Author name: Jenny Nicole

Child Monitoring

How to Help Your Kids with Their Exams: A Survival Guide

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Parents know how important it is for their kids to deal with the immense exam pressure. No wonder why so many kids dream about going for an exam without putting on any clothes. It’s the stress and the pressure, and some kids are not good at dealing with it. If your kid breaks into a cold sweat just at the mere idea of exams, then use these important tips to help them prepare for their exams. How Important Are Exams? Exams are important for your kids. It provides them an easier path to get on at school and later into a good college and university. However, there are other ways to get the work and life your kids may wish about but still then, they might have to go through some sort of exam. It’s a great parenting gesture if you stand by your kids while they prepare for their exams. This is how you can help them Provide Them a Study Space Your kids’ room might not be the best place to work around with the books because of immense agglomeration of stuff everywhere. Your kid’s study space should be quiet and not in front of a TV or on their bed. Though there are anomalous cases where kids perform exceptionally well even under imperfect study ambience but still, too many distractions can interrupt with the concentrations levels of your kids. Next you need to do is clear off their desk with bare minimum within their study area for more concentration and less distraction. If your kids wants to group study, invite their friends over. And if your kid insists on going over a friends place, let them go, but monitor them using a parental control even when you aren’t with them. Get Them into a Routine It is better that your kids start early enough for the exams. This will ensure that they don’t put in any all-nighters which can seriously aggravate any child’s health. Let your kids choose their study hours and if they study better on the floor or with music, let them do it Plan Ahead! An early routine for your kid will help them achieve more without panicking. Get all the important stuff that your kids might need for studying before time like the study material and syllabus. Ask their teachers to make a list of the important topics Tell your kid to spend more time on their weaker subjects. Putting more time into subjects these kind of subjects will ensure a better overall score. Look After Your Kids’ Health Coffee and other related stimulants are only good enough to keep your kids awake but their overdose can bring anxiety and reduce overall concentration. Your kids need sleep to relax and manage that extra work. Give your kids a balanced diet that contains fruits, vegetables, meat, nuts and dairy. Avoid junk food and sugars. Also, tell your kids to have an exercise routine as it keeps mind active and is a great way to have a break, if your kids find their concentration levels falling. Reward Them If your kids achieve their routine or daily goals like studying 4 hours a day, reward them with something they like. Know what to expect from your kids, taking their exam preparation into consideration and remember, stay calm on your kids’ exam day.

Teen Smartphone Use
Child Monitoring

4 Myths about Teen Smartphone Use Debunked Using XNSPY

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I feel like I have some explaining to do. I’ve always used this blog as an outlet to warn you guys about what could go wrong with smartphones use. I had reason to take that route. A bit of shock therapy to drive parents into taking action and monitoring well. But I need to clear the air and tell you that smartphones and tablets and gadgets aren’t all bad. I will admit, smartphones—and the hyper connectivity they provide—can be really messy. But use it well, and it gives your life the boost you need. Heck, I got a job out of sitting around browsing the internet all day. So today, I really want to take this time and clear up some misconceptions about teens and smartphone use that parents have developed over the years. And we’ll do this using our XNSPY monitoring app. 1. Smartphones Make You Stupider Many parents think that being wired in all the time makes their child dumber. Perhaps it is because it has decreased our attention span. Or perhaps it is because it is a constant distraction that hinders productive study time. So what’s the truth? Fact is that with smartphones, information is just a tap of the finger away. Kids today research more. They aren’t afraid to be inquisitive and ask questions, because the internet provides answers. However, if you are afraid your child isn’t using their phone for informational purposes at all, you can use XNSPY to go through their browser history and see what they’re doing yourself. 2. Smartphones Make Us Aloof Here’s another thing that smartphones have been blamed for: evoking antisocial behavior in children. Which is ironic since this is the era of ‘social’ media. So what’s the truth? It is interesting when you think about it. Smartphones are simultaneously blamed for hyper connectivity and no connectivity. But when you break it down, you’ll notice that much of the time your child spends on their phone is to communicate with other people. Text with their friends, on Facebook chats or video conferences. 3. Texting is Ruining Language Texting and IM language has always been blamed for promoting bad grammar. Parents think that the convenience of writin lyk dis ultimately makes the child perform badly at school. So what’s the truth? Studies have shown that texting has encouraged more kids to read and write. Not only this, but it forces them to think creatively. A 2008 paper by Mark Peters found that teens that find creative ways to text turn out to be great writers. Besides, using abbreviation in written communication is older than texting. 4. Gaming Apps Encourage Violence Parents always think that if their kids play violent video games on their phones, it in turn induces violent behavior, or at the very least, violent thoughts. So what’s the truth? I think it has been proven time and time again that video games have no correlation with violent behavior. Still, you can use XNSPY to see the list of installed apps in your kid’s phone. If you spot a game that you think is too inappropriate, give it the axe. Of course, you are going to have play moderator to make sure your kids aren’t falling into the deep end with smartphones. But that’s what your monitoring app is for! Recommended for you: Employee Monitoring Software – Spy Employees Remotely  Parental Control App – Cell Phone Parental Control Software  

