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Typical modern teenagers are constantly preoccupied with their mobile phones. Parents often complain about not knowing what these gadgets are being used so extensively for. If you are new to parenting a teenager, be assured that you’ll come across several other parents who’ll tell you that it isn’t going to be easy.
Nowadays, teens prefer being treated like adults at an earlier age. They don’t appreciate it when parents invade their privacy and wish to be left to their devices. Today’s teens have access to the Internet and want to explore the virtual world with their smartphones, laptops and other gadgets.
While parents encourage their kids to explore their interests and make their own mistakes, they are equally skeptical to let them leave the house unsupervised. Even if it’s just for an overnight stay at a friend’s house, parents want to be informed at all times.
When it comes to cyberspace, parents have concerns about their teens facing bullies, predators, and numerous types of cybercrimes in the form of threats from strangers. Whether you want to teach your teen about spending judiciously or track his/her health, you may be boggled by the amount of multitasking that you might have to do.
If you are worried because of similar parenting concerns, don’t fret! There’s a high possibility that an app will suit your comfort level in monitoring your child’s digital activities. The task of raising teens is a challenge that grows in complexity every day.
Here is a list of apps parents should download and use to ease some of their hassles:
- Cellcontrol
Cellcontrol is one app that is completely parent-friendly. It prevents teens from texting when driving. Users can receive alerts and scores that let them know how safely their teens are driving. This is an award-winning service that is recognized by the National Traffic Safety Institute. You can expect authentic results, and your kids cannot tamper with it!
You can monitor your teens’ driving habits and warn them of distracted driving incidents. The other key features of this app include, location and parental controls, vehicle motion activation, and tampering-resistance. You can even use this service for multiple cars. This app is compatible with iOS, Android, Windows mobile, and select BREW phones.
Pricing: 1 car: USD 129, 2 cars: USD 219, 3 cars: USD 309
- Curbi
Parents are often worried about their kids being exposed to illicit content. Curbi is a monitoring app that enables parents to manage their teen’s Web activity. If you are worried about the kind of information your kid may be accessing online, you can download this app and block websites that are inappropriate, set ground rules, and time limits.
Setting time limits on Curbi can help you ensure your teens spend adequate time studying or sleeping, rather than on their smartphones. Further, you can block specific apps, call time-out for studying, and deter access to adult sites and other inappropriate websites. You can track all the websites visited by your teen.
Pricing: Free (up to 2 devices), Premium: USD 3.99/month, Internet Filter (iOS only): additional USD 2.99 per month, per iOS device
- Practo
Kids can contract diseases from their play environment or due to unhealthy habits. As a parent, you may not be able to check what your teen is doing at all times, but when they fall sick, you need to arrange immediate medical care for your child. Practo is one app that lets you book appointments by choosing the doctor’s specialization, location, recommendations, and time. Once you’ve booked an appointment, the app will set a reminder for the appointment and even offer road directions to the healthcare center.
Further, Practo Ray Pediatrician EMR helps parents document their child’s growth pattern, including length/height-for-age, weight-for-age, and body mass index-for-age. These digital records are stored on your child’s Practo account and can be accessed, updated and shared with other doctors as and when required.
Pricing: Free of charge
- Care.com
Care.com is an assistance app that lets users hire babysitters, nannies, dog walkers, and even caretakers for disabled or elderly family members. When you need to leave your teen alone at home, you can make use of this app to get notified of caretakers who fit your requirements.
All you need to do is get in touch with them, set up an interview, finalize the right person for the job, and pay them through the easy payment system. The app offers a large database of caretaker profiles and job postings, you can choose a nanny or a sitter for your teen and depending on your requirements.
Pricing: Free of charge
Conclusion
If you’re a parent to a young teen and are concerned about his/her safety, try to embrace technological assistance to monitor and guide your child. With the help of monitoring and assistance apps, you can enjoy a healthy relationship with your teen without probing into his/her life to an uncomfortable level.
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Author:
Korie Cantor has been working as a freelance writer for a long time. She loves sharing her opinions on parenting, lifestyle and frugal living. You can follow her at Google+
