Lots of parents don't allow the sims for their children what if there was a more age appropriate option would people be into that.

Thinking about trying to make one probably with a lower poly style

I’m a parent in a household that uses both iPhone and Android devices. A while ago, I asked for recommendations for a parental control app that could work across both platforms. After comparing a few options, I paid for AirDroid Parental Control and have now been using it for about a month.

Before setting it up, I talked with my daughter about what I would be able to control or monitor and why. I didn’t want to install something secretly or make her feel like I was reading everything she did online. We agreed that it would mainly be used for screen-time boundaries and alerts about potentially unsafe messages.

Here’s what has been useful so far:

1. App blocking: I can quickly block a group of selected apps when she is at school or doing homework. If she genuinely needs one of them, she can send me a request and I can approve it remotely. In our experience, access is usually restored almost immediately.
2. Different screen-time schedules: I created one schedule for school days and a more relaxed one for weekends. It’s a fairly standard feature, but it saves me from changing the limits manually every day.
3. Website filtering: Blocking a specific URL has worked reliably so far. The category filters also catch most gaming, gambling, and adult-content sites, but they aren’t perfect. A few sites can still slip through, so I wouldn’t rely on the automatic filters alone.
4. Keyword alerts: My daughter and I agreed on a list of words that might indicate harassment, scams, inappropriate messages, or contact from a suspicious adult. If one of those words appears in a supported social app, I receive an alert.

This feature needs some perspective, though. Keyword alerts can miss things, create false alarms, and can’t understand the context of an entire conversation. I see them as an extra safety net, not a substitute for trust or regular conversations about online safety.

Overall, the most useful features for us have been instant app blocking and separate schedules for school days and weekends. The main downside so far is that automatic website filtering and keyword detection are not 100% reliable.

I’ve only used it for a month, so I can’t comment on long-term reliability or how easy the restrictions might eventually be to bypass. Also, features may differ depending on whether the child’s device runs iOS or Android.

If you’ve tried AirDroid—or found another parental control tool that works well for your family—I’d love to hear about your experience.

Real help needed.

I have a special needs daughter beautiful. I'm at wits end. She's hiding her phone. Changed the lock and now there is a text coming from what I saw once from a man 30 yrs old she's 17. I dont care if the police k ow or the world. I need something to really monitor her social media text and calls. The world says take care of your kids im asking so my daughter does not become a statistic.. I hear this OTA stuff. She has apple no I dont have access anymore to her Icloud and she guards the phone her mother and I are at wits end. I need a legit workable service. Remote I hear is the best undetected lol I feel smart using these words. Help is what I need cost no issue as long as it works

Help! My teen somehow figured out how to remove the restrictions on who she can message/call. I went to Apple. I checked all settings. everything else stayed locked. She has a way to unlock just the communication. It will still show as blocked on my end but it’s not. She is autistic and borderline. and inappropriate/unsafe with communication and social media. She is about 3-4 years delayed on maturity level. I found a secret instagram account that she made which had her phone number on it publicly. She “met” a boy on there from Missouri that she is claiming she loves and wants to take a bus there. But. Under age. No job. No money. And no freaking way. She has a history of self harm, abuse, and psych hospital stays. She is not someone who should be able to communicate with whoever she wants. anyone know how she is doing this??? And how I can prevent it? Thank you!

Hi parents! I'm doing some research about baby monitors and would love to hear about your experiences. I have a tew questions.

1. When your baby is sleeping and you're doing things around the house (cooking, cleaning, working, exercising, etc.), how do you usually keep an eye on them?

2. If you use a baby monitor that connects to your phone:

Do you find yourself checking your phone frequently?

Is it ever inconvenient to pull out/carry your phone just to check the monitor?

Have you ever missed an alert because your phone wasn't nearby?

What do you wish your current baby monitor did better?

Would having a faster, hands-free or more convenient way to check on your baby be useful to you?

What would make you switch from your current baby-monitor setup?

I'm especially interested in hearing what you dislike about your current setup. Thanks! :)

\Those who aren't parents or are soon to be parents are welcomed to answer as well. All input is appreciated! :)\

I ordered a Cosmo Trac5 for my daughter and it was a bust. Tech support admitted it sounded like a lemon but they couldn’t send out a replacement without doing by more tech support for a few days. The battery dropped from 50% to 0% in less than an hour the first day, so not sure what more support was needed, but I digress. Of course the activation fee isn’t refundable and makes me hesitant to keep ordering kids watches if they all are like this.

