FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Common questions answered
Screen Time
HOW MUCH SCREEN TIME SHOULD MY CHILD HAVE?
It depends on their age and whether it’s fun or functional screen time
IS SCREEN TIME BAD FOR MY CHILD?
WHAT ARE GOOD SCREEN TIME CHOICES?
Pornography & Violence
WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON CHILDREN FROM WATCHING ONLINE PORN?
ScreenTime (iOs) and Family Link (Android) are a good start, but installing parental control filters on devices and WiFi are best.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY CHILD HAS WATCHED PORN?
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY CHILD SEES PORN AT A FRIENDS HOUSE?
Gaming
WHAT GAME SETTINGS SHOULD I CHANGE?
It depends on their age and whether it’s fun or functional screen time
IS MY CHILD ADDICTED TO GAMING?
It depends on their age and whether it’s fun or functional screen time
MY CHILD WANTS TO BE A GAMER DO I ENCOURAGE THIS?
It depends on their age and whether it’s fun or functional screen time
Social Media
WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA SITES ARE THE BEST CHOICES?
ScreenTime (iOs) and Family Link (Android) are a good start, but installing parental control filters on devices and WiFi are best.
WHAT APP SETTINGS SHOULD I CHANGE?
ScreenTime (iOs) and Family Link (Android) are a good start, but installing parental control filters on devices and WiFi are best.
IS MY CHILD ADDICTED TO SOCIAL MEDIA?
ScreenTime (iOs) and Family Link (Android) are a good start, but installing parental control filters on devices and WiFi are best.
Filters & Limits
AT WHAT AGE SHOULD I GET MY CHILD A PHONE?
It depends on their age and whether it’s fun or functional screen time
HOW DO I MANAGE / LIMIT SCREEN TIME?
It depends on their age and whether it’s fun or functional screen time
HOW DO I SET PARENTAL FILTERS?
It depends on their age and whether it’s fun or functional screen time
Settings
WHY ARE DEVICE SETTINGS IMPORTANT?
ScreenTime (iOs) and Family Link (Android) are a good start, but installing parental control filters on devices and WiFi are best.
WHAT DEVICE SETTINGS SHOULD I CHANGE?
ScreenTime (iOs) and Family Link (Android) are a good start, but installing parental control filters on devices and WiFi are best.
I AM NOT TECHNICAL AT ALL, WHATS THE EASIEST PLACE TO START?
ScreenTime (iOs) and Family Link (Android) are a good start, but installing parental control filters on devices and WiFi are best.
Cyberbullying
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY CHILD IS BEING BULLIED ONLINE?
It depends on their age and whether it’s fun or functional screen time
WHAT'S DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN UPSTANDER AND BYSTANDER?
MY CHILD IS BEING BULLIED BUT WONT TELL ME ABOUT IT
Getting your child to open up to you requires consistently asking them about what is going for them, do it daily, and don’t be specific about the bullying, when they feel more comfortable, they will open up. Also, institute a new rule that all phones are out of bedrooms at night, as this is when most cyberbullying occurs.
Stranger Danger
IS IT OK FOR MY CHILD TO CHAT TO STRANGERS ONLINE?
If you wouldn’t open your front door to strangers and let them play in your child’s room, monitor who they are talking to online.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY CHILD IS BEING GROOMED ONLINE?
Take screenshots of messages, save images or videos and report it immediately to the child protection authority in your jurisdiction!
MY CHILD PLAYS WITH STRANGERS ONLINE, IS THAT OK?
Unless you have made sure that your child can only talk with certain users who you have approved are their friends, or you have set up a private chat channel, you have to assume they are open to being contacted by unsupervised adults, which is a risk that is not worth taking.
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5 STAR REVIEWS
What our customer say about us
CONSENT: An important conversation we need to be having with all of our teens, especially as consent is often presumed in their hypersexualized online world.
Planned Parenthood in the US uses a concept called “Consent FRIES” to help explain informed consent as:
🍟Freely Given – consenting is a choice you make without pressure, manipulation, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
🍟Reversible – anyone can change their mind about what they feel like doing, anytime. Even if you’ve done it before, and even if you’re already both naked in bed.
🍟Informed – You can only consent to something if you have the full story. For example, if someone says they’ll use a condom and then they don’t, there isn’t full consent.
🍟Enthusiastic – when it comes to sex, you should only do stuff you want to do, not things that you feel you’re expected to do.
🍟Specific – Saying yes to one thing (like going to the bedroom at a party to make out) doesn’t mean you’ve said yes to others (like having sex).
Our teens need to remember that “NO” is a complete sentence. It has a full stop and there is no room for negotiation. They should feel empowered to leave any situation that they don’t feel comfortable with, and if they can’t remove themselves, teach them to let the other person know that if they continue with what they are doing it is “rape” – a term that can often bring the reality of a situation to the offender's attention and stop further escalation.
Credit: The White Hatter
#beintouch #bethesafetynet #bethere #fantasyvsreality
PODCASTS, is your tween or teen keen on them?
Whilst helping to guide the mum of a 14-year-old girl who was accessing sexually explicit content on Spotify podcasts, and at the same time hearing of a 13-year boy who developed a serious addiction after listening to podcasts about different substances that can be used to get high - we reached out to our friend Chris @protectyoungeyes , because he loves unravelling tech puzzles.
The bad news is that the filters and controls on Spotify and other music / podcast apps are unfortunately basic, and highly dependant on content being marked as “E” or Explicit.
The good news is that @barktechnologies can monitor your child’s recently played songs and podcasts and analyse the words for potential issues. Not a filter but an alert - so you can TALK to them.
