How to Set Smarter Boundaries on Your Kid's Mobile Devices

**This conversation about How to Set Smarter Boundaries on your Kid’s Mobile Devices is brought to you in partnership with Verizon. All opinions are my own.**

#FamilyBase #setsmarterboundaries #AD

I bit the bullet and bought a cell phone over Christmas for my 11 year old daughter. People said I was crazy. That she was too young. That I was indulging my kids. That it would ruin her love of reading. My main concern, though, was the people and information out there that I did not want her to have exposure to. Since getting a new number really means inheriting a number previously assigned to someone else. I knew that she might get messages and text that were intended for the former owner. I also know that online predators and hackers have unique and scary ways of getting to kids on mobile devices. My other concern? That she would be distracted during family time and I would have to battle to get her attention. But as I checked out at Verizon, where I have been a happy customer for over 25 years, I was told about a family plan that could help me protect her. Now new and improved, this add on service called FamilyBase by Verizon helps me protect the information that comes and goes from her phone as well as her usage!

As a busy mom it is really hard to keep track of everything. I have school schedules, homework, before and after school clubs, dinner, laundry, housekeeping, work, work and more work. Remembering to tell my daughter to shut off her phone at a certain time so that we can have family time and remembering to check it daily for unsavory information is just too hard. I need help. So, I do what I do whenever there is a huge task that is hard to keep up with: I outsource it.

Verizon makes it so easy on me that I can’t imagine managing kid’s phones without it! For $4.99 a month I can run her phone from my phone with complete ease. Here are some things I can do without having to grab her phone to do it:

SET SMARTER BOUNDARIES – Take back family time by limiting access to calls, texts and data. I can go into the FamilyBase app and choose the times I want her phone to go silent. School time. Dinner time. Homework time or any time. I can control when she can use her phone and when she cannot.
CHILDPROOF YOUR INTERNET – Block access to inappropriate apps and websites. If you are concerned about your kids and social media, block the ability to get on it. You can block the types of messages your child gets. It is in your control!
MONITOR USAGE & ACTIVITY – Block unwanted contacts and view your child’s text and call history. I am so bad about picking up Katie’s phone and checking to see who has called. Now I can from my phone and I can block any spam call or unwanted caller.
IN-HOME & ON-THE-GO – Control your child’s online experience whether they’re using Wi-Fi or your data. This is a great feature for road trips where my wi-fi in the car may give them more access. I can control it before we hit the road and know that they are searching safely!

I am finding, quickly, that FamilyBase by Verizon is not only helping to protect my daughter but is also providing an easier way for me to balance device time and family time. The simple dashboard makes it easy and fast for me to use and the cost is affordable to add to any existing Verizon family account (and the first month is free!).