The Parenting Center

Using Technology to Keep Track of Your Children

One of the biggest worries parents have is keeping their children safe. The best way to do this is to know where your children are at and what they are doing at all times. Technology has made this easier than ever. There are several ways that you can use technology to keep track of your children to ensure that they stay safe.

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The easiest way for you to keep track of your children is to give them cell phones so that they can call and check-in. You can also use text messages for updates. Cell phones are a great resource for children during emergencies and they are widely available. Most parents like having the security cell phones provide. Cell phones can be expensive, but they provide a great deal of convenience and peace of mind when it comes to your children’s safety.

You can also use a cell phone to track where your children are at. All you have to do is install a geo-positioning app on their phones and then link it to your phone. The app then uses GPS technology to alert you of the location of your children on a map. This is especially useful if you have older children who can drive because you can keep tabs on their whereabouts without making them feel like you are always pestering them with questions.

You should use technology to keep your children safe. Cell phones are one of the easiest ways that you can track your children. Plus, your children will want a cell phone anyway, so it will make everyone happy.

Filed Under: Parents Should Know... Tagged With: Child Development, Mobile phone, Technology

GPS Devices ? A Great Way To Keep Track Of Your Child In Public Places

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Giving a cell phone to your child is enough protection when you are taking your child out in a public place, right? The child can simply call you and identify your location in the event he or she gets separated from the family. Well, this is based on the presumption that your child will retain access to the cell phone.

Expecting your child to do something to find you after getting lost do not make sense. Rather, you should opt for that technology which helps you identify the exact location of your child even if he or she is not in a position to use the technological device.

Make use of the GPS facility in-built in your cell phone to identify the location of your child. Going in for an expensive GPS enabled cell phone for your child may seem like an unnecessary expense. However, you will be very thankful when you can identify where your child is by simply pressing a button on your cell phone.

As time goes by, one can only expect these technologies to become simpler, easier to use and less expensive. GPS enabled shoes will help the parents keep track of the child even if he or she does not carry a cell phone. Currently, the best option to keep track of your child in public places is to go in for GPS devices, either built-in phones or independent devices. Further, make sure you have a non technological backup in hand.

Despite these options, the old option of contacting law enforcement authorities is always a good idea. Tell your child to stick to the nearest police officer until called for.

Filed Under: Budget, Parenting, Parents Should Know... Tagged With: Global Positioning System, Mobile phone, Technology

Preparations Parents can Make for Keeping Track of Children in Crowds

Parents who have young children are in a constant state of ensuring their children are safe and accounted for, particularly while out in public. There are many situations in which a single parent is the guardian of multiple children while out in public, and this can pose a problem if environmental factors are chaotic and dense. Regrettably, situations such as this can result in children getting lost, or even abducted. Fortunately, there are some things parents can do to ensure this does not happen to them. Below are some simple to follow preparation methods parents can utilize prior to going out.

Dress Accordingly

Dress your children in bright and easily recognizable clothes if you plan on going out to a public place. This will ensure that they are easy to spot, and will not blend in. This same principle can be applied for night time outings by utilizing glow sticks that children can wear on their wrists for easy spotting.

Always Know Where Security and or Police are

Generally, in crowded places, there are some form of security and or law enforcement deployed for ensuring safety and order. Upon venturing to these places, take note of where these individuals are, should you need them in a moments notice. This will help speed up reaction time between noticing your child is missing and taking action.

Use a Stroller

For young children, employ the services of a stroller. Many people neglect the use of a stroller in crowded places due to the difficulty of maneuvering. However, it is much easier to keep track of younger children when you know they are strapped comfortably into a stroller.

Filed Under: Child Development, Parenting Tagged With: Baby transport, Child Development, Children Youth and Family

Cell Phones Help Parents Monitor Their Children

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In the fast paced and technologically driven society we live in today, it can be difficult to keep up with everything. This concept is particularly prevalent as it applies to parents who are working. Unfortunately, due to the demands of life, it can be exceedingly difficult to keep track of a child, whether while out together in a public place, or when they go out with friends. Fortunately, with the advances in innovative mobile devices, there are many options available that can assist parents in keeping track of their children.