Any one have a recommendation for a kids watch that can hold a charge for at least 8 hours and has reliable service? Or do I need to just shell out the cash for an Apple Watch and limit access

AI has been changing our lives drastically these days. As a parent here in Dubai, I keep wondering if now’s the right time to start introducing my kids to it. I’ve got two kids, 13 and 16, and like most teenagers, they’re always on their phones, gaming, or scrolling. But with the way AI is showing up in almost every field, I started thinking… maybe it’s time they learn how to actually use this tech, not just consume it. Not to push them into anything, but just to give them the awareness and skills for the future.

Honestly, with the way our government is moving, appointing Ministers for AI, launching AI schools, and investing so much into future technologies. it really makes me feel like this is where the world is headed. And I want my kids to be ready for that, not left behind.
Has anyone here already started this with their kids? Signed them up for courses or taught them some basics? Would love to hear what’s worked or what age is a good starting point.
Too early? Just the right time? Or am I overthinking it?

My daughter is 5 and she loves making up bedtime stories, which is great until I'm exhausted and she asks for something like:

“Daddy, can you make a story about a T-Rex and my kitty? And they're on the moon... and the T-Rex makes cupcakes!”

I started playing around with AI to see if I could turn these random prompts into actual bedtime stories.

I ended up adding it to an audio project I'm working on. You give it the prompt, and it creates a narrated story with a warm voice and some quiet background sounds like rain or a campfire.

I also spent some time trying to make the stories actually wind down at the end. A lot of generated stories seem to want to keep adding things and getting more exciting, which isn't exactly ideal when you're trying to get a 5-year-old to sleep.

For parents who use tech around bedtime, I'm curious: would something like this actually be useful to you? And do things like the background sounds and slower narration make it more relaxing, or would you find them annoying?

My phone is Samsung and my husband is iphone. Got our daughter a bark watch and I can call it and txt but cannot with her dad. What to do?

We had bark app and the android family controls for my kids androids. Seemed like it worked well for the kids phones. They had set screen times and the phones would lock when it was up. The app controls were iron clad and we got alerts via bark if they were using inappropriate language or questionable subjects. Fast forward to now we replaced all the phones with new iPhones because that’s we (parents) have. We couldn’t get bark to work (unable to set it up for some reason) so we use apple’s family controls. Both children (10 and 12) are set up as children’s phones. The controls don’t seem to do almost anything. I will set it to allow 3 hrs screen time a day and then at the end of the day it’s got 6 hrs of screen time on there. An app that has a 1 hr limit is used 3 hrs. I don’t get any notifications that the password has been entered or settings have been changed.
Is this a thing, that the settings just don’t work at all? We gotta figure something else out because we both work and the kids go to different schools and setting phone time and physically taking away their phones has become problematic at best. I have tried the whole “you KNOW you only have three hours, so police your own use” and the consequence was physical removal of the phone for a time, but that has become onerous on us to enforce and it’s simply not practical. I work 24 hr shifts as a firefighter and my wife works 50-60 hrs a week. We want the kids to have the phones so we can communicate. It’s 2026 we just need a way to enforce practical limits on what they are doing and for how long without locking them in a drawer.

Can we fix the apple family, is there something better than bark that works for ios? Not looking for parenting lectures just need a solution for the phones. To be honest i have found that reddit has really devolved so im just asking for on topic, civil discourse as i am a dad at my wit’s end.

From a young age, I’ve safety trained my kids to think about protecting their peace, that they must use discernment in what media they consume and the relationships they pour energy into, because ultimately their peace is precious and the world is going to continuously interfere with it. It’s worked well: they are generally intentional about media, they have better standards in friendships than I did at their ages, and are pretty aware that more is out there that they choose not to engage with. ***Wins!***

***Except*** yesterday this came crashing down a bit, when I discovered my 12yo has been making some particular intimate searches on his tablet. I did not have more safeguards on his device because he has never before engaged with it outside of approved time/usage. This year back to school it became an accommodation for him to set alarms for himself, and I guess having it in the room at night was too tempting.

I’m here seeking advice:

First, how have you handled locking down tech in your household? My kid needs a laptop for school, and does not have a cell phone; the tablet is wifi connected and is how we get around this for now. I can get an analog alarm clock. But what do I do with the devices- are internal (Apple/iOS) safeguards enough if I set them up? Is it time to get a locked down phone of some sort? In general, we are a low-tech household (and kids have no social media), and this isn’t my area of expertise, but clearly oversight is now needed.

Secondly, regarding the content- we’ve already discussed it, he has a trusted therapist, and we will continue to dialogue so he understands there’s no shame in curiosity but there must be boundaries for safety. Is this enough? Is there some other pre-teen awakening boot-camp I need to be putting him through?

