Like it or not your kids have probably already been sucked into the rabbit hole known as social media. From Instagram to Snapchat to Tik Tok and more, there are several platforms for children to explore — more than most parents even know about.
In fact, even though children under 13-years-old aren’t legally allowed to use most social media sites, there’s evidence that kids as young as 10-years-old are using fake birthdays and email addresses to create accounts. For parents, who obviously can’t be attached to their children’s hips 24/7, revelations like this can be startling and downright scary. Thankfully, we’ve found a gadget that can help parents regain some control and monitor their kid’s internet usage no matter where they are.
Circle ($129) is a parental control device and app that allows the user to monitor their family’s online time, site visits, app usage, and current location across every device. Parents can do things like choose or block appropriate content by age, limit the amount of time kids spend on individual sites and stop internet usage altogether when it’s time for homework, dance practice or bedtime.
Circle even recognizes when a guest joins your Wi-Fi network and gives you the option to manage their device as well, which can be useful during parties and sleepovers. And just so your children don’t think you’re a totally downer when it comes to their ‘do it for the gram party, you can reward them for staying withing your boundaries by extending their usage or bedtime.
Circle’s starting price of $129 is a small price to pay to keep your kids safe from negative images and online predators. And who knows, maybe Circle can help you set some limits on your own social media usage, because sometimes parents need monitoring too!
