Anyone Have Parental Control Set Up?

[dainis]

Hey, it’s time for my 9.5 year old daughter to get a phone. I have not purchased a FairPhone yet, and a FairPhone is too big and too expensive for a child that age to carry around. A lot of kids walk around with 3 year old phablet type phones, which is ridiculous and the kids don’t like them anyway (except for gaming, which my daughter most likely won’t be allowed to do).

Now, if this app is not available, I may “have” to make one, and I did find some kind of parental control app/tool that had a low monthly fee – so i have hopes that someone may have “gone all the way” with parental control – but the deal is that the “controller” phone needs to have absolute and total control over the “controlled” phone.

I need to be able to open an app on my phone and click “my daughter’s phone will turn off in 15 minutes.” I need running screenshots – so a kind of low res low per second frame rate kind of video recording. I’ve been to a few seminars, and kids are not doing well with these devices. They wind up in dangerous situation, and saying the kids should be able to handle it and we should be able to trust them is like saying kids should be able to go into a porn shop and be able to navigate their way without problems. It’s just not true.

So, I’m likely going to buy a smaller phone for my daughter. Possibly something a bit wider and stouter (so shorter), than my Samsung SIII mini. So: hand held for a child. She really does not want a “big” phone and is afraid she might lose or break a bigger phone. Also: the bigger and more expensive the more likely to be stolen.

What are your thoughts?

[BeMiGro]

Getting a new phone smaller than 5" with specs that (probably) allow about 3 yrars usage isn’t easy nowadays. I bought a SGS 5 (4.5") for my kids.
I don’t have any experience wit parental control apps. But from my pov a 9.5 year old child is too young for a smartphone anyway. My kids got their first Smartphones at the age of 12, before they just had (old / existing) dumbphones to be able to call or text in case of need.
Right now I’m doing parental control the analogous way: my kids have to ask before installing anything and I reserve the right to check the phone and discuss their usage / behaviour when needed.

[jhohn]

I tried some of the Parental Control Apps and none fullfilled my or my daughters (11yo) expectations.
In the end we bought her a simple mobile phone (no smartphone) so she can phone and send SMSs and she is happy with that because there is “no need” to have a look on the phone each time a message pops up…
If she needs internet access she can use one of the computers at home.

So, if you get a phone for your kids, make sure they can handle it. As you write yourself, a 9.5yo is not able to handle a smartphone all by her-/him-self, so just don’t get one for her/him.

just my 2ct.