Whether we like it or not, kids these days are spending a lot more time in front of the screen. While I work from home most of the time, I still feel like I’m not spending enough time with the kids, let alone supervising what they are up to when they go online.

When we cross the street, we make sure that we hold our kids’ hands. When they cycle, we make sure that they have knee pads and helmets. We wash and sanitise their hands to prevent them from falling ill. But when it comes to their screen time, what are we doing to make sure they’re protected?

That’s why I’m excited to introduce Tittle Parental Control to you today. I know, I know, there are quite a few apps out there that help us monitor the kids’ online activities and screen time habits but Tittle has some key features that make it stand out from the rest.

Tittle Parental App

Setting up & controlling multiple child devices, even remotely

First thing first. Tittle Parental Control is available for both Android and iOS devices. Downloading the app and syncing the app on my phone and my kids’ gadgets couldn’t be easier. The app took me through a quick tutorial and after I’ve set up an account, all I had to do was to scan the QR code and approve some app permissions to pair our devices. If your QR reader doesn’t work, you’ll be given an app-generated pairing code to key-in. 

In our household, the kids use a ‘big-giant-iPad’, which really is a Samsung edutainment unit, an actual iPad and Nick recently gave one of his old iPhone to Lauren. Yep, I agree it’s waaaaay too young for a kid to have her own phone but there isn’t a phone line and she uses it as a camera. Anyway, it’s all good since Tittle allows me to control multiple devices from the same account. Yes, ‘devices’ being plural because well, three kids and at times, they don’t share.

Disable access to mobile apps at inappropriate timings

We all know that kids (and adults) lose track of time when they go online. While I don’t ban digital devices usage at home, I believe in moderation. The kids have access to their iPads only on weekends – at home, after homework, 30 minutes at a time. Then they need to take a break, do something else for a while.

I used to do this by manually clocking the start and end time and purposely (or sneakily) charging their devices up to only 20% to 30% full. When it runs out of battery, the kids would have no choice but to stop and wait while it charges up again. Of course, these methods aren’t perfect. I sometimes get distracted and forget the time! And I have only two kids to keep track of now. Thank goodness, Will isn’t on any devices yet.

I’m glad that Tittle now takes over the scheduling of devices for me. It has the ability to time-block the kid’s device, down to each individual app. For example, I don’t want Lauren to passively watch videos for too long. But she is allowed to play word puzzles on the tablet. So I would block YouTube Kids but allow the use of Alphabet Puzzle for Kids PRO for the next 10 minutes.

If you have older kids and you want them to use the smartphone as a phone only, you could block usage of all apps and have the flexibility to allow important apps, for example, the phone. However, this feature only works if your child is using an Android device.

And if they are grounded, you can switch EVERYTHING off using the “Block all Tittlers’ app” which can be found on the app homepage! *wicked wink*

Update parents on kid’s whereabouts

I’m not a stalker but I like the ability to track the location of my kids. Well, mine aren’t old enough to go anywhere on their own yet, but when they do, it would be good to know that they are in fact where they say they’ll be.

13 years old Lauren: Mum, I’m going to the library to study!
Tittle showing that she goes to someone’s house.
Me: *Heading straight to haul her ass back home*

Okay, that may be an exaggeration but I was pretty naughty as a teenager, so I’m covering all bases here. You get what I mean.

Irrespective of where they are, I can keep on eye on them. If there are network connectivity issues or the kid’s smartphone goes to sleep mode, I will get a notification. I also get to see the ‘last seen’ location of my kids.

For children who are old enough to leave the house without their parents, the geofencing feature is probably more relevant. Tittle sends out notifications to the parent when the child steps in/out of specified boundaries, eg. her preschool, grandparent’s place, etc. That also means if I get a notification that my child just entered a bar or a police station, I should be a little worried!

Web Tracking

As we all know, the Internet can be a very dangerous place, from risk of being exposed to undesirable websites like pornography or worse, meeting pedophiles who lurk around social media platforms, to cyberbully encounters or illegal gambling, etc. At some point, our kids would need to use the browser on their own, for school or for leisure. In fact, kids in primary school these days are required to complete online assignments or conduct simple online research for projects! Tittle has developed a custom browser that allows tracking of their browsing history, with the ability to block inappropriate sites.

The catch, though, is that all other 3^rd party browser applications have to be blocked and you need to ensure your tech-savvy kid doesn’t find a way to download another browser in his/her device.

Tasks

I use this more as a reminder tool for the kid’s to-do list. For example, Lauren is required to do her homework, practise Chinese characters writing, and clear her books and toys before she gets her screen time.

This could also act as a communication tool between you (as a parent) and your child. I think it’s great for working parents to be able to set tasks for their kids and in return, kids get to learn how to be independent, be responsible and complete those tasks by themselves.

Monitor kid’s usage of mobile applications

When I first downloaded Tittle, I got distracted and didn’t use all the features immediately. I was surprised to receive a notification that says my kids has used the ‘Settings’ app for the past 1 hour 13 mins. Hahaha… it was me who left the tablet aside without putting the sleep mode on.

So yes, even if you can’t be arsed to set the perimeters and use all the features that Tittle offers, you could at least monitor their usage time and amount of mobile data consumed. These figures give me a clear idea on which apps my kids are spending their time on and if necessary, exercise limits on my child’s device use.

You could also see your kid’s app activity on their smartphones. You can look at the history to review which apps your kids have downloaded, updated or even deleted.

After trying out the app, I conclude that if I need better monitoring features and a safer user experience for the kids, Android is the way to go. I am an iPhone user myself, but there are just more limitations to monitor an iOS device, which I can easily overcome if they are on an Android device.

All in all, I think Tittle is a great application for parents in this uncertain age of ‘how-much-screen-time-should-kids-have?’. Banning screen time all together certainly isn’t the answer because that is the way the world is heading. We need to let our kids learn how to navigate digital devices confidently and securely. And as parents, we do everything we can to protect them and that’s where Tittle comes in handy.

So why not download now to enjoy all the features for free? (All new users will get 14 days free trial of Tittle Max, so take the chance to enjoy all the features for free now! All existing users will enjoy free trial till 15 June.)

Learn more on www.tittleforparents.com!

Tittle Parental App

Google Play | App Store