If you are a parent of a kid, WhatsApp is more likely to be a part of your family’s life. Whether it is you or your kids, the app usage is inevitable for all of you. Most of the users, including kids, have stopped using conventional texting method and have switched to instant messaging apps like WhatsApp. But is this app safe for everyone?
We can say this for adults are they are more mindful while navigating the app and know how to tackle the issues surrounding it. However, kids are not capable of keeping themselves safe on the app. Parents need to intervene and monitor their chats regularly to ensure their online safety. For this, they may use an iPhone spy app or an Android monitoring app, depending on what suits them best.
On every step, parents need to monitor their kids’ WhatsApp activity. Suppose if they remain neglectful of what their kids are doing on the app, the kids can suffer a lot of problems. In this post, we will discuss why parents should monitor their kids’ WhatsApp chats and what could be done to ensure their safety on the app.
Why WhatsApp Monitoring Is Important
WhatsApp monitoring has become vital in the digital age. With several dangers and risks lurking on instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp, you must do everything to protect your kids from them. Kids are at huge risk when they are using WhatsApp to send and receive messages, and every parent should be aware of that risk.
There are several reasons for parents to monitor their kids WhatsApp activity. Although many parents give contradictory statements and feel WhatsApp monitoring violates kids’ online privacy, still some believe it should be done to watch out for what kids are doing on the app.
With your kids spending too much time on WhatsApp, several health issues arise which could be harmful to them in the long run. They can also lose the sense of reality if they do not react with people in real life and only be in touch with them through the app.
Extended hours of WhatsApp usage can result in dropping their school grades, thus affecting their academic performance.
Last but not least, parents also need to monitor kids’ WhatsApp activity to make sure they are not interacting with any sexual predator or receiving hurtful messages from a cyberbully. WhatsApp is a platform where cyberbullying and pedophilia are ever-present. So, to keep your kids safe from these dangers, you need to start monitoring their WhatsApp chats.
These are some reasons that make it necessary for parents to keep tabs on their kids’ WhatsApp activity. However, you need to be careful with WhatsApp monitoring because too much spying around your kid’s WhatsApp can make them lose trust in you or prevent them from opening up to you.
You would not want your kid to start hiding things from you and use WhatsApp only when you’re not around. If it is about your teens and older kids, you need to give them a sense of trust that they are mature and sensible enough to use the app wisely.
It sounds reasonable to monitor younger kids because they are not aware of the dangers that this instant-messaging app can bring into their lives. Come what may, you need to discuss the dangers of WhatsApp with your kids so they can protect themselves on the app and use it sensibly.
Ensure Kids Safety on WhatsApp
No matter how old your kid is, you still would want to protect them from online dangers lurking on the app. For this, you need to use a reliable and professional parental control that needs to conduct effective WhatsApp monitoring, be cost-effective and easy to operate.
There’s a myriad of iPhone monitoring and Android spy apps in the market that can help you monitor your kid’s WhatsApp activity. You need to be vigilant while picking up one and stay away from the bogus and fake WhatsApp monitoring apps.
With the help of the right monitoring app, you can supervise your kid’s activity on WhatsApp in a lot of ways. For instance, you can check their WhatsApp usage and learn how much time they are spending on the app. If you think they are spending more time than they should, you can consider limiting their screen time.
Secondly, you can view their WhatsApp chats and keep track of all the incoming and outgoing messages in those chats. By taking a look at your kid’s WhatsApp conversations, you can spot any indecent message or any inappropriate content exchange and put an end to it. Monitoring messages can also prevent your kid from sexting.
WhatsApp monitoring app also helps you keep a record of all the media files such as photos, videos, GIFs, voice notes, etc. exchanged within the app. If you catch your kid exchanging nude photos or other inappropriate content on the app, you can immediately intervene and put a stop to it.