Single Working Mom
Child Monitoring, Tips

8 Work-Life Tips for the Always Busy Single Working Mom

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Frankly speaking, I despise it when the discussions of work-life balance are always directed at women or mums. Especially in this time, when both parents are effectively delegating duties inside and outside the houses. But a lot of women that write to us and have subscribed with us happen to be single mothers that are juggling work life and home life. So, I’d like to clarify that it is those moms that are our audience for today’s blog. You’ll find that the most important element in these tips ahead is careful preplanning. Preparing ahead helps you be more organized throughout the week, which saves you more time. (https://www.drpaulsonline.com/) Because that is the one thing that single moms feel like they don’t have enough of—time. And another thing you’ll find in these tips is that they encourage moms to make appropriate use of technology. We’ll talk more about that later, but first, here are 8 pointers for working moms that SerenataFlowers.com has come up with: The only thing I’m going to add to these tips is that your use of technology or the internet does not have to be restricted to shopping or paying bills. A lot of your parenting can be done wirelessly as well. XNSPY parental control is a user-friendly app that keeps you connected with your kids no matter where you are—at home or at work. So while you’re paying your bills or shopping online, you can check in on your kids and make sure they’re safe, being responsible and in a healthy state of mind. Because with technology on their side, the working mom really can do it all.

Online Photo Sharing - risk?
Social Media

Online Photo Sharing Poses a Bigger Risk Than You Know

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Last year was the year of the selfie. Somehow, the idea of taking your own picture blew up on social media. It was talked about 92 million times on Twitter alone. And that’s key here isn’t it? Taking photos and social media. Because now, every time you take a photo of yourself, you’ve got to document it on social media. And it’s not like it’s a new concept or anything. It has existed long before there were cameras in all the painted self-portraits we see. And here’s Sir Paul McCartney in the 60s at the peak of his popularity, taking a selfie, So if this practice really is that old, why has it become riskier now? Well, Sir Paul McCartney’s camera over there probably didn’t come with an instant share button. But your kids have smartphones that do. Smartphone Photo Tagging Often when you post a photo online through your smartphone, your location is posted along with it. Which of course is a security concern. Because your child posts photos from their home, school, work all the time. And if this information were to find its way to a stalker, it would make it very easy for them to get to your child. Decoded Science has a few tips on how you can switch your settings so that your photos are not geo-tagged. These tips should help you keep your kids safe. Facebook, Instagram, Vanity The biggest thrill of taking photos—at least for teenagers—is posting them and getting responses. A series of likes and comments that offer an ego boost. Apparently, 70% activity on anyone’s Facebook feed is photos. And well, Instagram is nothing if not photo sharing, fueling fire to vanity. But we must mention here that these platforms have policies that claim ownership to anything you post. So these platforms become the owners of your child’s photos, not you. A mother’s story that was posted here earlier highlights the trouble with this arrangement. When third parties can claim ownership of your photos, they can end up nearly anywhere. A Bigger Audience Your child’s photos always have a bigger audience than you anticipate. In the blog that the mother wrote for us, she also mentioned how her daughter has over a 1000 Instagram followers, entirely strangers. And let’s be honest, most kids are sloppy with their privacy settings. Sometimes intentionally even so that their photos get more likes. And do you know why that is dangerous? When your kid’s photos has a large audience, you never know who is acquiring them, and you don’t know who is doing what with them. For all you know, the photos are being used for digital kidnapping. A Digital Footprint Remains Here’s another little tidbit that you should know about your photo sharing habits. Anytime a selfie is posted onto the internet, they are saved into little caches files, so they are available in serves around the world. When you delete your photo, it would still remain somewhere on the internet in one form or the other. Which is problematic because your kid might have shared something inappropriate that you would want taken down. But the damage would already be done. Minimizing Risk with Parental Monitoring App The best way to watch over what photos your kids are taking, where they are being posted, and who they are being shared with is through a parental monitoring app. Once you install it on their phones, those photos will be available for you to see. That way, you can make sure The shared photos are appropriate Your child isn’t oversharing Your child isn’t sharing photos with strangers Your child isn’t posting on untrusted websites Careful monitoring is the best way to minimize photo sharing risk. Online safety matters!

