Parenting in a Digital World Tips
Technology is constantly evolving, and so are the challenges of keeping kids safe and responsible online. Beginning with the Wave Watch 9/21 Issue, Hermosa Schools will share practical Parenting in a Digital World Tips to help families navigate devices, apps, and digital habits with confidence.
From parental control guides to family media agreements, these resources are designed to make conversations about technology easier at home and to empower parents with tools that support healthy, mindful digital use.
Review the featured tips below and check back regularly for more ways to keep your family’s digital life safe, positive, and connected.
Tip #1: Parental Control Wizard
We highly recommend utilizing the Cyber Safety Wizard to receive customized resources for navigating online parental controls. You just answer a few questions about the types of devices your child uses, what apps they use, and how they access the internet, and it will produce an email with a comprehensive guide on how to set up the controls on each of the apps and devices. Visit the Hermosa Schools Social Media Resource.
Tip #2: Family Media Agreements - Keeping Kids Safe Online
As technology becomes part of our children’s daily lives, setting clear expectations around media use is essential. A Family Media Agreement helps establish healthy boundaries, encourages open conversations, and promotes safe, responsible online behavior.
A family agreement can help keep kids safe by:
- Setting clear limits on screen time and device use
- Encouraging respectful and kind online interactions
- Teaching kids how to recognize and respond to unsafe situations
We encourage families to review and personalize the Common Sense Media Family Media Agreement together at home.
Tip #3: Blocking Websites
This tip comes from Common Sense Media.
If you just want to limit what your kids can search for, your best option is to enable Google SafeSearch in whichever browser or browsers you use. First, you need to make sure your browsers use Google as their default search engine, and then you need to turn on SafeSearch. This is a good precaution to take as soon as your kids start going online and you want to make sure they don't accidentally stumble across something yucky.
Tip #4: Blocking Websites and Filter Content
This tip comes from Common Sense Media.
If you want to prevent access to specific websites and limit your kid's exposure to inappropriate content, such as mature games or yucky material, you can use the parental controls that are built into your device's operating system. Every major operating system -- Microsoft's Windows, Apple's Mac OS, and even Amazon's Fire -- offers settings to keep kids from accessing stuff you don't want them to see. To get the benefits, you need to use the most updated version of the operating system, and each user has to log in under his or her profile. The settings apply globally to everything the computer accesses. Each works differently and has its own pros and cons. This is the best solution if your kids are younger and are primarily using a home device. Check out each one's features: Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon.
Tip #5: Blocking Websites, Filtering Content, Imposing Time Limits, and Seeing What Kids are Doing
This tip comes from Common Sense Media.
A full-featured, third-party parental control service such as Bark, Qustodio, or Net Nanny will give you a lot of control over all of your kid's devices (the ones they use at home as well as their phones). These can be pricey (especially if you have several kids to monitor), but the cost includes constant device monitoring, offering you visibility into how kids are using their devices. These parental controls can only keep track of accounts that they know your kid is using, and for some apps, you'll need your kid's password in order to monitor activity. If your kid creates a brand-new profile on Instagram using a friend's computer without telling you, for example, the parental controls won't cover that account.
How do I monitor my child’s phone? To keep tabs on your tween or teen's phone, your best bet is to download an app to monitor text messages, social networks, emails, and other mobile functions -- try Bark, Aura, or WebWatcher. These are especially helpful if you're concerned about potentially risky conversations or iffy topics your kid might be engaging in. Bark, for example, notifies you when it detects "alert" words, such as "drugs." To monitor social media, you'll need your kid's account information, including passwords. (NOTE: Create a rule in your family contract regarding hidden accounts.)
Tip #6: Mastering Screen Time
This tip comes from the Cyber Safety Cop.
One highly recommended resource for parents is the podcast episode Mastering Screen Time: Effective Parenting Strategies from ‘Screen Time Standoff.' In this 30-minute episode, listeners can learn practical communication strategies for discussing screen time with their children without the battle. The episode offers useful tips on navigating resistance and provides actionable ideas to help families establish healthier screen time habits. It's part of the Deep Dive into Parenting Podcast by the Cyber Safety Cop and is also available on Apple Podcasts.
Tip #7: Managing Devices
This tip comes from Common Sense Media.
There are both hardware and software solutions to control your home network and your home Wi-Fi. A popular one is OpenDNS, a download that works with your existing router (the device that brings the internet into your home) to filter internet content. Some internet service providers, such as Comcast and Verizon, offer parental control features that apply to all devices on the network, too. Network solutions can work for families with kids of different ages; however, mucking around in your network and Wi-Fi settings can be challenging, and the controls may not apply when kids are on a different network.
Tip #8: Can I set parental controls in specific apps, such as Snapchat and TikTok?
This tip comes from Common Sense Media.
In addition to blocking specific people, most social media apps let you disable features that could pose some risks for kids. For example, you may be able to turn off chat, restrict conversation to friends only, and hide your child's profile so that it won't show up in search results. Some apps go a step further by letting users control their own use of the app. Instagram's Your Activity feature, for example, shows you how much time you've spent in the app and lets you set limits for yourself. YouTube has a similar feature that reminds users to take a break. TikTok even allows parents to set limits and remotely manage their kids' TikTok account from their phone using its Family Pairing feature. To find out if your kids' favorite apps offer any types of restrictions, go to the app's settings section (usually represented by the gear icon). Unless an app offers passcode protection for its settings (and most don't), your kid can easily reverse them.
The next tip will be posted on Sunday, November 16, 2025.
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