My Favorite Parental Controls For Kids’ Screens and Devices

/in , /by

Safe Online

Keeping your kids safe on screens can become a full-time job. The best efforts are rarely enough. I finally found something that has worked so well for our family that I wanted to share it with you all.

Screens in stages

We have introduced screens in stages with our kids. When our oldest bought a smartphone, we dumbed it down. Over time, we allowed more options for him. Our kids can join social media when they are 17, as they are more mature to handle the drama it invites as well as controlled enough hopefully to fight the urge to live on social media.

Through the years we’ve tried several services for filtering, blocking, and adding another level of parental controls. We’ve struggled to find something that worked really well. Many services require you to use a particular browser in order to be protected. That never offered much comfort to me as often my kids would forget to use the alternate browser, so they weren’t really protected. Other services interfered with our normal computer internet usage for homeschool. The sensitivity levels ended up blocking even sites required for school. Needless to say, I’ve been on the search for something that filters, blocks, and truly protects.

Filter, Block, Protect

After seeing ads for weeks in my Facebook feed, I decided to try Bark for a free trial period. Before the trial was over, I was sold. I absolutely loved how well it performed.

Here’s how it works:

  • We set up services for our 13 and 16 year olds. The 16 year old has an iPhone and a computer. The 13 year old has an iPad. You set up profiles for each child and then connect to their devices and accounts.
  • It monitors, scans, reviews, filters through their texts, emails, you tube accounts, social media accounts (if they have them), Spotify or other music streaming services, entertainment services, any games they have downloaded. It’s very comprehensive.
  • Bark sends reviews for me to see throughout the day. It only sends items to review that I may find issue with. And I set the sensitivity levels that I want for each child.
    • For instance, if Zachary listens to music on Spotify where he has an account, it sends me the song, lyrics, and time listened if it is flagged based on the criteria I choose. I also love the fact that when I review something, if I decide I’m ok with it, I can click the button to not alert me again to this song or this issue.
    • If I set up the sensitivity to flag for bullying, sexual content, and profanity and he receives a text with any of these, it sends me the actual text. The only issue I’ve found with this is that context is missing. I’ve received reviews that bothered me, but when I pulled up the full text strand, the Bark review was missing context that cleared up the issue for me.
  • When I receive an alert from Bark, I can review in my own time. If it is something they deem important, it comes with a time sensitivity warning.
    • When we recently took a vacation, Zachary wasn’t on his computer for a week. I received an alert that his internet usage was drastically reduced, which could indicate a child has opened up another method. In our case, that wasn’t the case, but I like that it alerts to things I may never consider.
    • We allowed Zachary to join Snapchat ahead of our normal age 17 rule. Bark sent me a message to let me know he had a Snapchat account.

We have explained to our kids that Bark is a tool we use to keep them safe. It’s not because we don’t trust them or think they are doing anything we aren’t ok with. But the internet is a dangerous place, and it’s our jobs as parents to protect them.

Zachary bought his smartphone a few months shy of his 16th birthday. Initially, he had little access on it. Once we found Bark, we were able to loosen his iPhone restrictions, which he appreciated.

Bark has allowed us to help Zachary as he has entered the smartphone world over the last year.

A few other things I love about Bark:

  • It’s easy to set up. I had ours set up in no time.
  • Live people are ready and willing to help if you need it.
    • We had a review come through I wanted to understand better. I sent an email and received a response back that helped me so much.
  • Excellent customer service
  • Easy to use. Not only is it easy to set up, it’s easy to use.
  • There’s options to pause your internet.
  • The customization is fabulous. I can set screen schedules and rules. For instance, if I want no You Tube access during the school hours, I can set up that rule in our profile and they can’t access it during those hours.
  • It protects even in You Tube. This is the first service I have found that does that.

As always, I only share the things I truly love with you. While many things I share offer referral fees and affiliate payments, I never ever recommend anything I don’t use and love in our family.

If you are ready to try it out, click the link below!! I’d love to hear how you like it!!

Try Bark

Our Favorite Lasagna

/in , /by

Cooking is not my favorite thing. I often find myself procrastinating starting dinner so it takes me much longer than it should to make a meal. I get tired of the same meals, yet I have little time to scour the internet or cookbooks.

Lasagna is a meal I rarely make because in my mind it takes way too long to prepare and far too many ingredients. However, several nights ago I found myself craving lasagna and decided to simply go for it without a recipe, combining what I’ve used in various recipes we’ve enjoyed.

Pioneer Woman and Joanna Gaines make amazing lasagna recipes, which I’ve used for the last several years. But when I made lasagna recently my family requested that I never make any other lasagna than this one.

When I realized how much they enjoyed it, I quickly wrote down a recipe because I knew I’d never remember what I did.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

1 TBS Italian seasoning

1 TBS garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp pepper

4-5 garlic cloves minced

3 cans Italian diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

1 block cream cheese

8 oz cottage cheese

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 eggs

Fresh mozzerella cut into small pieces

lasagna noodles

Brown meat, add spices, garlic, tomatoes.

In a large bowl mix cream cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, and 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese.

