Growing up around the internet I was always taught to be cautious about which sites I visited, who I talked to if I somehow wandered into a chatroom, online predators, etc. I wasn’t always the best at listening to my parents and disregarded many warnings during my early years with the world-wide web but I was cautious for the most part. My online time was also given a time limit, and was only given after homework was completed after school in the evenings. At that time there was no such thing at T -Mobile FamilyMode.
When I became a mother I found myself automatically doing the same things my own parents did when it came to things like the internet, and in my children’s case, related gadgets like phones, tablets, etc. There is so much technology these days! I made the mistake before of not monitoring things as closely as I should and was mortified by what a few innocent searches turned up on popular sites that I’d never worried about previously. These days I am making sure the little ones are only visiting mom approved sites, apps and even watching on the television.
One way that I’ve really been able to more closely monitor the kids with technology, without completely going overboard and nixing it completely, is with help from FamilyMode by T–Mobile. Recently launched in June this new program, T -Mobile FamilyMode offered by one of America’s favorite phone carriers, is an all-in-one solution that lets parents manage & control their kiddos online and screen time activities on each compatible device within their homes.
By also utilizing Home Base, another feature offered by T–Mobile that works in conjunction with FamilyMode, parents can go beyond simple monitoring phones and connect to your home wifi connection to give you better control over laptops, gaming consoles, tablets and more to more efficiently keep an eye on what kind of content your children are viewing.
Years ago, not long before internet was introduced on a wide scale, parents didn’t have to fear what their children were viewing. Of course, they still worried about choices in friends, peer pressure, etc. but then again, back then kids also weren’t getting cellphones at the age of 10 or spending close to 20 hours in front of a screen, potentially viewing content that could be mentally damaging, introduce bad habits, open doors to explicit subject matter and more.
With T -Mobile FamilyMode and Home Base, parents can gain back their peace of mind knowing that they can monitor, filter, set time limits according to personal preference, filter unwanted apps & content, monitor app & internet usage and MUCH more! If this sounds like something that would benefit your family, you can implement it into your life by going online to register, visiting your local T–Mobile store or calling 1-800-Tmobile. You can also visit your app store (Android, iOS or Tablet) to download and start using the app right away.
Some additional features of the T-Mobile FamilyMode include:
- Control – I can pause my daughter when she’s reached her limit with watching Peppa Pig. She is obsessed with watching television so love that I am able to pause her screen time.
- Location Information & Monitoring – You might always know where your kids are so the location information might not be what you are looking for – but location monitoring like finding that iPad or phone is super helpful. I can’t event tell you how useful this feature is, as I am ALWAYS losing my phone. Now I don’t have to worry about this anymore.
- Filtering – I can pick which apps and content that I want my kids to view. For us, we were able to take off gambling, adult content and specific apps like regular YouTube. I only allow them to watch YouTube for kids so I was able to filter out the apps I don’t want them to see.
- View Usage – I love that I can see exactly how much time my kids are online. You know those 10 more minutes are always adding up!
- Home Base – this is the way that FamilyMode works for every device in your home – not just your cell phones. So, Minecraft on my son’s phone to computer usage to YouTube watching on our smart TV to my daughter’s love for Disney on her iPad — it’s all under MY control! How awesome is that?!
Personally, I’ve loved having the T -Mobile FamilyMode in my home. I feel so much better about letting my kids venture onto their tablets and into the app store but to be honest, I’ve always loved T-Mobiles services. If my readers would like to learn more about T–Mobile or FamilyMode, you can head on over to the T–Mobile website or become a follower of their social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. The information and updates you’ll find there might just cause you to make the switch from your old carrier!
This post is sponsored by T–Mobile. All opinions are my own and not swayed by outside sources.*