The Situation
It’s Friday night. Your 16-year old daughter had an 11:30PM curfew and she was in the door at 11:29PM. Now you can relax and finish watching your show without further worry knowing she is home safe and sound. It’s well after midnight by the time you’re ready for bed and as you pass your daughter’s room in the hall you notice her bedroom light is on. You remind her she’s got soccer practice in the morning and it’s time for lights out. Respecting your wishes, she says ‘goodnight’ and turns her bedroom light off.
However, as you drift off to sleep thinking how lucky you are to have such a responsible and respectful daughter, she is actually in bed with her laptop and her webcam continuing her date with the boy she just went to the movies with – over an instant video session that allows them to see and hear each other in real time, in an intimate setting into the wee hours of the morning, over your home Internet connection!
Your Frustration
The reality is teens will always find a way to stay connected so long as they own a device that shares your Internet. The ubiquity of wireless Internet lets them be ‘out’ even when they’re tucked into bed. And while you’ve raised your kids responsibly – teens will be teens – and sometimes living in the ‘now’ is more compelling than exercising good judgment.
The Solution
Give your kids an Internet curfew too! As she’s heading out the door, remember to log in to your WebCurfew account and locate your daughter’s laptop on your control panel. Turn Internet access off for her laptop for the rest of the night. Remember to log back in the next day to re-establish her Internet access. Log in to your WebCurfew account and locate your daughter’s laptop on your control panel. Create a WebTimer to automatically turn off (and then on again later) Internet access to her laptop during night time sleeping hours.
The Result?
Just by limiting the opportunities your teens have to connect, especially at night, you can safeguard your kids against every impulsive, yet potentially harmful online temptation – from late-night flirtations with people they know, to potentially dangerous online encounters with people they don't. With WebCurfew, you can rest assured that your home Internet access rules are helping your kids avoid bad online decisions.