How to Monitor Your Child's Cellphone Activity for Her Safety
With younger and younger children getting their own cellphones, it becomes increasingly important for parents to ensure their safety. A downloadable service called My Mobile Watchdog offers a variety of features for a monthly fee that can help guarantee your child's cellphone use is as safe as possible.
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Instructions
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Understanding what My Mobile Watchdog is. This service monitors all activity and will alert you if your child receives unapproved email, text messages or phone calls. It is designed to be easy to use, even for those who are not experienced with a computer. You are given an account on the website that is easy to set up and manage. You can monitor all activity from anywhere you can get online.
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Download the program onto your child's cellphone (see Resources). You get a 30-day free trial, after which the cost is $9.95 per month for one child and $4.95 for each additional child.
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Go to the Parental Control Page. This is where you establish parental alerts so that you can be notified if something is going on that you need to be concerned about. You choose how you want to be alerted, by text message or email at your office or home. As your child gets older, you have the option to turn your alert notifications off but still can monitor calls. RADAR monitoring makes you aware of all sent and received text messages, and also lets you see the phone numbers of calls made to and from the phone. You even have the option of recording conversations to the website so that you can review them.
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Work with your child on the Contact List. This allows you to decide whom she can and cannot have contact with. Involving your children helps them understand the purpose of My Mobile Watchdog. This feature is saved and monitored by the website. You are the only one who can add or make changes.
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Set up the Mobile Watchdog Alerts. This lets you know when unidentified people try to call, email or text message your child. Suspicious activities are logged on the site.
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Tips & Warnings
This is more for younger children rather than teenagers. Younger children do not understand the dangers that can come along and can be easily persuaded.
Phones are a greater threat to a child's safety than a computer.
Even though children under the age of 18 do not have rights of their own you should use some of the options wisely. Do not use this as a way to spy on your children.
Resources
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