A MESSAGE FROM MS JEN

We live in a day and age where the safety of our children online is a top priority. Although hand phones are not permitted at SIS-PIK, many children use their hand phones at home.  Online security is an important consideration at home too, particularly with the rising prevalence of the use of hand phones. It can be difficult to feel completely comfortable with young children using Whatsapp, so I would like to share an alternative messaging app that has very high levels of security for your child.

Messenger Kids is a FREE video and messaging app that allows children to communicate in a safe way with close friends and family straight from their device. The best part? Children can only connect with people who have been pre-approved by their parent/guardian!

These are some of the security features of Messenger Kids:

• Parents have to approve all contacts in their child’s app
• Parents can set “off times” for the app, so they can manage screen time
• The content shared in Messenger Kids can never be deleted.  You will always have access to all past conversations for monitoring purposes.   
• Parental controls are available in the Parent Portal in your main Facebook app. Through the Parent Portal you can monitor who your children’s chat and text with by adding and approving contacts and setting on and off times through the Sleep Mode feature.

Children of all ages are quickly entering into a world embedded with social media and online interactions. The more we can practice safe and appropriate interactions online with our children, the better. Messenger Kids is FREE and available on iOS, Amazon, and Google Play stores! Check it out! You can get more information HERE.