In a cast iron dutch oven (I’m convinced this makes the best lasagna) layer meat, noodles, cheese mixture, fresh mozzarella cheese. Repeat for 3 layers. Top with 2 cups shredded cheese.

Cover and bake 350 for 1 and 1/2 hours. Uncover 10-15 minutes until browned. Let sit to firm up at least 30 minutes.

Even better as leftovers. Cast iron is the only way to cook. And did you know you don’t need to boil lasagna noodles? Simply throw those babies in and they will cook up perfectly!! I wish I had known this the last 20 years I’ve made lasagna. You don’t even need to buy “no bake” noodles.

A Safe Smart Watch For Kids

/in , /by

We’ve been a happy Gabb Wireless family for a couple of years now. Two of our three sons had/has a Gabb phone. When our middle son was nearly 16, we allowed him to transition to an iPhone. Honestly, I miss the Gabb for him as much as I knew I would.

Andrew lost his phone a few months ago. He has to use his own money for a phone and decided he could live without one. What we found is that we missed knowing where he was, that he arrived somewhere safely, or simply being able to send him quick messages.

So we bought him a Gabb watch. And I am in love with this watch. I’ve never liked smart watches because they were too connected. The Gabb watch is only what they need and nothing more.

The ease of use is perfect for a kid on the move. He can voice record his text to us. The sound and clarity of the voice calls is exceptional. And the best part, it stays on his wrist.

Through the month of October, you can buy any Gabb devices for 30% off. Use promo code RENEEROBINSON.

It would be a great Christmas gift and you can go ahead and beat the rush and check that baby off the list!

Family Movies in the Teen Years

/in , /by

One of our favorite family activities are movie nights. When we bought our home in Nebraska, the room that sealed the deal was the theater room.

When they were younger, they’d watch anything we put on. We did lots of christian movies, the really cheesy ones even, and they loved them. However, once they are teens, those movies don’t fly. It’s so hard to find movies the entire family can enjoy equally.

Recently, we’ve watched 5 movies as a family that we all really liked. Definitely these suggestions are not intended if you have young children. Our youngest is a month away from 13, and all these movies are PG-13. Also there may be some language, so be aware of that. I can’t tolerate much language, but it’s almost impossible to find movies with zero.

Each of the movies I’m sharing were suggested by our teens that already watched them with friends.

5 Movies to watch with teens on family movie night

  • Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio

“A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.”

This was a really great movie. My family followed it better than I did. It’s super confusing. I can’t follow the Bourne movies, and this had that feel to me with lots of complication and fast paced action. I don’t typically like Sci-Fi but enjoyed this one.

  • Knives Out

“A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.”

Definitely kept you trying to solve. No humor, but not scary. Just a classic mystery, which I totally appreciate. Also very little language. Just a few words.

  • Murder Mystery with Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler

“New York cop and his wife go on a European vacation to reinvigorate the spark in their marriage, but end up getting framed and on the run for the death of an elderly billionaire.”

What an underrated movie. A big cast, a fun plot, some definite laughs. And obviously a murder to solve.

  • A Quiet Place with John Krazinski and Emily Blunt

“In a post-apocalyptic world, a family is forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing.”

I never watch scary movies. And anything in the horror genre I’m out on. While this is classified as horror, it is no more horror than Gremlins, but without the cheesy humor. It’s incredibly suspenseful and a few jump scares. No bad language. Actually not much language of any kind as they are mostly silent.

I can’t give anything away in this movie, but if you follow me on IG or FB, you saw my spoiler alert. I made a very strong Jesus correlation in this movie that brought me to tears.

  • A Quiet Place 2

“Following the events at home, the Abbott family now face the terrors of the outside world. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realize the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats lurking beyond the sand path.”

We enjoyed part 1 so much, we watched part 2 the following night. Again very suspenseful and not realistic, but well done and easy to enjoy with our teens.

Go make some popcorn, grab some candy, and cozy up with your teens! Happy watching!

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

/in , /by

I thought it would be fun to share a recipe with you today. It’s different than my normal posts, but I slightly miss the days when I blogged some randomness now and then.

Also, I’m on a bit of a cooking streak. When it hits, it hits. Andrew commented, “I love it when you are in a cooking phase. We all benefit from it.”

My kids requested my homemade pumpkin chocolate chip muffins this week. It’s a modified version of a recipe a woman gave me when I was pregnant with Andrew. While I’ve tried many versions, this remains a family favorite.

Side note: I tried to take some shortcuts this week and buy some healthy box muffins and healthy box energy bites, assuming they would be enjoyed more than my homemade versions. All family members requested I not do that again. Box is never better than made from scratch.

Double side note: I had a lot of words I wanted to write in this post, but what drives me bonkers about food bloggers is how long it takes me to get to the actual recipe. If you feel me, I hope you appreciate today’s post. Hugs!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Wet ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1 can pumpkin

Dry ingredients:

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup honey (or sugar) (original recipe uses 2 cups, but I think that’s crazy)
  • 3 TBS cinnamon
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup choc chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another bowl. Combine wet and dry. Grease muffin tins, fill muffin cups. Bake 350 for 15-16 minutes.

