Microsoft launches ‘Family Time’ app to help parents with internet safety for kids

Microsoft launches ‘Family Time’ app to help parents with internet safety for kids

Microsoft is rolling out an app called Family Safety to measure kids screen time and app usage.

The app is primarily designed for parents to manage their kids’ screen time and app usage. The app essentially allows users to monitor their family’s digital safety and track screen time across Android, Windows PCs, and Xbox.

There are also features such as location sharing and notifications that can be useful to track the location of family members and receive alerts when they reach school or work.

Parents can view screen time, top websites visited, and terms kids are searching for online and can set limits on specific apps or games.

The app is available now in preview form on both Android and iOS.

5 tips for parents to keep their children engaged at home during lockdown

5 tips for parents to keep their children engaged at home during lockdown

Covid-19 has impacted our lives in many ways. Due to the lockdown, schools are shut and parents are struggling to keep their kids engaged at home.

Here are 5 ways to keep your kids engaged

Assign them certain tasks on a daily basis. It can be hanging laundry to dry, vacuuming the house, watering plants, etc. which makes them responsible.

Make them learn new things everyday it can be making crafts, stitching or even something related to their academics.

Help them develop a new hobby. You can give them access to e books or also encourage them to do gardening, stamp collection etc.

Create a special time to chill with them. You can play video games, cook together or even watch a movie which will help you bond with them.

Get them to maintain a diary and daily tell them to write about certain aspects of their lives such as 5 things in life that they are grateful for or even the people whom they admire the most in life.

CERT asks parents to monitor child’s online activity, issues guidelines

CERT asks parents to monitor child’s online activity, issues guidelines

Amid lockdown, people are staying home, and children are busy browsing on the internet or attending online classes. Now, national cyber security agency CERT has advised parents to keep checking on their children’s activity on internet.

In the wake of Covid-19 lockdown, various cases of cyber bullying, online scams have come to light. Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In) is the federal agency in India that helps combat cyber-attacks to guard cyberspace within the country.

It has also issued some guidelines for parents

All the devices with internet access must be set in the living room and should only be accessed in the presence of an adult.

Teach kids how to browse and the content that needs to be looked for in order to maintain appropriate online behaviour.

Parents are advised to filter content and avoid the chance of the child encountering inappropriate content.

Add parental control software to family devices.There should be two-factor authentication for devices and its home screen should be locked with a pin.

Parents must keep a check on credit card and phone bills as well and look for unfamiliar account charges.