How do you keep up with the technology & apps your kids are using? - £200 voucher to be won

[MaddyMumsnet]

Created for Vodafone
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Have the tech-tables turned on you? It can feel impossible to keep tabs on all the technology our children have access to when everything from our TVs and gaming consoles, to fridges and doorbells are connected. In fact, many parents feel their kids know more than them when it comes to digital technology. Therefore, we want to know whether you have tips on becoming more digital savvy.

• Post your stories, challenges or tips in the thread below to be entered into a prize draw
• One lucky MNer will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice.

Here’s what Vodafone has to say: “At Vodafone, we see taking action to help keep children safe online a priority. That’s why we’ve launched Digital Parenting Pro, one of the biggest parental controls and safety settings resources in the UK, to empower parents and carers to keep up with their kids and improve their own digital skills."

“Our research reveals parents and carers feel their child’s digital knowledge overtakes their own by the age of 12, this shows just how digitally savvy children are these days. Our new content rich hub is a place for adults to get information so they can feel confident about what their kids are up to online, what social media they use, games they play and threats they might come across."

“You can find the resources here.”

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!
MNHQ

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I'm reasonably tech savvy and have put effort into keeping up to date as my children have grown.

My tip is that it is all about communication. Some parents act as if locking down devices and tightly restricting access is the answer. We need to remember that creating technically savvy adults is the aim. They can't go from baby mode to entirely unrestricted overnight.

Ensuring children know why we want them to avoid certain behaviours online is just as important.

Tbh just when you think you have things under control or are ahead of all sorts of blocking, or security measure, someone on social media shows the kids how to by pass controls etc.. it is constant learning and hoping the algorithm shows you what they have seen and learnt.

At the moment the kids have to ask permission to download anything new which means I can check out anything I don't understand. I tend to be pretty conservative on whether they're allowed to chat (eg on Roblox), but they understand why. I'm really not looking forward to my eldest getting a phone and wanting messaging apps, not least as I'm sure teens will use things I've never heard of. It's a challenge to get the balance between sensible limits (I'm the world's worst Mummy for limiting tablet time!) and allowing enough freedom and not to be left out of things going on with peers.

YouTube tutorials are the answer to most technology ills.

I'd also recommend learning how to change the WiFi password, so you can still have WiFi while turning it off for your kids. (Via a YouTube tutorial !)

parameters have to be in place from day 1.

and i try to lead by example. So no tech at the dining table. No TV whilst eating. And only TV during the week after all homework done and everything organised for the next day

@MaddyMumsnet When will this draw take place please?

A parenting hub sounds a great idea as it is difficult to keep up to date with new technology. My DC are teenagers now but when they were younger I put in place parental controls on apps and online games, put timers on etc so they did not get into the habit of constantly playing on a tablet all day and night.

I feel fairly au-fait with all things tech, and smart devices and smart phones, I have preset my modem to it's most filtered settings, I'd like to be able to limit the time that games consoles for a 14 y/o are set for school and term time - that cannot be over ridden.

I remember worrying about Internet security when mine were little. I took the line that the best way to tackle things like online porn was to discuss how it objectified women. We also talked about grooming, gambling and gaming addictions. That said, we then decided to trust them and they thoroughly embraced tech. They went to free coding classes and just grew from there. Two of them now earn much more than I do as software engineers.
You can't fight knowledge, embrace it.

Wow what a condescending opening post Vodafone.

I am tech savvy and I hope as my children get older to participate in their digital life and this way teach them how to stay safe. While they're too young, I'm keeping parental controls, but I'm planning to gradually ease them as they grow and always have conversations about what they do online, what precautions they should take.

I would consider myself tech savvy. I am quite relaxed about screen time when they are using it to do something creative. I have not allowed them to connect with friends online via games consoles yet though, and their tablets are very restricted.

My 8yo has had a laptop in his room since the second covid lockdown when he was doing teams calls with school everyday. He only uses it for coding now and writing stories, and it's not restricted at all - but I do trust him, and occasionally check what he has been doing.

It's nice to learn from each other. So details of gadgets and games, they can teach me. Online safety, I can teach them.

I find it hard to know what to allow them on - I look up age ratings but they aren’t always advertised.

I try to educate my children on the dangers of the Internet. No matter what controls you have, there are ways around them. Even at others houses, that's why it's vital to be open and encourage discussion on safety measures.

I've always enjoyed learning about new tech, the kids teach me a lot!

hubby works in IT with son in a university dept so any issues are picked up very quickly with the grandkids, tablet checked daily lol big brother is here

My background in cutting edge IT means I see where things are headed. I place value in not only the social aspect but gaining invaluable experience and challenges through programming and STEAM subjects.

Our kids school ran a workshop for parents & kids on the apps the school uses which was really helpful as we were then able to talk about it at home. They have kids accounts which are linked to mine and their dads so we know if they've downloaded anything without talking about it first and so far they've been really open and asked, then we've looked at it with them to make sure it's appropriate for their ages.
I also check parents forums and chat to other mums on what the latest apps and games are and their experiences of them.
Our local secondary was thinking about running family tech classes which I think is a brilliant idea.

keep your life and lifestyle simple - the human brain is better than AI - use your brain not your mobile

My kids are older now, but my eldest managed to get round every type of parental control that we tried to use - he works in cyber security now - we had no chance! 😂

I recently just discovered the parental controls for Alexa, as it stops them adding things to my automatic grocery lists. 🤷‍♀️

It's relatively easy with the young ones but with tech savy teenagers it is quite another matter. I have one who is a very proficient coder and can easily outwit me. In the end we need to be aware of what dangers are out there and discuss the dangers with the older kids and to some degree trust that they will be sensible. I ask for advice from my eldest to protect the younger ones and I learn quite a bit that way (reverse psychology!)

I go to the courses offered at school to learn what they are looking at and how to make sure it is age appropriate