Parental Controls on a 12 year olds android smart phone

We're a bunch of geeks, I'm sure a number of you have already gone down this path with good success.

So, what app do you recommend?

I'm thinking not so much to block or control things, more to simply know what web pages he's going to, to see his texts and know who he's talking to.

Not that I wouldn't mind being able to shut is phone down at night, when he's "lost" it, only to magically find it under his pillow the next morning.

Tracking the phone would be good to. I've no doubt of his abilities to lose the darn thing, or get it stolen.

My rule with my daughter's iPhone is that I pay the bills, so I know the password. Period. If I can't access it, it goes away. This allows me to find it when it gets misplaced, and puts enough fear into her that she doesn't abuse the privilege of having it. I have not ever gone through her texts or emails, but knowing that I could is enough.

I told my son that I can see his full history from the Verizon website (partially true) and that he needs to surrender the phone upon request for inspection. If I find inappropriate use (all well defined by his mother and I) he loses it.

His mother handles the validation - he has lost it once for a month for using the word motherberkeleyer in a text. There have been no further incidents.

A 12 year old? Here, this should be perfect:

Know the password, do surprise inspections, and expect that they will find workarounds. We stashed pron in the barn and swore when parents were out of earshot, they use incognito browsing and alternative text programs. It's the way of the world.

Chuckle, he's long known how to erase browser and search engine history. You can even do it selectively. Same with call and text logs.

I'm actually not looking to prevent it, just to keep up with what level he's at. Similar texts. I'm not worried about what he says to a friend. I'm more concerned with him getting texts from someone who hacks into the school resources board or such.

Times have changed. That smart phone is actually part of his school world. From texting homework to and from a teacher to the various official school educational resources.

And having the password (which I do) doesn't help in the slightest when he looses it.

foxtrapper wrote: Times have changed. That smart phone is actually part of his school world. From texting homework to and from a teacher to the various official school educational resources.

Unless the school is paying for it, I simply don't understand this. I have a pay-as-you go phone (with a regular plan) that can text and call. I have a computer at work and a computer at home. When I was in school (from elementary through college) I had numerous computers available to me at pretty much any given time. Why the need for a $360 a year computer, plus the price of the computer itself?

Crotchety young grumpy dude stepping out.

mtn wrote: A 12 year old? Here, this should be perfect:

I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but why does a 12-year-old need a phone?

Yea, but even back in our day they wouldn't provide the kids with a slate. And it was up to us to go outside and find a suitable rock to scratch on it with.

Seriously though, it's not a necessity for school, but it sure helps. It helps the kids, the teachers and the parents. Kids can "forget" to bring that note home to a parent, but when the parent gets a text directly from the teacher...kinda hard for the kid to intercept it. Similarly the ability of the kid to quickly ask the teacher a question about a confusing homework problem. And the general wonderfullness of all the web stuff for education. From Kahn academy to wikipedia. And National Geographic, can't forget that!

That is all wonderful and well and good, but how is it any different than having a dumbphone and a computer? Other than you being $360 poorer every year.

I didn't mean to take this thread on such a tangent, I just really am bamboozled by this.

I know at least on iPhones there are a decent amount of things that you can lock down including the allowed ratings of music/movies/apps that can be downloaded (and whether you can download anything from iTunes at all...) as well as what apps can be accessed. With all that I hear about how much more control you can get over Android phones I'm surprised there isn't a way to lock it down even more and set up white/blacklists for sites, have the browser history automatically logged and mailed to you, etc.

This isn't something I'm looking forward to if/when I have kids... this kind of thing is a challenge now, I can only imagine how much worse it will be when it likely truly IS a requirement to have a smartphone in about 10 years or so...

My kids have android pre-paid phones - with NO SERVICE. Basically they are used as gaming tablets.

Turn on browsing history on the associated gmail account and inspect from any computer.

Mtn, don't feel weird, I feel the same as you.

Hell, I am 27 and I don't feel the need for a smartphone for me. (not willing to pay for it)

Apexcarver wrote: Mtn, don't feel weird, I feel the same as you. Hell, I am 27 and I don't feel the need for a smartphone for me. (not willing to pay for it)

I'm only 24 and my phone doesn't even have a camera.

mtn wrote:

Apexcarver wrote: Mtn, don't feel weird, I feel the same as you. Hell, I am 27 and I don't feel the need for a smartphone for me. (not willing to pay for it)

I'm only 24 and my phone doesn't even have a camera.

I'm 23 and agree with you both. Got my first phone as a senior in high school, and didn't get texting til Junior year of college. Maybe I'm just reallllllly cheap though.

Smart phones don't cost $360/year more than dumb phones with all carriers. Besides, you're answering a question that wasn't asked.

I do not know anything about parental controls on an Android phone, sorry.

Sky_Render wrote: I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but why does a 12-year-old need a phone?

He doesn't. I need him to have one so I can drop him off at the baseball field on a Saturday and know when to fetch him in case of early curtain calls. Or football practice. Or at the movies with his friends... so I can say stop harassing those girls and get the berkeley out here - I'm waiting.

My eight year old daughter had one of her friends staying with us this week. At 3:15 AM on Monday (school night), the two of them snuck into my five year old daughter’s bedroom, absconded with her NOOK, and attempted to order a book off of Amazon.

Be careful, they’re getting really brazened and sophisticated.

Good question and worth the google.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kytephone&hl=en

I'm not asking anyones permission for my son to have his own smart phone. If you think it's wrong, fine. Go bug someone else. I already know how to google and what the android market is.

The question was to parents in this forum who have tried and used various apps. What they found they liked, what's worked well for them, as well what hasn't.

Brokeback wrote:

mtn wrote:

Apexcarver wrote: Mtn, don't feel weird, I feel the same as you. Hell, I am 27 and I don't feel the need for a smartphone for me. (not willing to pay for it)

I'm only 24 and my phone doesn't even have a camera.

I'm 23 and agree with you both. Got my first phone as a senior in high school, and didn't get texting til Junior year of college. Maybe I'm just reallllllly cheap though.

Uh, oh, it's the "I'm superior to you because I don't pay for modern tech" crowd again.

Can't help you, Foxy. I haven't found anything useful.

Every tool I've seen has enough easy work-arounds to make it thoroughly ineffective.

In reply to SVreX:

that actually sums it up, perfectly. as of now, smartphones aren't DESIGNED for kids. they are thin, flimsy, and pretty much un-lockable (as in can't be locked down, unless your kid is stupid, and I highly doubt your kid is stupid).

if you trust your child enough to put a 6-700 dollar PC in his pocket, then you pretty have to do that: trust him.

Chris_V wrote: Uh, oh, it's the "I'm superior to you because I don't pay for modern tech" crowd again.

As predictable as death and taxes around here.

There are several apps (cerberus comes to mind, but you have to purchase account), that will, as long as the phone is on turn it on, set the volume to max, and start an alarm. It also has some nifty features which will not allow it to be uninstalled without a password. A single cerberus account works across all the android devices so it is cheap for as many features as you get (and has a trial period of like 10 days so you can try it for free). It also has a bunch of theft prevention and other features that make it worth it alone.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus&hl=en

Then there is life360, I'm not sure on all it's features, but it's worth a look. I'm starting work at life360 come next monday, I should probably get familiar with it, lol.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.life360.android.safetymapd&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5saWZlMzYwLmFuZHJvaWQuc2FmZXR5bWFwZCJd

For a simple phone finder, any of these might work for you:

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=phone+finder&c=apps