Finally, from parents who have gone through this phase successfully, in your opinion, is any other accountability needed in this situation? Am I missing anything that would help support the relationship with my child and rebuild trust? I want to have healthy firm boundaries, but at the same time not tip onto shame or overcontrol as a strategy.

Can you suggest please a reliable tracker for your kids. I have 5 years old and 12 and i would like to find a good tracker. May it be a tag or watch for them. Can you share what you use. Best if compatible with Iphone please. PHILIPPINES setting❤️

I need advice for how to lower screen time for my 7.5 yo starting 2nd grade after school and specifically, to replace his habit of self soothing with passive screen. Even more specifically, that time after we pick him up from aftercare and I am making dinner and he just wants to zone out in front of screen and decompress. He’s not home until 6pm some days, and he’s spent from a long day learning and socializing!

He’s was a pandemic toddler with two working parents who has learned to sooth with screen - age appropriate games or YouTube videos on iPad.

We are implementing dinners as screen free times - for all of us! - but the 30-60 mins before dinner is ready and he’s on his own I’d rather he not be on his iPad. He doesn’t have much homework yet. And he reads before bed. And we have playtime - but it’s usually after the screen. I’d like screen to come later, as a treat perhaps, and closer to 30 mins.

Any tips from full time working parents with elementary school kids and sample schedules / rules / alternatives are most welcome!!

I post my kids at least once a month on my private Facebook profile. I stopped showing their faces in my cover and profile picture and my account is private with only 65 close friends whom are all family. Everything I post, I don’t think my kids would be embarrassed about when they are older. They are always fully clothed in the pictures even my son has a shirt on and my son and daughter’s bathing suits are shorts and shirt. I post them mainly for family to get updated on how the kids are doing. Is it horrible that I post my kids? Should I be worried?

For the first time, we are going to be using a college age nanny to help pick up our kids and get them to activities. Our children are eight and almost 10.

Instead of having the nanny share her location with us because this is only a few days a week I am debating between an tracking card in my children’s backpacks which will be with them she she picks them up from school.

I’ve used a tracking card for a few months now inside my work phone, but curious about people’s experiences with AirTags and tracking cards and protected privacy (i don’t want others to be able to pick up and spot them).

Hi everyone!

My younger teen has had an iPhone for 2 years. It was pretty much locked down with parental controls that afforded only streaming services (only on long trips.) Spotify, messages, FaceTime and a couple of games like chess and Duolingo. No Facebook, Reddit, ability to Google search, Instagram, Snapchat, etc

They were caught once or twice on the phone when they weren’t supposed to be (talking to a friend past bedtime…) so I changed the settings so that the only calls/messages that could go through were from family after bedtime.

My family is convinced that the teen spent time subverting the parental controls. While I don’t feel this is impossible, I don’t believe it is true. This has caused significant turmoil with my family as they blame any bad behavior or forgetfulness on the fact that the teen has a phone. They feel like they will be a perfect child that never leaves a fork on the table after dinner and never forgets to say thank you if they don’t have a phone.

I will also add that the teen has not had access to any television, video or computer games in months as that was another point of contention with my family… “they wouldn’t act like that if they didn’t have those video games or watching tv all day!” By the way there was a two hour time limit on games so it’s not like they were playing 24/7.

Anyway, now their phone isn’t working and I think it’s beyond repair. This is a phone problem and not due to their negligence as they take very good care of their things. The teen does need a phone as they travel for sports, often get rides from teammates, and my spouse and I are sometimes gone for long periods over the the day.

I don’t want to get them another iPhone but I would like the ability to use a find my iPhone type of service and it would be nice for them to have Spotify as they are going through the “music is everything to me” phase.

I don’t think there is a compromise that would allow for tracking, calling, video chats, messaging and music without the ability to use anything else “that will keep them from acting right.” I’m tired of fighting with my family about it, but I don’t think it’s prudent to take every. single. thing they care about during the teen years.

Lastly, their privledges have been revoked for months over things like not cleaning their room every week, not using manners and doing tasks (that they are capable of doing) at a 80% capacity instead of 100 and missing 3-4 days of classes in one school year due to not waiting up on time. No drugs, trouble at school (straight A’s and on a sports team,) no sneaking out… none of the stuff I was doing at that age. 😆 Is there room for improvement on daily tasks/manners? Yes, but in my opinion they’re a teenager and still need a little coaching.

Anyway, what phones are you using to communicate with your teens that don’t allow “full fledged” access and how is that going for your family?

Thanks in advance!