Do you feel your child may be exceeding his permitted screen time, and you must put an end to it before it goes out of your hand? As a parent, do you think you or your partner are completely responsible for your child’s wellbeing? Have you been thinking about tracking your child’s phones but cannot put your finger on any software? Well, since you cannot supervise them every minute of the day, you must consider buying software that lets you track your child’s phone location. Or at least know a few tricks to monitor the teenage adventures without them getting out of your hand.
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Tracking your child’s phone:
This is a raging debate that mulls over the moral dilemmas of whether or not to track your child’s whereabouts. There is a certain amount of psychological trauma that children undergo once they realize they are being tracked 24/7.
But let us make this crystal clear at the outset itself. Tracking your children’s phones can give you an upper hand in many circumstances that can turn out to be dangerous for them. It is always better to be safe than to be sorry.
Here is why you must track your child’s phone:
1. Online bullying or cyber-harassment:
Most children do not confide in their parents when they get bullied online. Phone tracking can help parents keep a tab on all their online activities.
2. Over-speeding:
If the teenager drives a car, the location tracking application can monitor how fast the phone is moving. It then sends alerts in case the speed level exceeds the permitted limits. Some of the applications can lock texting features while driving.
3. Social media addiction:
It can be worrying if your child is spending more time on the phone instead of completing his schoolwork or not getting enough sleep. Phone tracking apps can track the number of hours your child spends on the phone or social media sites. It also allows you to block the site after the stipulated time frame that you set.
4. Spending money on game boosters and trinkets
With a phone tracking app, you can block all those applications connecting the children to your credit/debit cards. Most gaming sites are exploitative, and they manipulate kids into buying virtual trinkets.
5. Predators
Not everyone that your child meets or is friends with on the online world has a genuine intention. Tracking tools allow you to know how much time your child is spending on apps and what exactly they are up to in that time. Oversharing information with strangers in the online world can be very dangerous. The app can allow you to use privacy filters when you communicate with others on social media sites. Monitoring their conversation when they are online is a step in the right direction if you fear that they may be vulnerable to cyber predators.
6. Sexting and sharing inappropriate content
We often come across teens sexting and collecting nude’s tantamounting to pornography. Sometimes, they even share their nudes, and later when the relationship goes south, they become targets of retaliation crimes such as making them viral, etc. A location tracking software can block all explicit content, including sites that glorify self-harm and substance abuse.
7. Tracing lost device:
If your children keep losing their mobile phones, then a tracking device will help you trace them. That way, you can save yourself from a lot of anxiety and spending time in stress.
Making a contract with your kids helps to draw a line for phone use. In case you want to keep a tab on them or need to know if they honored their promise, getting a phone location tracker is the best thing you can do. It will ensure your peace of mind and help to instill discipline in them.
Phone tracking indispensable in today’s world:
Suppose you are somebody who is almost on the verge of an anxiety attack because of the increasing number of kidnappings and rapes of very young children. In that case, you must do what 60 percent of parents nowadays are doing. Install software to track their children’s phones.
The world is no longer a safe place for school and college-going children. There is a big chance that they meet someone who will misguide them or harm them. Software on their phone that tracks their location with GPS technology’s help is something that you must actively consider. After all, how much physical control can parents exercise over their young wards without defying and getting into a complicated situation?
Features you must look for in the software:
- Tracking without jailbreaking
The phone tracking software must not need jailbreaking of the target device, ensuring that the spying and location tracking happens in a dignified manner. It will also save a lot of your time and effort.
- It must be easy to install and use
The software’s user interface must be simple, friendly, and easy peasy even for those that are not tech-savvy.
- More services
The software should be able to provide a lot more activities than simply tracking geographical location. It should track screen time, social media viewing, and unsolicited website opening and downloading too.
- Safe and secure
The app must keep all the private information safe and secure from third-party applications.
- Multiple gadgets tracking
It should be possible to track many phones using single software only.
- Affordable
The software subscription must be pocket-friendly and worth every dollar spent on it.
- Space-saving
The phone tracking software should not be more than 2MB. Anything more than this will take a sizable disc space on the phone’s memory.
- Discreet tracking
The icon should become invisible as soon as tracking is activated. This will ensure that it is not being detected.
- Can be installed and removed remotely
The software need not have to hold the target gadget to install the application and activate it.
Tips for building a healthy relationship with the child
GPS technology sounds like a superb idea to track where your kids are at that part of the day, but there are also drawbacks associated with it. Think of when you were growing up. Did your parents keep a minute-by-minute account of where you were? No! Today’s kids similarly have their own inhibitions.
Tracking children can create a lot of stress in parents as they compulsively check to see if their wards are in a safe zone. This stress can be picked up by the little ones who are emotionally worked up when they see their parents stressing.
If your child is carrying a phone on him, make it a habit of calling him once or twice a day to check his safety and whereabouts. You will build more connection and attachment with them rather than see some pins on the map and assume that they are safe.
Discreetly tracking your child’s phone can also make him feel that you do not trust him enough. They may try to outsmart you by throwing off their phones, damaging them, or trading them with their friends.
A good way to instill responsibility in the child is to hold a healthy conversation with them and explain to them how they should keep themselves safe. Reduce your own screen time and spend more time with them, fostering more accountability and independence.
- Spend time to talk to them every day for at least half-hour discussing their plans and telling them about the behavior expected of them.
- Use tracking on a need-to-need basis and never make it a habit.
- A good way to handle teenage kids would be to set boundaries and clearly set the rules for date nights and grounding rules
- Try to be your child’s friends and create a weekend routine where your kids won’t feel like looking for outside entertainment but look forward to staying at home, spending quality time with you.
- During weekdays try to have one meal together as a family where you discuss your day and how it ended.
- Make your child feel your presence by participating in his or her soccer games nights or girl’s night out.
- Ensure your child feels confident in confiding in you and sharing the emotions instead of fearing your anger.
- Replace tracking with a one on one conversation with the child
- Teach them safety skills and make them independent enough to look after themselves.
- Call instead of checking pins on the map.
Conclusion:
As a parent, the paranoia of ensuring that the child is 100% safe is real. In a world that is as fast-paced as ours, incidences of cyberbullying and online fraud can send a chill down the spine for a parent. But there is no purpose in being paranoid and restricting the child.
Lookout is sure to give them freedom but ensure that you know their whereabouts. Software that tracks their phone’s location in real-time solves many problems. So, pick the right software to track your child’s phone location in order to work at peace at home or office.