Cell phones are by far one of the most widely used types of mobile devices; more people utilize cell phones now than ever before. Whether for text messaging, or one touch Internet access, cell phones are particularly attractive to teens and even younger children due to the vast array of tools that are available from one single device. While many parents are apprehensive in providing their children with cell phones, they can actually serve a very important benefit.

Most new cell phones being released utilize smart phone technology, providing specific operating platforms that allow for the downloading of applications and various customizable aspects through the phone settings. Due to these implementations, parents have a great deal of control over their child’s cell phones, including tracking capabilities. The tracking can remain private to the child if necessary, and provide a signal to the parent’s device indicating where the phone is at all times. This technology comes in handy if a child gets lost while out in a crowded public place, or if they go out with friends.

Filed Under: Parenting, Resources Tagged With: Child Development, Internet access, Mobile phone

Keeping An Eye On The Kids

Children are born innocent. They have no say into which situation they are born. Not all children get to live the charmed life. Parents try, but circumstances are not always in their control. Babies are born every day to poor parents, drug addicted parents, or they have other problems, such as birth defects and catastrophic illnesses. Any one of these situations can take its toll on a little soul.

The parents cannot always help the problem; sometimes they need help themselves. Children’s charities are there to grant that help. There are numerous charities doing amazing work for kids in need. The Make a Wish Foundation grants wishes to terminally ill children, granting them sometimes, their final wish. Through donations from companies and individuals, the Make a Wish Foundation has made the dreams come true of a child with a life-threatening illness every six minutes.

Kars for Kids takes donations of used cars and uses the profit made from the sale of the cars to do charitable works for children. They also run toy drives, and accept other donations to help children all over the country. Ronald McDonald House is a charitable organization affiliated with McDonald’s which has built housing all over the country near hospitals which treat children. Their families have a place to stay while their children are receiving life-saving treatments.

There are so many charities who need so much help. A donation to a children’s charity can mean the difference in a family having to struggle with a child’s illness and a family who gets to spend all their energy just being with their child. Consider being part of the solution.

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: Charitable organization, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities

Child Safety Personal Alarms

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A family outing can be fun. Losing your child in a crowd will quickly turn a fun family outing into a nightmare. There are gadgets available to keep track of your child when you are out and about. A personal safety alarm for a child is a cost effective method to keep track of your child when in an unfamiliar and crowded place.

Child locator personal alarms are a great way to locate your child if you have lost them in a crowd. Using a technology commonly referred to as “Mommy I’m here”. The devices use a transmitter and receiver. The transmitter is usually a small key-chain that the parent keeps, and the receiver is a device that can be clipped onto the child, either on their clothing or shoe. Many of these kinds of alarms come in the shapes of fun animals, or a teddy bear. If you notice that your child is missing, simply press the button on the transmitter key-chain and the receiver attached to your child will sound out with a high pitched alarm. This will not only alert you to where your child is at, but it will also alert the people around the child that the child is missing.

These types of child safety alarms are perfect if you are going to a place that could potentially get very crowded. The family might be planning a trip to Disneyland, or a bustling and crowded city like New York. Having a personal safety alarm attached to your child will ensure peace of mind when in an unfamiliar and crowded place.

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: Childcare, Disneyland, New York

Protecting Your Teen from Cyberbullying

As a parent it is your job to protect your teenagers, sometimes even from themselves! Bullying has always been a problem, but with new technology it is an even bigger problem. With the anonymity that the internet provides, teens are faced with even more vicious bullying than ever before. In fact, otherwise friendly, good kids can participate in cyberbullying. Having that screen between you and your victim seems to give people a sense of entitlement to say whatever they want with no thought to the feelings of the victim. Things are said online that an individual would never dream of saying to a person’s face.