Been meaning to give that free 7 day trial of Bark a go? Click the link in the bio and prepare to have your parenting taken to a new level
#beintouch #beintheknow #beprepared #bethesafetynet
Grab your t(w)een's attention away from the phone, tablet, TV, gaming console for a minute and ask them:
🤷♀️What does your wheel of like look like?
🤷Where can other life stuff fit around screen time?
Then ask yourself 😉
👉Fact: fast cars can't race on flat wheels!
#besavvy #beincontrol #beware #beintouch
#beafireman #betheparent #bethere #beintouch
We like to think of parental controls as more like LENSES - filtering digital content but also giving parents insights into their children's online lives and alerting them to the challenges, dilemmas and risks they need to help their kids get through.
An absolutely essential part of the modern parent's toolkit! 😎
👉Check out the options we've tried and tested in our own families, and can highly recommend!
Link in bio
#parentalcontrols #modernparenting #onlineparenting #beconnected #beaware #bothere #beintouch
Watch out, it's wild out there! 😆
#unplug #lookup #bepresent #beintouch
From the work we do with Grade 4 to 11 learners, 40% say they have been cyber bullied by Grade 9. Our kids need someone to talk to about what's going on online, but it's not always easy to do that! Bark's alerts give parents insights into when they need to start a chat.
Get your 7 day free trial and 10% off for life right here – link in bio.
#beintouch #beconnected
If we had to choose just one to start - it would be this one! 😚
#beintouch #betheparent #beasafetynet #childprotectionweek
To nude or not to nude? 🤔
The t(w)eens we work with tell us that around 24% have already been asked for nudes by Grade 7, jumping up to around 37% by Grade 9.
It's a chat we absolutely need to have with our kids, starting early:
👀Where do nudes go?
👀Do they ever disappear?
👀How, when and where could they come back to haunt you?
👀Why would you want to / not want to send one?
👀How can/will you respond when you get the request?
#beready #beintouch
Prince Harry @sussexroyal joined the launch of the Child Online Safety Toolkit by the @5rightsfoundation and @gptoendviolence on 16 May, to chat about his fears for his own kids and how we can make the online world safer & kinder for children.
Speaking for parents around the world he said, “The way we experience technology like social media isn't working and needs to be fixed... It's easy to say the business model of the internet and social media is broken, but it's not. The internet business model is doing exactly what it's meant to do. Pull us in, keep us scrolling, get us angry, anxious or make us numb to the world around us. That's bad enough for adults when it's meant for adults, but even worse it's meant to do the same to our kids."
#bethesafetynet #betheparent #bethere #beintouch
Worried about your kid having secret social media accounts on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat? 👀
Bark can help by alerting you when they sign up for a new account! You'll also get conversation tips, to help keep you connected with your kids on this digital learning curve!
Awesome, right? Tap the link in our bio to get a FREE 7-day trial and 10% off for life 🙌
🧐Downloaded the NewProfilePic app to create your avatar?
Cyber security experts are warning against using this Russian app due to the data it acquires. By agreeing to download the app, users are willing to share their location, details about the device they are using as well as other photographs on their social media feeds.
#beintheknow #betechsavvy #beintouch
WHAT a deal for a few lucky families 😁
@gryphonsocial is offering an amazing R400 discount to Be in Touch parents - only 59 routers available so grab yours quick today!
Use the code bit400 on the link in our bio to get your discount.
The Gryphon router and app can manage internet access across ALL devices (smart TV's, gaming consoles, tablets and phones), allowing parents to -
• Set bedtimes and homework times
• Limit social media and online games
• Set content filtering with crowd ranking
• View browsing history
• Enforce safe search on YouTube
• Block / unblock websites
• Suspend internet access.
#saferandsanerkids #beassured #becalm #beintouch
Whilst the teachers all breathed a sigh of relief!🤣
Credit: @jerrykcartoons
#modernteaching #modernparenting #beintouch
We're all learning as we go!
#betheparent #bethere #beintouch
We were honoured to be asked to attend the stakeholder meeting organised by the Children’s Rights Unit at the Centre for Human Rights in collaboration with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, Nairobi, Kenya office.
A great conversation was sparked around the online trends, challenges and dilemmas that we've been gathering and identifying in our work with grade 4 to 11 learners.
These align strongly with the report on Children’s Right to Privacy in the Digital Sphere in the African Region, launched at the event, which highlights these key needs:
- Defined regulations that ensure the protection of children in the context of social media use.
- Addressing violations of children’s rights within the digital space, such as cyber bullying, online sexual abuse and exploitation, and recruitment into harmful groups.
- Protection of children’s privacy, including protection of children’s data, created content, as well as providing tools and guidance to parents, caregivers and other duty bearers on appropriate supervision of children’s use of social media.
#SaveTheChildren #bethesafetynet #bethechange
Cool dads are in touch with their kids - online and offline!
#onlineparenting #onlineoffline #beintouch
Online parenting is a hugely important part of being a modern parent, and here at Be in Touch we’re all about finding practical ways to make this simpler, clearer and easier for both parents and kids. We reckon that parental controls are an essential part of today’s parenting toolkit.
Smart devices need smart solutions, and the Gryphon router is one of our tried, tested and highly recommended parental control options. By joining this webinar with @gryphonsocial you’ll get great insights into what Gryphon can do to help you protect your family as they go online.
Register free, link in bio or beintouch.org za/webinars
The Gryphon router can manage internet access across ALL devices, smart TV's, gaming consoles, tablets and phones within the Gryphon Connect App, allowing you to -
• Set bedtimes and homework times
• Limit social media and online games
• Content filtering with crowd ranking
• View browsing history
• Enforce safe search on YouTube
• Block / unblock websites anywhere
• Suspend internet access.