Performance at School
Child Monitoring

4 Ways Parental Control Can Improve Your Kid’s Performance at School

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Sometimes, it so happens that your child shows all the potential in the world when they are at home, but it doesn’t manifest into good grades at school. Your first assumption in this matter is that perhaps your child isn’t as bright as you had imagined. But that’s where you are wrong. Kids show potential in a lot of different ways, and what’s stopping them might not be their fault to begin with. Your job as a parent is to find out exactly what it is that is stopping them. Get to the root of the problem, then figure out a way to resolve it. Asking your kids plainly is a good idea, but it is tricky because They might not want to share their problems with you, They might not know how to verbalize/express a problem they are having, They might not view trouble areas as problems at all. Sometimes, a passive approach to parenting can be better off… such as using a parental control to play detective with your kids. Here are 4 ways to do so. ‘Always on their Smartphone’ Problem A lot of parents that write to us complain about how their kids are practically always glued to their devices. The kids are quick to say that they’re using their phones and computers for homework. So how do you make sure they’re not lying? With your parental control, of course. A good parenting app will let you go through their browsing history, so you can closely review the websites they’ve been visiting. Parents have typically found that kids spend more time on social media and gaming websites than they do on anything that is remotely ‘homework’. ‘Skipping School’ Problem Then we’ve got parents who keep getting calls from their kid’s schools informing them that once again, their kids were a no show. If your child is going through a rebellious phase, they’re going to want to explore freedom, see how far they can push boundaries you set. Skipping school just happens to contain just the right amount of thrill. A parenting app usually comes with a GPS tracker which can tell you exactly where they are. Creating geo-fences around the school will also help you be alerted anytime they enter or leave the school. ‘Bullies at School’ Problem Speaking of skipping school. Another reason why your kid doesn’t want to go, is because they’re being bullied there. And studies have highlighted that bullying results in lower performance at school. And of course it would—bullying presents emotional turmoil. If you child isn’t happy, they won’t do well. Here, you can check through your child’s Facebook chats with the parental control. You can point out the bullies, or read conversations they have with their friends to see what they are going through at school. ‘Wrong Crowd’ Problem Many times, it may not be your child that is problematic but the company they keep. Friends have a lot of influence on you in your adolescent years. Groupthink in teenagers results in reckless behavior, lapse in judgment, and getting in trouble—such as experimenting with narcotics. So, use your monitoring app to read through your kid’s text messages and see what they use it to talk to their friends about. A study highlighted that only 1 percent parents of teen drug abusers knew of their children’s habits. This means that 99% parents were completely unaware. That is where monitoring apps are useful. Understand them with Parental Controls Essentially, what parental controls are doing is giving you a deeper insight into your kid’s life. Of course you want your child do to well in school, and it troubles you when they don’t. But before you begin blaming their potential, or creating strict rules that achieve nothing, take some time to identify the problems in their lives. Find out what is stopping them. At the same time, know your child’s capacity as well and realize that they might be better at some subjects but not the other. And some kids simply learn at their own pace.

