This post is sponsored by Aura
If a new phone is at the top of your child’s wish list this year, you’re not alone. More new smartphones are activated on Christmas Day than any other day of the year! If your child will be unwrapping a new phone this holiday season, include guardrails, like Aura Parental Controls, to keep them safe and healthy.
As a parent, teacher, and someone who has been evaluating online safety tools for years, I love Aura Parental Controls. Their simple, easy-to-use, and intelligent safety features help your child explore safely by blocking harmful apps and sites from their phone and setting limits for time online. Aura Parental Control protection also extends to Child Safety features to help busy parents monitor content easily, block dangerous sites, and prevent cyberbullying.
Whether your child is getting their first phone or a phone upgrade as a gift this holiday season, now is the perfect time to add Aura Parental Controls to your online safety toolkit and spend a few minutes having a conversation about these 6 digital safety topics.
Talk to about the responsibility of phone ownership
A phone is a tool that comes with responsibilities, limits and boundaries. Alongside the ability for kids to freely text their friends, browse the web, and play mobile games comes the responsibility to make good choices online, even when they aren’t supervised.
Talking about these things with your kids is important but also be sure to work with them to create family rules and model expected behavior. If you have tweens or teens, now is a perfect time to remind them of their responsibility to make good choices.
Establish clear boundaries
For most families, it’s easier to establish healthy tech boundaries as soon as kids get their first phone than to try to introduce them later after problems arise. For example, parents of new phone owners will find it easier to make clear rules about no phones in the bedroom or at the dinner table. If your tween or teen have had their phone for a while and you still don’t feel like you have the right boundaries in place, winter break is a great time to revisit this conversation and adjust as needed.
Also be sure to include your child in the discussion, regardless of their age. This ensures you get their buy in because boundaries won’t work unless they agree to them too. Plus, a phone is a responsibility and it’s important that they see it as one.
Reevaluate your own tech habits
Parents need to model healthy tech habits for their kids. That means being honest with yourself and reassessing the times and places you use your own smartphones since kids learn from their parents and will follow your example.
If your tween or teen hasn’t abided by the household rules you’ve set up for device use and push back when you try to set limits, it’s quite possible they see you not abiding by the rules you’ve set up for them. Aura has a Family Device Agreement that is a helpful tool when setting new rules for both kids and parents!
Set up parental control software
Smartphones are incredibly powerful, and for teens, learning to use one safely is a lot like learning to drive a car. A teen’s first car can provide a life-changing sense of independence and autonomy. But, as we all know, cars can also be dangerous, even when they’re used correctly. No parent in their right mind would just give their car keys to their kid without first teaching them to drive.
Parents should approach new devices similarly. Trusting your kids with a new device can be a gradual process that doesn’t need to feel like an all-or-nothing decision. For example, before you give your teen their first device, check out how easy it is to use Aura to keep your kids safe on their new device. Aura Parental Controls allows you to filter explicit content and block apps. Plus, now is a great time to take advantage of Aura’s award-winning safety features being on sale through the holidays.
Know age-appropriate internet content is intermingled with harmful content
Because the average American kid is now exposed to inappropriate content that starts with a P before they turn thirteen, it’s important to start with more safeguards. As your teen first gets used to their new smartphone, gradually give them more independence as they begin to learn good habits and demonstrate responsible behavior. With this approach, your teen’s phone can grow with them over time.
Set the stage for more conversations.
For teens nowadays, getting their first smart device is a major milestone on the gradual journey toward becoming a responsible, well-adjusted adult. Don’t worry if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the prospect of your kid having free rein over their very own device – that’s totally normal!
Unlike with other aspects of parenting, there’s no tried and true established wisdom to guide parents on how to best handle their kid’s developing tech habits. Plus technology trends change so quickly that parents often feel they have no chance of keeping up. By the time parents finally learn how TikTok works, their kids have moved on.
Fortunately, you don’t have to do everything perfectly to make a positive difference. And remember that you’re not alone in this – many other parents with kids of similar age are asking the same questions, struggling with the same decisions, and having the same doubts.
If you’re gifting new devices this holiday season, try Aura! Start your 14-day free trial today and get an exclusive holiday season discount to start using Aura Parental Controls to block harmful apps and sites from their devices and set limits for time online.
Aura provided me with Aura Family for review purposes, but all opinions are my own. Images courtesy of Aura. Affiliate links are included in this post.
