Parental Control

When browsing the Internet, children and teenagers are exposed to illegal and inappropriate content for their age range. Just as you guide them in their day-to-day relationships, they also need to be aware of the risks and dangers of digital life, of everyday relationships on the Internet. 

Depending on their age and level of maturity, they will not know how to discern what is good or bad within the digital content they want to consume. Keeping an open dialogue between you is very important.

However, parents and guardians are not alone in this task. Some tools can be used to better protect these children and teens: Parental Control is one of them! With it, you can limit access to certain content, restrict the use of applications, determine the screen time, and much more.

Parental Control is a set of security features available on various operating systems, websites, and appliances, such as routers and game consoles. It can also be installed via paid or free apps on smartphones. 

On iOS, go to Settings > Screen Time, and select if the device that will be used is yours or your child’s/teenager’s device. Follow the instructions until you receive a “Parent Passcode”. Enable the “Content and Privacy” option and, if necessary, enter the passcode. Now, with the option enabled, you can set other restrictions, such as unadvised applications, screen time, mobile application purchases, etc. Be sure to check the manufacturer’s website to learn more about this feature.

On Android systems, parental control is enabled via Google Play, the application manager for that system. With this option enabled, you can choose the appropriate content rating for your children, which is applicable to apps, movies, and books purchased from Google Play. Also be sure to check the manufacturer’s website to learn more about this feature.

Finally, you can install third-party applications to manage devices. An app specializing in parental control allows you to centralize all activities in one place. The initial configuration can take time but centralizing everything can be more practical than the default system options. The options provided include not only app control, but also the possibility to apply control settings to multiple devices; track the screen time of these devices; access outgoing and incoming calls to block unwanted contacts; verify device location and tracking; apply filters in search engines; control social networks, and more. 



Talk to the children/teens in your life and explain why this is so important. Enable Parental Control!



Learn more at:

https://internetsegura.br/pdf/guia-internet-segura-pais.pdf  (portuguese only)

https://internetsegura.br/pdf/internet_com_responsa.pdf 
  (portuguese only)

https://cursoseventos.nic.br/curso/curso-online-filhos-conectados/  (portuguese only)

Accessibility

In the first scene, father and son are in a room. The father grabs his cell phone, and the boy starts nudging him. Next to the boy, a speech bubble shows a begging emoticon, and next to the father a speech bubble shows a doubt emoticon. Above, the phrase “Do your kids want to use a cell phone?” is shown.

In the second scene, a globe with icons representing the Internet rotates in the background. In front, there are five images of the same boy side by side at different ages, from baby to adult. The phrase “Depends on their age” appears, and the image of the newborn and the adult disappears. 


In the third scene, father and son are shown, side by side again. The boy impatiently waits for his father to enable parental control, and above, the phrase “It is best to enable parental control” appears. Then the boy points to the setting options. 


In the fourth scene, we read the phrase “Pay attention to your child’s safety!”, the boy, now alone, uses his cell phone. Little devils pop out of the screen, and the child seems scared. Icons with inappropriate content and suspicious actions approach him. This is when a barrier with a timer comes up, representing parental control and protecting the boy from these threats.