Parents can watch for signs that their child is being bullied by being aware of a change in their child’s behavior. Does your teen appear stressed, sad, or depressed after spending time online or on the phone? Are your teen’s grades or behavior declining? Has your teen recently been withdrawing from participating in her normal activities or refusing to participate in school sports or activities that she would normally have participated in? These things could be signs that your child is being bullied and it may be time to do some investigating to get to the bottom of things.

To protect your teen from these things there are many software programs available now that can be loaded onto computers, cell phones, iPods, and other handheld devices. These programs monitor online activities and can alert parents when there is suspicion of cyberbullying. Being aware of the problem whether your child is the victim or the perpetrator can help give you the information you need to step in and get your child the help they need.

Filed Under: Child Development, Parenting Tagged With: bully, cyber-bully

Learning to Spot an Online Predator

Do you know how to spot an online predator? Does your child? There are several warning signs that you can watch out for when socializing online. The best protection is to stay out of public chat rooms and stick with socializing online only with people you have met in person. However, we all know that children do not always do what we tell them and of course they “don’t see the harm.” As a parent it is your job to give your child the information they need to understand the dangers and protect themselves if they are faced with a situation that could potentially be dangerous. Although your child may not always listen, arming them with the information is a good place to start.

So, how can you tell if you may potentially be dealing with an online predator or just a normal person? Knowing the basic warning signs to watch for can help you or your child remove yourself from a situation before it gets out of control.

Anyone who asks for age, gender, and/or full name should be blocked immediately. Is your new online friend overly friendly or tends to agree with you on everything? The goal of an online predator is to gain your trust, develop a friendship, and then move in for the kill. Does your new online friend want to meet you in person? Do not do it! This is a warning sign of an online predator. If your child is involved in an online “relationship” and your child is still quite young, you need to investigate this situation immediately. This is another warning sign that your child has been targeted by an online predator.

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: Child Development, Online predator

Dangers of Online Predators

It is inevitable that at some point you will have to allow your child to begin using the computer and accessing the internet. However, you can teach your child about the dangers of the internet and some warning signs of dangerous situations. You would never consider allowing your child to use a power tool or drive a car without proper instruction first. Using the internet should be no different. Just like there are dangers of operating power tools or driving a vehicle, there are dangers in using the internet. Giving your child the knowledge and tools to use it wisely and carefully is important.

You have taught your children young about “stranger danger” and “good touch – bad touch” scenarios to protect them against child molesters and pedophiles. But, have you considered needing to teach them about “stranger danger” that they can face in the cyberworld? This danger is as real as the other issues mentioned, in fact could be even more dangerous. Online predators can be very tricky. They prey on the emotions of young people and the false sense of security that the anonymity of the internet provides.

Many school systems across the United States are now offering programs to help young people identify a predator. These programs are teaching youth about the dangers, how to recognize a dangerous situation, what to do, and the consequences of participating. If your school district does not offer a program such as this, you may want to try to find a way to bring this program to your school in an effort to not only protect your own child, but to help give important information to other children as well.

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: Stranger danger, United States

Top Three Internet Filtering Software Programs

According to TopTenReviews, the top three internet filtering software programs include Net Nanny at number one, PureSight PC at number two, and CYBERSitter at the number three slot. All three of these programs offer protection for our children with parental controls and filtering abilities. All three have received high marks for features, ease of use, ease of installation, and filtering effectiveness.

The use of software programs like these allows a parent to have greater control over the content that their children are able to access. These programs block questionable or dangerous content and are set up in a way that allows parents to block specific websites, gaming sites, and even some of the social networks that they do not want their children accessing. Parents have the ability to allow as much or as little access as they feel is appropriate for the age of their child.

With these programs it is even possible to block what your child is able to upload. For example you can set the parental controls in a way that does not allow your child to enter personal information or upload pictures to the internet on any site.

As far as management abilities, there are remote features in all three of these programs. This allows parents to manage features when away from home. Alerts are sent to parents’ email addresses informing them of suspicious, dangerous, or inappropriate activities. All three of the top programs also offer the ability to run the program in “stealth mode” allowing parents to have these programs installed on the computer without anyone else having access to them or knowing that they are there.

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: Net Nanny, Parental Control