Let's face it, mostly all tweens and probably 100% of teens have a cell phone. My deduction when making the cell phone decision for my kids was all about safety. I would rather my child have a phone to call me, text me, tweet me anytime from anywhere about anything. We even set up secret code phrases that allow us to communicate incognito without the gaggling horde of teen friends being able to know our true intent.
For instance if my daughter did not want to sleepover someone's house she would call and relay our 'secret phrase'. I in turn would swoop into mommy-action and be the one to say, "No you can't sleep over Jessie's house. You have too much homework." She would put up a faux verbal struggle, but in the end, for whatevder her reason, she came home and Jessie's feelings weren't hurt, cause I was perceived as the spoiler.
But the cell phone that parents perceive as helping keep their teen's safe, can also be the catalyst that puts them in vulnerable in social situations. With smart phones being linked to all forms of social media, some parents may feel the need for more control...or sleuthing. Depending on your child's environment and the health of his or her relationships with friends, a smart phone monitoring systems called TeenSafe may be serve as a valuable tool.
The TeenSafe mobile monitoring technology is secure and discreet, allowing customers to choose whether their child is aware their phone is being monitored. The software also uses the phone's Global Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi, and cellular technology to monitor the phone's location, letting parents know where their child is located.
"We understand children are getting mobile phones at younger ages each year. Wonderful advancements in technology have given us the ability to have the world at our fingertips in an instant. As parents we know that along with the good this technology offers, there is a tremendous risk in giving them an opportunity to stumble upon dangers that can affect their whole life,"said Scott Walker, Co-Founder of TeenSafe. "TeenSafe allows parents the ability to make sure their kids are using this very powerful technology safely and responsibly,"
Walker added, "Mobile phones have given children incredible power and access to communication and information that were never accessible to this extent in the past. We wanted to create a tool that would allow parents to open their eyes to how their child is interacting in real time to ensure their safety. Our motto is 'Protecting Your Most Valuable Treasure' and as parents too, we make sure that everything we do reinforces that concept."
The system is designed to facilitate communication between a parent and a child. In addition to monitoring a child's activity for risky behavior, TeenSafe can also help validate a child's good behavior by using their mobile technology responsibly, which provides peace of mind to parents.
"I believe TeenSafe goes hand-in-hand when you give your child their first phone. It's designed to keep lines of communication open and we've found that it's like having a window into your child's life," said Ameeta Jain, co-founder of TeenSafe. "We teach our children and teens rules when they get in the car, whether it is always wear a seat belt or no texting and driving. Why would we give our children a smartphone, one of the most powerful tools in our lifetime, without some type of guidance and monitoring?"
Once installed, TeenSafe is virtually undetectable on the child's mobile device. TeenSafe feels it is the parent's choice if they want to inform the child that they are being monitored, however, they encourage open communication with families. It takes less than five minutes to set up TeenSafe and it's very simple to use. TeenSafe uses 256-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) security to ensure a child's personal information cannot be viewed by anyone but the parent. For parents who want to test TeenSafe before purchasing, a free, six-day trial is offered to give parents the ability to use all of the system's features and capabilities.
TeenSafe has created a parental advice blog called Teenology.com which gives tips, guidelines and personal testimonials in order to support and help parents of teens in today's technology-filled world. For more information about TeenSafe, please visit www.teensafe.com. Like TeenSafe on Facebook.com/teensafe and follow them on twitter.com/TeenSafeCom