Chances are over the festive season; your children spent more time on their mobile devices and now with back to school around the corner, that time will need to be reviewed and limited. The good news is that there are a number of Android apps you can use to better control your child’s screen time experience and lay down the digital law.
One of the best, according to Ernst Wittmann, Global Account Director MEA & Country Manager – Southern Africa, at Alcatel, is Google’s Family Link app, which enables parents to guide children as they use their smartphones to explore the digital world. The Family Link app enables parents to set up a Google Account for children, then view their online activity and even control their screen time.
For example, you can easily see if your child is spending five hours a day playing games when she claims to be reading or doing Mathletics. You can guide your child to making better choices and spending his time on the mobile device engaging with more educational and higher quality content.
If you’re concerned that your child will become a Minecraft addict, the app also enables you to manage to approve or block apps your child wants to download from the Google Play Store. You can also manage in-app purchases, and hide specific apps on their device.
Family Link allows you to set time limits and a bedtime for supervised devices, so that you can be sure junior isn’t watching YouTube videos under the bed covers when it’s time to sleep. You can also lock the phone remotely when you want your child to take a break and enjoy the sunshine.
Family Link also helps you to locate your children as long as they’re carrying their Android devices. Another handy feature is the ability to block mature websites.
