4 ways parental control software can help parents and kids with back to school

It’s that time of year again. Back to school has always meant shopping for new school supplies and getting kids ready to start another year of their academic career. With most kids returning to school with a cell phone in hand, parents have a host of new concerns to address before that first bell rings.

### Parental Control Software = Your Time Management Tool

According to a survey of public high school teachers, students in grades 9-12 are responsible for completing three and a half hours of homework each night. Thus, academic success or failure is determined largely by whether or not they hit the books each evening. Parents can help by restricting Internet and app usage for a few hours after school each day, thus eliminating distractions during study time.

For Qustodio users, blocking Internet access and app usage during homework time is simple and can be done in a matter of minutes.

#### How to Limit Internet Use during Homework Time:

To limit Internet use during homework time, follow these simple steps:

1. Log in to the Qustodio Family Portal (you’ll see the login link in the top right corner of this screen).
2. Select the child whose settings you would like to change.
3. Click on the “Rules” tab.
4. Select the “Time usage limits” tab.
5. Slide to “Yes” to enable usage schedule.
6. Click on the blocks of time when your child will be studying to turn them red. Red blocks indicate screen-free time.

#### How to Restrict App Usage During Homework Time

To restrict app usage during homework time, follow these instructions:

1. Log in to the family dashboard.
2. Select the child whose settings you would like to change.
3. Click on the “Rules” tab.
4. Select the “application rules” tab.
5. Slide to “Yes to enable application controls.
6. Click on the clock icon beside each application to set daily time limits.

Note: App blocking and app scheduling are features currently available only to Qustodio Premium users.

### Keeping Bullies at Bay with Social Media and App Monitoring

Back to school is a time for meeting new friends and socializing, but we all know that kids can be cruel sometimes. Since today’s teens are always connected, bullies can follow them anywhere. Sadly, the majority of cyberbullying victims never tell their parents about the abuse. Social media and app monitoring tools give parents a way to monitor peer-to-peer communication and intervene when necessary.

For monitoring popular private messaging apps such as Snapchat and WhatsApp Qustodio can tell how much time your child is spending on these apps and give you the option to block them or schedule their use. As a parent you can monitor their use, and ask your child who he/she is spending their time talking to. If you see your child’s mood change after using these apps, or if usage skyrockets, it may be a warning sign that it’s time to have a talk.

#### How to Monitor Social Media Activity during the School Year using Qustodio

If your child is using a desktop device with Qustodio installed, Qustodio can automatically pick up on chat conversations on Facebook and Twitter that your child may be having. However, since kids often connect to Facebook from multiple devices, including mobile phones, Qustodio Premium has some extras that can give parents full visibility on Facebook from any device. Qustodio Premium also monitors text messaging and calls activity on Android devices, and reports it all back to you.

#### Here are a few first steps:

##### Make sure Qustodio is installed on your child’s Android:

If your child is using an Android device, take a moment to visit Qustodio.com’s download page here: https://www.qustodio.com/family/downloads and be sure to download and install Qustodio for Android on their device.

##### Enable Advanced Facebook Monitoring

Our Advanced Facebook Monitoring feature will allow you to view your child’s Facebook activity independently of the device they’re using to access Facebook. To enable it: Login to your family portal, select the name of the child you wish to monitor, then navigate to “Rules” > “Social Monitoring”. Here, premium users will have have an option to turn on “Advanced Facebook Monitoring”

The next time your child connects to Facebook on a device protected by Qustodio, she will be asked to accept the Qustodio monitoring application in order to use Facebook.

After that monitoring is easy. In the “Social Activity” tab you’ll get a view of the social activity for each child.

##### How to Block Dangerous Apps

Qustodio makes it easy to block potentially dangerous apps on your child’s device. Follow these simple steps:

1. Log in to the family dashboard.
2. Select the child whose settings you would like to change.
3. Click on the “Rules” tab.
4. Select the “application rules” tab. Be sure that application controls are enabled.
5. Slide to “No” to block dangerous apps.

You can also view your child’s app usage in real time by clicking on the Activity Timeline.

### Parental Peace of Mind Thanks to GeoTracking

It’s critical that kids balance academics with extracurricular and social activities, but sometimes the logistics of getting kids from one place to another is challenging for parents. Whether or not to allow their teen to ride home with another student or be picked up by a friend’s mom are decisions parents of older kids make on a daily basis.

When installed on kids’ Android phones, Qustodio’s location tracking software can reassure parents that their teen did indeed make it safely to the football game or band competition, for example.

#### How to View Your Teens’ Device Location after School

Follow these simple instructions to view your child’s Android device location while he’s involved in after school activities:

1. Log in to the Family Portal (click the login link in the upper right corner of the screen).
2. Select the child whose device location you would like to view.
3. Click on the “Rules” tab.
4. Select the “location” tab.
5. Check to ensure that location monitoring is enabled.
6. Scroll down to see your child’s current device location.
7. Note that you can change how often Qustodio checks the device for a new location.

### Text Message Monitoring Ensures Kids Are Paying Attention in Class

Most parents agree that kids should have access to their Smartphones at school. There is a downside to the reality of a Smartphone in every backpack, though. Although most schools have rules against texting in class, this rule is often broken, and many times, teachers are unaware of the problem.

Parental control software with text monitoring capabilities helps parents ensure that their kids aren’t swapping texts during their history lecture or passing answers back and forth during their Algebra test.

#### How to Monitor Text Messages While Your Child Is At School:

To monitor text messaging activity on your child’s Android device during the school day, follow these instructions. If you haven’t yet installed Qustodio on your child’s Android device, take a moment to do so now by visiting: https://www.qustodio.com/downloads

1. Log in to the Qustodio Family Portal (you’ll see the login link in the top right corner of this screen).
2. Select the child whose texting activity you would like to view.
3. Click on the “Rules” tab.
4. Select the “Calls and SMS” tab.
5. Ensure that calls and SMS text message monitoring is enabled.
6. View the activity timeline of the device to see texts sent during school hours.

Note that once text monitoring is enabled, you can view your child’s texting activity at any time by viewing the Activity Timeline or Social Activity from the Family Protection Portal.

The back to school season is an exciting time of year. Get a head start on monitoring your child’s Internet, social media, and app usage to ensure it’s a safe and productive one as well.

### Have questions about setting up or using Qustodio?

Contact our support center here: https://www.qustodio.com/help and we’ll get you up and running right away.

#### References

About 3.5 hours of homework a day for high schoolers? That’s too much. http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/01/news/la-ol-too-much-homework-20140228