How Can I Monitor My Childs Text Messages Without Them Knowing?
Being a parent is tough, and it just keeps getting tougher with all of the dangers that are out there, especially online dangers. While it is important to let your kids grow up, which means giving them more responsibility and privacy, you still need to keep track of what they are doing, particularly when they are using the internet. So you might be asking, how can I monitor my child’s text messages without them knowing?
Simply set up tracking software, which will let you monitor what they are doing on their cellphones. Yes, it may seem like an invasion of privacy, but you would probably rather invade their privacy now than see them fall prey to any number of online predators. Let’s take a look at how this software works, and how you can use it for your own peace of mind.
Why You Need to Monitor Your Kids’ Online Activities
Today’s teens spend a minimum of nine to 10 hours a day on their smartphones, and younger kids are spending pretty close to the same amount of time online, texting, chatting, etc. While all of this may seem harmless to them, as a parent, you are likely very well aware of the dangers that they are facing on the internet, particularly from online predators pretending to be people they are not. If you are worried about what your kids are doing online, you need to find out. If they won’t tell you, then it is time to go undercover and do your own detective work.
Don’t worry about crossing that privacy line. These are your kids, and it is your job to protect them while they are growing up. It is better to invade their privacy than to have to identify them in the morgue. Did you know that at least 22 percent of teen girls have sent nude or semi-nude photos through text messages? Often, they think they are sending these photos to someone their own age, but there are a lot of sexual predators and sex traffickers out there who are looking at these photos and planning their next moves, and they could be preying on your kids.
If you have younger children who are using the internet, it is important to monitor them as well. You don’t want them to see things that they are too young to understand, including pornographic images, explicit language, and violent images. By using tracking software, you can see what they are looking at, and if they are looking at anything inappropriate, you can take steps to see that it doesn’t happen again, at least not while they are under your watch.
How to Monitor Your Kids’ Online Activities
Using tracking software will let you see what your kids are doing online, and they will never know you are doing it, so they won’t feel like their privacy is being invaded. You can get the information you need, and ensure that they are safe, and they won’t be yelling at you for going through their stuff. There are many different types of tracking software available, so you will need to do a bit of research to make sure you are getting the one you need. They all have different features, and some are made specifically for keeping an eye on your kids, such as TeenSafe.
If your kids have iPhones or iPads, it is time to set up tracking software. Depending on the software you choose, you may only need their Apple ID and password (which as a responsible parent you are likely already on top of). Once you download the software and get everything set up, it will be easy to monitor their online activities.
If your kids have Android devices, you will need to find tracking software that will work across most devices, including iPhone and Android. The process for setting up the software may be a bit different for the Android phones, but it is just as easy, and only takes a minute or so. Just follow the instructions, make a payment if you are not using free software, and you can start looking at their activities on the internet.
What to Watch For
Once you are ready to monitor your kids’ online activities, you need to know what to look out for. The first thing you need to do is to check and make sure that there are no posts, messages, photos, etc. that are sexually explicit. You need to make sure that they aren’t looking at anything that is inappropriate for their age.
Another thing that you need to watch out for is cyber bullying. This is something that is becoming more and more common, and sadly, kids are taking their own lives just to put an end to being bullied by their peers.
When it comes to texting, there are a lot of popular acronyms that you need to be on the lookout for. For instance, DOC means “drug of choice.” Other acronyms to watch for include:
- GNOC – Get naked on camera
- LMIRL – Let’s meet in real life
- WYCM – Will you call me
- KOTL – Kiss on the lips
- PRW – Parents are watching
- TDTM – Talk dirty to me
- 420 – A marijuana reference
- CICYHO – Can I copy your homework
- S2R – Send to receive (means they will send a photo if they get one in return)
Conclusion
Your job as a parent is to raise healthy, well-adjusted kids. Part of this is to make sure that they are safe, and that includes being safe while using the internet. Kids today have a lot of things coming at them that we never even thought of when we were kids, and it seems like there is a new challenge for them on a daily basis. You can help to keep them safe by keeping an eye on what they are doing. Don’t think of it as spying; think of it as doing your job as a parent, and keeping your kids safe from the many dangers on the internet.
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