Bathroom Texting
Child Monitoring

Toilet Texting is Definitive Proof that We Are Hyper Connected

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You know you’re addicted to your smartphone when You panic anytime you reach out and it’s not there You legitimate get separation anxiety if you have to be away from it You respond to its every beck and call You check it at regular intervals even when it hasn’t buzzed The ironic bit is, these days kids and their parents are equally guilty of smartphone addiction. Here are some stats from Netlos… We don’t leave the house without our phones. Heck, we don’t even leave the room without our phones. A whopping 75% people in the US have admitted to taking their phones along to when they visit the toilet. Could you believe it? Toilet texting is now the norm. If there were ever was proof for a smartphone addiction epidemic, it’s this. Check out this infographic from Online Degrees. So why can’t people put their phones down? It’s because we’re so hyper connected, we fear we’ll miss out on something big if we’re away for even an hour. Missing out a day in internet terms is missing out on a week. You’ve got news and social media updates and memes and other internet quirks to keep up with. Confused tried to get to the bottom of the UK’s phone addiction. So how do we control ourselves in this hyper connectivity? By unplugging and getting involved in real life activities. Get your family in on the digital cleanse and just breathe out. Your kids are at a bigger risk here, so exercise your parental monitoring and moderate their use. Because while you fear that you’ll miss out on the next news or post or meme as it happens, you’re missing out on real experiences.

Toxic Personality Types
Employee Monitoring

5 Toxic Personality Types at Work and What to do With Them

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As a manager, you’ll be responsible for all sorts of people. And of course, there will be certain personality types that are more to your liking, and certain that just don’t mesh well with yours at all. We’ve discussed in detail how you can manage different employees before. But today, let’s talk about managing the problematic employees because They present the real challenge, and They come in all forms and sizes. This infographic from GetVoip brilliantly illustrates the personality types that are bad for business and what you need to do with them: I like what this chart has highlighted towards the end—that finding out what types of personalities are toxic for your business takes careful deliberation. And that could be a scattered process, so let me try and organize it for you. First, write a formal employee handbook and have it as part of the agreement when you hire someone. Use employee monitoring software to make sure your employees abide by those rules. Use this tool to trace out patterns that highlight disruptive, disrespectful, or other forms of unacceptable behavior. Identify problematic employees and categorize them. Understand that not all employee perform exactly as you want, so manage expectations. Use appropriate methods (such as those mentioned in the chart above) to try and resolve matters. If all else fails, find a new employee. Toxic employees can be a bigger liability to your company than you can afford. You’d be better off otherwise!

Parenting styles
Child Monitoring

How to Find Harmony in Different Parenting Styles

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There are probably as many parenting styles as there are parents. The problem arises when two different styles are trying to parent the same children. Apparently, moms and dads inherently have different approaches to raising children as it is. So finding a stride that works for the relationship and the kids is pretty challenging. But step back and you’ll realize that the very differences that create conflict are actually a blessing in disguise. The key is to find harmony in them. Here’s how. Knowing When it Hurts the Kids Growing up, my parents had a good cop, bad cop thing figured out and while they struck a good balance, I had learned to use it to my advantage. You’ve got to find a way with your different styles that doesn’t hurt the kids. Don’t defy the other parent’s rules in front of the kids Don’t make the kids pick sides Kids, like me, will learn to pick the side to break rules, get a benefit etc. The kid might automatically listen to the parent that provides more leeway You might confuse the kid—they won’t know how to behave or what rules to follow Picking Your Battles Partnering up to raise kids requires quite a lot of compromise. You and your partners obviously have your own set of values and rules that you want to impart on the children. But when the values collide, you have to start picking your battles. You and your partner for example may not agree on dating roles for your kids. But find areas that you do agree on and build from there. Stand your ground in matters that affects the child’s wellbeing, such as staying out late (even though your partner doesn’t see the problem in it). But go easy on other things, such as certain dress code your partner wants the kids to abide by. Avoiding Constant Conflict If you disagree on your partner’s approach with your children, bring it up in private. Don’t defy them in front of the kids. People adopt parenting styles based on the experiences of their own when they were growing up. Talk about why the rules you are setting for your kids matter to you or what sort of impact you want to make on your child. Differences are Good! Finally, learn to celebrate the differences. It is easy to view the subject of different parenting styles in terms of conflict. But really, different styles are great. They create balance and nurture the child through different aspects of their personality. Your partner might be better equipped for certain facets of parenting than you are. So don’t make your differences a point of contention that pull the children in opposite directions. Find harmony in them and above all else, make sure that both your styles are in the best interest of the child. (cat3movie.org)

