5 Ways to Secure your Kid’s Cell Phone

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by TracFone – all opinions are 100% my own.

I have to be honest – the thought of my nine-year old having his own cell phone kind of freaks me out!  I know many other 9-year-olds who have their own iPhones for various reasons, but I always thought I would be one of those moms who never let her kids have a phone until they were 16.

I was offered to try out a TracFone LG Optimus Fuel™ SpongeBob Squarepants Bundle and was a little frightened about bringing it into my home. We are pretty tight on internet security in our house – all of our computers and iPhones have passwords on them so that kids can’t get in. We have an internet security program called Covenant Eyes on all of our devices, so the kids are always protected. Even though I was hesitant, I was willing to give it a try. We are hoping to cancel our home phone and thought this would be a good option to have around the house in case of an emergency.

When I received the TracFone phone, I set it up with my son Andrew. It came with a code to download free SpongeBob SquarePants games, so we did that first.

Then I was showing him how to text me in case of an emergency – the problem was that I mistyped my phone number by one digit and ended up texting a random person “Hey Mom.” That person typed back and asked who it was, which we responded “Oops wrong number sorry.”

She responded back with this (shown above).  Seriously?  Who writes this back to someone? What a quick reminder of just how vulnerable our children are with an unprotected smartphone!

I never responded, but woke up the next morning and my 3 year old has taken the phone off the table and was hiding in the back toy room with the phone. She had called Nellie….of all people! I was terrified to think that this nellie lady somehow thinks that we are interested in being her ‘friend’!  Thankfully the phone came with the award-winning NQ Family Guardian™ parental control app, parents can monitor and manage their child’s activities, locations and phone usage, including web browsing, app downloads, photo libraries, contacts, text messages and more.

I downloaded that to the phone right away so that I could block Nellie and also make sure that the phone is safe for us. After looking over the Family Guardian App and all of the details, I started to feel much better about having this phone in my house.

Here are the 5 ways that the NQ Family Guardian App can help secure your kids cell phone:

1.) Set up a web filter.

If you don’t want your child to be searching on the web without supervision, you have the option to totally turn web browsing off.  If you do choose to let them have access to web browsers, you also block certain websites and/or content categories.

2.) Have a program with a Panic Button.

The NQ Family Guardian™ App has a Panic Button right on the home page of the app. Your child (if in danger) can push the Panic Button and it will alert you that they pushed it, plus give you their exact location.  You can also have the child check in wherever they get to their destination, that way you always know where they are.

3.) Have ability to monitor all of their incoming and outgoing messages, phone calls, and pictures.

With cyber bullying going on these days, this is one of the biggest fears I have with allowing my kids to have a cell phone.  With the NQ Family Guardian™ App, you have access to all of their text messages, pictures, phone numbers they call, and much more!  This way you can check in on them and monitor their social media activity.

4.) Have your child’s phone on a schedule.

Setting up a phone schedule with your young child is important.  With the NQ Family Guardian™ App you can set a schedule for when your child is allowed to be on their phone.  If you allow them to play a game for 30 minutes, you can set the schedule before they start, and have the phone log them out after the 30 minutes is up.

5.) Block incoming texts or calls that you do not want your child to receive.

I was able to easily block Nellie’s phone number using the app. That way if she ever tries to get a hold of us again, she will not be able to get through. This makes me feel a bit safer about my son having a phone.

I am still not sure if I am going to let him carry this around with him at this point, but I am thrilled that I can have a phone for emergencies and know that it is safe for him to use.

I am still not sure if I am going to let him carry this around with him at this point, but I am thrilled that I can have a phone for emergencies and know that it is safe for him to use.

Kids can make the TracFone LG Optimus Fuel™ Android™ smartphones uniquely theirs with fun SpongeBob SquarePants content and accessories. All come with free, exclusive access to:

• SpongeBob SquarePants headphones, to create a unique look for your phone.
• Download and watch full-length SpongeBob SquarePants episodes.
• Download SpongeBob SquarePants Android™ apps and play mobile games.

If you are looking for a phone for your kids for Christmas this year – this is normally priced at $79.99 – BUT they are on sale for $29.99 until 12/31/14 at Target, Walmart and Kroger. This is the perfect phone to be your child’s first cell phone. It’s a fun & family-friendly device, and when coupled with the NQ Family Guardian™ app, it’s a reliable way to track and monitor your child’s cell phone usage.

I want to know – do your kids have a cell phone yet? What do you think the appropriate age is for a cell phone?

Legal disclaimers: Plans and Phones sold separately. Average cost of $7/month* (*A month equals 30 days). Check coverage availability and Terms and Conditions of Service at TracFone.com. Other limitations apply.