MamaBear’s Most Popular Posts in 2014

MamaBear Most Popular 2014 Posts

2014 was the biggest year yet for kids and parents experiencing life in the digital world. To help parents navigate their families across all the challenges, MamaBear published dozens of articles for parents looking for online safety tips, teenage social media trends, and advice about digital parenting. Among all the great content, following are the 5 most popular posts our readers loved the most.

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1. MamaBear’s List of Apps Parents Should Ban

It may seem like an oxymoron, but in 2014, the big trend in social media apps was secrecy.

Multiple apps that allowed users to create anonymous accounts became popular with tweens and teens — which created a problem for parents.

The anonymity offered by apps like Whisper, Secret, Ask.fm and others put many youths at risk for being bullied, harassed, or approached by dangerous strangers. Parents used MamaBear’s List of Apps Parents Should Ban to get them in the know.

2. Top Five Messaging Apps for Tweens and Teens

The post gave parents a look at the popular apps kids are using to communicate with their friends (and possibly even strangers).

  1. WhatsApp Messenger
  2. Kik
  3. LINE
  4. SnapChat
  5. Viber

We heard a lot about SnapChat this year and most recently about a hack of third party SnapChat apps leading to hundreds of thousands of photos leaked online. We covered some highpoints about the media coined “Snappening.”

3. The Best Apps for Parents in 2014

Last year wasn’t all about apps for kids. Our MamaBear parents appreciated The Best Apps for Parents in 2014 throughout the year with helpful,  time-saving and fun apps that parents could enjoy.

  • iReward Chart
  • Evite
  • Cozi Family Organizer
  • Open Table
  • Fandango
  • Great Clips
  • Splice
  • Allrecipes Dinner Spinner
  • Fav Today
  • MamaBear

Looking for even more apps for parents? Stay tuned. MamaBear will be releasing the 2015 list of the best apps for moms in our next blog post.

4. Tips For Giving Your Child Their First Smartphone For the Holidays

Giving the responsibility of a cell phone to a child is a nerve-racking experience for most parents. So it’s no surprise that our post Tips For Giving Your Child Their First Smartphone For the Holidays was one of the year’s most popular.

The post explains how a cell phone for your child can be beneficial to both child and parent when the proper steps are followed. Read details of our recommended process to include:

  1. Setting Parental Controls
  2. Discussing Usage and Set Limits
  3. Reviewing Social Media Guidelines, Privacy, and Rules
  4. Creating Your Own Cell Phone Contract
  5. Installing an App that Connects and Protects

This article isn’t just a holiday read. It’s an excellent resource for parents who are about to give phones to their kids any time of the year.

5. Dangers of Talking to Strangers Online

Learning that nearly 60% of teens have received an email or instant message from a stranger online made the Dangers of Talking to Strangers Online an important topic for 2014.

Parents used the article to learn about a new list of chat apps and common chat slang that kids use to hide the meaning of their messages from their parents.

These are just a few of the family safety and digital parenting resources MamaBear created this year. We have way more where that came from!

Check out archived posts, look out for new ones, and download the MamaBear Family Safety App (available for both iPhones and Androids) so we can help make protecting and parenting your family easier in 2015.

 

Comparing Family Safety Apps: MamaBear and Net Nanny

Choosing the right family safety app isn’t easy. That’s why we’re taking the time to compare the features of MamaBear with a few other family safety services now on the market.

Let’s take a look at Net Nanny and review it’s similarities and differences compared to MamaBear.

Net Nanny created internet filtering software that allows parents to be in control of web browsing – preventing selected sites to be viewed while allowing others. Initially the software was created for computers and now has extended to mobile web browsing. They clearly state their benefit as families being able to “use the Internet as a resource for homework and fun without fear of accidental exposure to undesirable material, or encounters with dangerous individuals.” Net Nanny has added social media monitoring and mobile device monitoring.

The Net Nanny service allows parents to:

  • Set filtering for nearly twenty categories of online content to either block the site, send a warning or allow the child to view;
  • Send a warning message or completely block access to adult content like pornography;
  • Limit the total number of hours spent on the internet in a 24-hour period OR set specific times of the day when a child is allowed to be online;
  • View a web page without being bombarded by vulgar language;
  • Monitor social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin, Tumblr, Google+)  in order to protect kids from online threats and monitor activities related to your child’s “friends,” cyberbullying, sexual predators, privacy concerns and reputation-damaging pictures or videos;
  • Send parents reports and mail alerts about a child’s online activity;
  • Check usage reports, change a child’s profile settings and much more remotely from any computer with an Internet connection;
  • Use preset user profiles or customize settings for each family member; each computer can have unlimited user profiles.

Mobile device monitoring on iOS and Android replaces the mobile browser being used with Net Nanny’s browser for secured browsing.   Net Nanny can also set time controls and monitor apps used on Android devices.

See Also: Protecting Kids from Internet Stranger Danger

MamaBear’s main similarity to Net Nanny is social media monitoring.  Both allow parents to monitor a child’s social media accounts to protect them from cyberbullying, predators and other threats. Both apps send parents alerts based on a child’s online activity.

There are some key differences between the services as well. Net Nanny is primarily a web browsing monitoring service for desktops and mobile devices with added service for social. MamaBear is taking a mobile first strategy focusing on the child’s location, social media activity and driving speed delivering all communication through the parent’s mobile device reducing the amount of emailed reports to thumb through and figure out.