Employees Waste Time
Employee Monitoring

5 Ways Employees Waste Time When their Bosses Aren’t Looking

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It really is quite satisfying when you walk into the office and find all your employees engrossed deeply in their assignments. It’s probably an ode to your management skills, isn’t it? I bet they’d be just fine if you just get step out for a wee bit for a cup of coffee. Except they won’t be, and you know that quite well. Wasting time at work is a time honored tradition, and to be honest, it is expected of a 9-to-5 job format. So the best you can do is find out how they’re wasting time at your office and try to control it from there on. 1.      Water Cooler Chats The number one way time is wasted at most offices is through water cooler chats. Excessive workplace socializing has been notorious for decreasing productivity and being the birthplace for office rumors. But it has also proven to be good for business. Your job is to decipher if the water cooler effect at your workplace is in your favor or not. 2.      Social Media Fixations Let’s be honest, in 2015, the biggest culprit of time wastage at work has to be social media. Anytime your get a push notification, you just have to pick up your phone and see what it is. And social platforms are a rabbit hole where once you’re gone, you’ve lost all track of time. Even these platforms have realized that they’ve become a thorn on employer’s sides. Which is probably why Facebook is looking to develop Facebook for Work so workers can waste time… responsibly. 3.      Swivel Chair Rides Okay, so this one’s a stretch, we’ll admit it. But the disengaged employee will do anything that’s not work. And swivel chair rides is a more popular pastime office activity than you know. And why wouldn’t it be when it is technically a sport? 4.      Zoning Out What else do employees do to waste time at work? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And this one is trickiest to control. Because interaction and office chair shenanigans can be monitored with employee surveillance apps. But how do you tell if an employee has spaced out or if they’re actually working staring at their computer screens? 5.      Applying Elsewhere If your employee is well and truly unhappy where they are, they’re probably going to start applying elsewhere using the resources you give them. And this costs you, because not only as they wasting time as it is, they don’t plan to be productive later on, either. What Needs to be Done Your first instinct would be to stop anything in the office that is directly involved in wasting time, get rid of all the distractions. But then you’ll be creating an atmosphere that no one wants to work in. Name Badges provides some insight (and solutions) to this problem… Your employees need breaks to stay functional. But if they’re wasting time as a habit, that’s when you interfere. I’ve shared how I try to get rid of procrastination. Other than that, an employee management app should help you monitor, so things at the office don’t get too out of hand.

Teenage Drinking
Child Monitoring

9 Shocking Facts About Teenage Drinking

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The underage drinking problem is probably as old as time itself. Still, many parents still struggle to get to the root of the cause—when does a child start drinking and what drives them to it. Because needless to say, alcoholism at such a young age destroys lives. It is normal to assume that a teenager would want to drink because they are under a lot of stress. But really, a lot of times they’ll try a bottle or two simply because it is available to them. They could be trying it because all their friends are doing it. Or perhaps they’re doing it because they’re not fully aware of the consequences. So here’s a bit of shock therapy by the numbers. Here are a few facts about teenage drinking that would make you want to step up your parenting game. We all know what alcohol does to a body, especially at that young an age. There’s alcohol poisoning, disruption of the brain’s development, sexual growth deformities and what not. But there are also plenty of social problems like alienation, participation in aggressive activities and risky behavior… such as drinking and driving.  Statistically speaking, underage drinkers are poor performers at school and they have trouble with their memory. What Can Be Done? You, as a parent, should proactively deal with underage alcohol abuse. First of all, know that there is a lot of influence that parents can have on their kids’ attitude. Develop rules and guidelines and use a monitoring tool to ensure that they are being followed. Support them to regain their lost self-esteem and resilience. Help them say ‘NO’ to alcohol and promote other useful activates. Community-based efforts can also ensure a reduction in underage drinking. Talk to local stores around you to make sure they’re not selling to your kids. Containing Youth’s exposure to alcohol advertising can also make a big difference. Most importantly, share these facts with your kid and tell them how underage drinking will destroy their lives.

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