 

When your teenager sees the power of prayer

/in , , /by

Backstory: Zachary is doing high school through Liberty University Online Academy. To say it’s an adjustment is an understatement. High school math online is crazy hard. He’s been struggling through it, several weeks behind, secured a tutor for one week to get unstuck. And then I basically gave him permission to fail the test and quiz so he could move to the next modules, which looking ahead I realized were concepts he’d easily understand.

Why did I give him permission to fail? Because he was trying as hard as he possibly could. I don’t want performance based kids. I want my kids to work as if unto the Lord, yet realizing sometimes the results aren’t always what we want. Did he give his best attitude and effort? That’s all that matters.

“Zachary, just take the test and fail it. You’ve worked with the tutor. We can’t lose anymore time.”

He seemed relieved as he picked up his computer to take the test.

“Wait! Let’s pray first.”

I sat next to him on the sofa and prayed, “Lord, thank you that you are always with us. You care about what we care about. Please help Zachary to have understanding he doesn’t have on his own. Give him answers only You can give him. Give him clarity of thought and a calm heart. And Jesus, please give Zachary a C on this test.”

Zachary laughed, “Mom, a C is impossible. The practice test and the quiz were Fs.” Side note, I high-fived him for a 48 quiz grade because I fully expected a 10 on that module.

He took the test on the family room sofa while I worked at the kitchen table. 20 minutes later I heard his laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

“Mom, I got a 70.”

Exactly what we’d prayed for, a C.

I squealed and blurted, “Shoot!!! We should’ve asked for an A!”

I knew it was God’s direct answer to our prayer.

Fast forward a week, Zachary began making 100s on his lessons. He totally understood the next concepts as I knew he would. Then he reached a lesson prior to the quiz that stumped him. Again his lesson grade was an F. The concept was a stinker to understand. But we don’t have much time to spare. So I encouraged him to do the best he could and take the quiz.

This time when we prayed we asked God for an A. 20 minutes later I see him emerge from test taking. With a smirk on his face, he said, “Mom, I got a 91.”

“Shut up!!!!!!” Yes, what a godly response. But, I can’t even contain myself when I see my kids experiencing the power of prayer.

Zachary did the work to the best of his ability and he asked God for what only God could give. The results. And it exceeded our expectations.

I want my kids to see the reality of Christ in their everyday life. He’s not some faraway God. He is right here. He cares about every detail of our lives.

While the Lord gives me these kids in this home, I will do everything I can to counteract culture in their lives. God is real. God is love. God is the God of the impossible. They need to see their deep need for Him. Life is better when surrendered to Him.

And God answers our prayers!! Not always how we ask or expect, but always in ways that are what we need over what we want. Thank you, Jesus!

If you want visual reminders for your kids of God’s great love and mercy over their lives, then give them God’s Word to rest their heads on. Scripture pillowcases are a tool in your parenting toolbox to get more of God’s Word into their minds and hearts. It’s one way to counteract the lies of the world.

Giving the Holy Spirit space to work in my child’s life

/in , , /by
I took a walk and prayed, “God, fill me with your Spirit. I’m losing strength. Use me as an instrument of your grace in my children’s lives.” I love that phrase Paul Tripp uses, instrument of grace.
Parenting is refining. Homeschool is next level refining. Nothing I’ve ever done has exposed my need for Jesus more.
Andrew and I had to wrestle through some hard moments. I’ve learned something over the years. Love + consistent discipline is necessary. And so is space. So I took a walk, which made room for the Holy Spirit to speak and work in his heart. And mine.
When I came home, we started fresh with our day at a time we’d normally be done, we were just starting. He offered the sweetest apology that no lecture from me could have produced. Only God could do that.
As I told him I forgave him, he exhaled a sigh of relief and said thank you. “I’ll always forgive you. And I see God working in your life growing you into a young man more everyday.” He smiled, and we carried on with “school”. But the real lessons are in the heart.
When we see parenting challenges from the place of opportunity, everything changes. I have the opportunity to point my child to his need for Jesus. To confront sin and turn to God for love, mercy, and forgiveness. When we stop seeing the hard moments as interruptions or impacts on our selfish desires, everything changes.

One of the most influential parenting books I’ve ever read is by Paul David Tripp. I’ve read it three times. It quite literally offered me the greatest perspective shift I’ve ever experienced in my parenting journey. The most eye opening statement he made was that God never tasked the job of heart change to parents. I’d been white knuckling parenting, fearful I was screwing up or that my kids would wander away. This book was a deep sigh of relief. My one job is to love Jesus wholeheartedly, pray consistently, and point my kids back to the cross over and over and over again.

I stopped being so concerned about right now outcomes and focused on making the gospel real in their lives. It’s a must read in my opinion for all parents at every single stage.

Click image to go to Amazon.

My scripture pillowcases were born out of desire to get more of God’s Word into the hearts of my children. I wanted to really teach them to turn to His Word for every single thing. In a world that bombards them with lies and fears, they need to be grounded in the truth that the God of the universe holds them steady. I want His Word instructing them night and day.

Shop Now