What you need to know about text message monitoring and digital parenting this holiday season.

Parents often want two things: to be the "cool" parent, and to be the parent that can trust their children no matter what. Unfortunately, in the age of texting and social media, trust is usually a luxury parents cannot afford. In fact, for young children especially, it's a parent's responsibility to monitor their children's online habits to make sure they are using the power of modern day technology safely. 

Today's parents are aware of the dangers of social networks like Facebook and are careful to establish a system for parental monitoring of their child's online activities. This may involve having the password to the child's social media accounts and even restricting activity to a family computer in a common area in the home. But that may not be enough to keep your kids safe.

Not only does your child have an incredibly active social life, but now a huge part of their social life happens online, away from the prying eyes of parents.  It's probably unknown to you how many hours your child spends hiding under her covers after the lights are supposed to be out, texting away, or browsing through her friends' status updates.  And now, as if Facebook and Twitter didn't give you enough to worry about, there is Instagram and Snapchat; yet one more reason why social network monitoring needs to be a priority for every parent.

Parents are often ignorant about some of the dangers that stem from social media. Although many children and teenagers view social media as a fun place to connect with friends, it can be very dangerous depending on what they are doing online. Here are some Parental Intelligence issues that you should think about as your child uses social media websites.

- Think about the future

Social media accounts are not private, even if you select private settings for the accounts. Someone can also find a way to gain access to them. Although your children are still underage, a potential employer or even college may decide to view their social media account.

This is an original post from one of our favorite bloggers, Shivani Cotter of TrendingMom.com. You can read this article, and many more, here.

Some people really are just jerks… either that, or they have no concept of reality.

Christmas seems to bring out the best and worst in people.  What we tend to forget as we grow older is that it is truly a magical time for the little one’s in this world.  I read something disturbing tonight.

The title might turn you off, but don't be offended.  Spying on your kids is not always a negative and can be thought of as something that needs to be done to ensure their health and well-being. Spy the proper way by following the steps outlined below.  

uKnow.com is pleased to announce that December is Military Appreciation Month. Throughout the month of December, we will be featuring military mommy bloggers on our blog site discussing things like helping young children through deployment and moving.  uKnowKids is also releasing a free eBook and SlideShare to the public about essential online tools and digital services that every military family needs.

I myself do not yet have kids, but I am certainly always learning from my parents, younger siblings, friends, coworkers and everyone around me about the difficulties and stresses that can come from it. I'm a person that grew up in the "digital age," and I know that for the younger population, it's just as natural as talking or using a phone. The issue seems to be that when you can talk anywhere at any time to anyone, it becomes almost impossible to keep your thumb on what exactly your kids are talking about.

Remember when we wrote about a new trend called swatting a few months back?  Well it hasn't seemed to have slowed down at all.   

If you remember, swatting is where pranksters call police to falsely report that a major crime is underway at some celebrity's home.  Attempted kidnappings and shootings have been some of the most common crimes falsely reported.  This weekend, "X-Factor" judge Simon Cowell was the latest celebrity to fall victim to this form of bullying.  Other swatting victims include actor Ashton Kutcher and singers Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus. Because these people are well-known celebrities, there is usually a full tactical police response, which takes money and resources away from people who might actually need it.

Windows PCs and Macs have pretty good parental monitoring features, but they are just the first steps...

If your children are spending too much time on the home computer screen, your can gain some control of their computer usage by using Windows’ and Mac parental monitoring features. Those features provide a good first step, but aren’t the entire solution. Many parents are aware of threats to their children online (cyberbullying, sexting, online predators to name a few) but few know the different ways they can help keep them safe.

Windows 8: 

Everyone parent wants to be the "cool" parent. You don't want to be one of those parents who won't let their child have a Facebook account because it could be too dangerous.  And when you mentioned to your child that he could have a Facebook account, you thought his face might break because he was so thrilled.  And he couldn't get to his computer fast enough to get signed up.  Before the night was over, the amount of friends he had was climbing.  At last count, he had over three hundred, which is more than you have on your Facebook page.  You've had yours for three years.

Since cell phones are pretty much in our every day life, of course children will want their own phone to send and receive message to their friends. There is no problem with this if you feel your child is responsible but you’re worried, you can still have the authority to monitor their text messages. Text message monitoring does not make you the bad guy, its actually a helpful cause especially if you think your child is being bullied over texts or sending inappropriate things. Keep these tips in mind if you’re looking to monitor their messages.

Talk With Your Child

As parents, we all want to think the best of our children. However, sometimes they don’t live up to our expectations. Even a child with the best of intentions can find themselves involved in the darker side of social networking. The good news is that parents can take some simple and free steps to begin effective parental monitoring.

Talk about your expectations

Kids can’t follow a rule if it doesn’t exist. Clear expectations must be set or your child is likely to make mistakes. The resource link on the uKnowKids homepage has free safety tips and an Internet & Mobile Safety Pledge for Kids. 

Young children are online throughout the day by using their Smartphone. This means that a parent will need a way to ensure their child's online safety. This can be done by using a social network monitoring solution.

An article on the Calgary CTV News website has various strategies that can be used for social network monitoring. The goal is to ensure that your children are kept safe when using various social media sites available online.

Doesn't it seem that new smartphones appear all the time? If the media isn't touting the latest and greatest new phone, your teenager certainly is! While teenagers around the country started to drool over the new features, parents face the same dilemma they have faced since the origianal smart hones started appearing on kids' birthday and holiday gift lists. How do I keep my child safe?

Once upon a time, children would go out and play until dark.  Parents would go to their back porches and call their names and a few minutes later, the kids would ride their bikes in the driveway and come inside for the night. Location monitoring was never a concern because the parents all looked out for each other's children.  

Parental monitoring is no easy task, but parents realize that it's one of their most important responsibilities. My kids put themselves on a global stage every time they use the Internet, and it's up to me to ensure that they're doing it in a way that protects their safety and their reputation. But parental monitoring isn't what it used to be. The way our kids use the Internet keeps changing, so the way we keep tabs on their online activity must also evolve.

A decade or so ago, it was usually enough to place the family computer in a well-trafficked area of the house and install some parental controls on it. But today's kids don't even use the family computer as their main method of getting online. Kids use their phones, their tablets, their gaming systems, their music players, and other handheld devices. They may go all week without even touching the family computer.

When it comes to kids and their online activities, the term parental controls has been replaced by parental monitoring. Children are more technologically savvy than ever before, and they can easily get around most of the controls that you put in place. If they have Internet access, all they have to do is Google something for more information. Furthermore, YouTube is becoming more popular each day for its entertaining content and for the fact that it often has step-by-step, how-to videos on virtually anything.

Young kids also know not only how to make cell phone calls and send text messages, they can download and use most smart phone applications. Overall, developing technical skills and gaining independence is beneficial to kids. However, as the saying goes, greater freedom comes with greater responsibility.

Parental monitoring is difficult to begin with. It's no longer just about the family computer, but about knowing what your teen is up to on the laptop, iPod, Xbox live, and smart phone. And to make it even more difficult, your teen is probably actively trying to hide their Internet activity from you.

7 out of 10 teens report hiding their online activity from their parents, whether by minimizing browser windows when you enter the room or using a device they know you don't or can't monitor as closely.