools that you could use for monitoring too, without having to upgrade your WIFI router.
The advantage of having the router app is the ability to control specific devices without having to log in. While family link and family safety allows for controlling specific user accounts and an account is needed.
Here is a demo of creating a profile for a particular child and device.
These setting should be similar for your App.
Advantages of limiting internet usage and screen time.
The parental control option is often an overlooked tool. Perhaps we don’t appreciate its use unless children grow up so fast and a need arises to regulate their internet usage.
Here is the summary of monitoring internet usage. It
- Helps to monitor your child’s internet usage and also screen time. You can check the websites they visit and time spent.
- Prevents them from accessing inappropriate and sensitive contents and websites.
- Teaches them time management skills and appreciate the value of time.
- Encourages them to spend time in physical activities and social engagements which promotes their overall wellbeing.
- Promotes healthy sleeping habit by keeping them from social media distractions.
Always wondered how to block certain websites on certain devices? now you know how!
I hope this will was useful.
Also what are some of the tricks you employ to get children disciplined around using phones and tablets?
Do share in the comments and thanks for reading.
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