Location monitoring and driving speed awareness are services offered through MamaBear.  These features are not a part of Net Nanny’s service. With MamaBear parents receive an alert when their child drives or rides over a preset speed limit that tells them how fast they were going and where they were when they exceeded the preset limit. You can also view the child’s location history and pattern for the day.

See Also: Monitor Teen Driving with the MamaBear Driving Monitor App

There are many wonderful apps and protection services that offer a variety of useful features to fill different needs for families. Some apps, like Net Nanny, are designed to focus on web browsing behavior on both desktop computers and mobile devices; others, like MamaBear, track children’s behavior both on social media and in real life situations. It’s helpful to know what the options are so parents can choose a service to help them keep their families safe while allowing freedom without worry.

The Best Apps for Parents in 2014

Apps for Parents

The new year is a great time to explore apps designed to entertain and organize our lives. With so many Android and iOS apps to choose from, it can be difficult to know which ones are best for you and your family.

Here are  some of the best apps for parents. Enjoy!

1. iReward Chart: iRewardChart includes a customizable, interactive interface that helps parents keep track of their child’s good behavior and reward them appropriately.  The child can install and follow along!

2. Evite:  Evite makes it easy to send and manage invitations on the go. With the Evite app, you can create and send invitations, manage your guest lists and RSVP to events.

3. Cozi Family Organizer: Cozi, an Appy Award Winner for Best Family App and the number one “must-have app for a better life” by the TODAY Show, includes a shared calendar, shopping lists, to do lists and more. Cozi Family Organizer is shared, so you only need one account for the whole family.

4. OpenTable: Open Table helps you make reservations at over 20,000 restaurants in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Explore great restaurants, find available tables, and earn reward points for every reservation.

5. Fandango: With Fandango you can access the latest movies, show times and movie trailers as well as exclusive Fandango content. Fandango is the number one movie ticketing app featured in Apple commercials and winner of three Webby Awards.

6. Great Clips: Use the Great Clips app to check in before you get there.  So great when you’re with the kids. Just open the app and the salons nearest your current location will appear. Touch the salon that has the estimated wait time that fits you best, then tell them your name, number and how many are in your group.

7. Splice: Splice together HD photos and videos very simply with this app. Add music tracks from your library, sound effects, transitions, borders and effects, trim video and audio, narrate with your own voice and much more.

8. All Recipes Dinner Spinner: Dinner Spinner is a free app from Allrecipes.com, the #1 food site with recipes tested and reviewed by home cooks. With this app you can access your Allrecipes.com shopping lists, search by dish, cooking time, and ingredient, find recipes that match gluten-free, vegetarian, or other diet and share recipes on Pinterest, Twitter, or by email.

9. FavToday: Jot down the best thing that happened to you today.  As time goes, you’ll have an amazing collection with moments of gratitude and memories with the family.  It doesn’t take but a minute to reflect on your favorite thing today.

10. MamaBear App:  Of course, when it comes to family safety there are many apps, but none offer all that MamaBear does in one convenient app. MamaBear is your all-in-one family safety app providing parents information to worry less and encourage larger boundaries for kids to explore more. The app provides you information about your child’s location, when they’ve exceeded a preset driving speed, insight to their social media behavior and more.

Let MamaBear and these other apps help you organize and enrich your life in the new year!

 

Parental Control iPhone – Using iPhone’s Parental Restrictions

  iphone restrictions

One of the hottest mobile devices on the market – especially with tweens and teens — is the iPhone. Kids everywhere are clamoring for it. If your child has an iPhone or you plan to give them one soon, you’ll be reassured to know the popular mobile device offers a number of parental control features limiting access to potential dangers when the world is at their fingertips.

The release of  iOS 7 comes with improved parental control features that will be of interest to responsible parents taking action to appropriately monitor their child’s iPhone. Let’s explore some of the new parental control options and how to complement suggested restrictions with a family safety app like MamaBear.

Related: Using MamaBear with Apple’s new iOS 7

What Parental Controls are Available on iPhone?

Apple’s support page shows details on how to access the parental control features enabling parents to set restrictions to:

  •  Prevent access to selected device standard apps such as Safari, FaceTime, the iTunes Store and Siri.
  • Prevent access to content including music, podcasts, movies, TV shows, books, apps and more that aren’t age appropriate.
  •  Adjust the time before a password is required to purchase content or always ask for a password.
  •  Prevent changes to privacy settings, including location services, contacts, calendars, reminders, photos, and outside app access to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, etc.
  •  Prevent changes to settings and accounts including Find My Friends, cellular data use, background app refresh and volume limit.
  •  Restrict features within Game Center, including use of multiplayer games, adding new friends and more.

Using iPhone Parental Restrictions to Complement Family Safety Apps

Parental restrictions on Apple devices are extremely helpful to responsible  parents providing their children with arguably today’s most powerful and accessible device to content and people. But don’t rely just on these restrictions.  Monitoring is still very important.

An added worry-free layer is a family safety app like MamaBear to proactively receive news about your child’s daily activities. Mamabear uses alerts to notify you about location, social media activity and driving speed. Parents use their MamaBear news to start relevant, daily conversations with their family about safety.

Apple’s mobile devices come with some very useful parental control features that should be used to their greatest potential. When put in use they offer the perfect complement to the safety features offered by family safety apps like MamaBear.

 Image Credit: Apple