For some, the idea of monitoring a kid's cell phone is wrong. It's too controlling. It's equivalent to spying and that flies in the face of trusting your kids.  For some it seems that cell phone parental control is a crutch for not taking the time to develop the relationship you need with your child and teaching them the skills they need to be safe.

For many others however, the ability to monitor and perhaps restrict cell phone use is merely good parenting. It's the equivalent of checking attendance at school, the completion of homework, meeting your child's friends, and knowing their social schedule. Cell phones have taken much of a child's social interactions out of the reach and awareness of parents; parental controls and monitoring applications bring it back.

In the end, the use of cell phone parental control tools has to suit an individual's parenting style. However, the argument for at least some degree of control is fairly compelling for most parents, at least until a certain level of responsibility and maturity has been demonstrated.

For some parents, just being able to place limits on text messaging is critical to stay within a budget. Younger and younger kids are using cell phones. Many of these kids don't yet have a good grasp on the economics of the situation.

Some reports show that as many as 45% of kids between 10 and 12 have their own cell phones. With nearly all of the traditional cell phones having web browsers this means that many kids have access to any content on the web. Such phones also often give them a camera and the ability to receive picture messages, even if they aren't appropriate.

Certainly news stories have spelled out the lure and dangers of "sexting". Many kids don't fully understand the implications of sending out revealing pictures and can live to regret such errors in judgement. Any embarrasing or inappropriate text or picture messages are particularly harmful because they are so easily broadcast to large numbers of others so quickly. It can be deadly. Another frequent media report is regarding cyberbullying. It's so easy for bullies to target a child when that communication is silent and hidden from adults. Then of course there are the predators. They lurk around, they know how to befriend children, and how to lure them when no adult is watching.

There's no doubt that cell phone parental control software and downloads can't substitute for educating kids about cell phone etiquette and the risks but like any skill, for many parents it might be best to teach, monitor, correct, and only then turn them loose.

With the youngest kids, parents often choose to use a phone that doesn't even provide web access and allows the child to send and receive calls only from individuals in their parent approved contact list. This eliminates a lot of the risks associated with viewing inappropriate content, running up text messaging costs, or encountering predators. Certainly the Firefly and LG Migo are examples, but Kajeet phones are some times preferred as they are more "mature" in appearance.

Luckily, many kids cell phones also include GPS locator functions that can help put a parents mind at ease by allowing them to know their child's whereabouts. Some cellular providers also have plans and features that can help parents. AT&T's Smart Limits and T-Mobile's KidConnect are two examples. Any search for help in monitoring/controlling cell phone use should include a check of the cellular provider's website. However, for the times when more is needed there are other products and services described below.

The number of products and services available for cell phone monitoring is increasing. Some applications can even be downloaded from the internet. Many are not invisible to the user, thus your kids can be well informed about it's purpose. There are a few however that are stealth programs which are more appropriately termed spy programs and used more for checking up on someone who isn't trusted. Here is an overview of some of the more well known cell phone parental control options you'll find:

MyKidisSafe
One of the newer issues is MyKidIsSafe which allows parents to restrict times of use and block callers. It can also scan in and outbound picture messages for nudity, sending inappropriate ones to parents, and notify you if your child is in a speeding vehicle. All calls and messages can be blocked while driving and parents can be notified when unknown persons are contacting your child. The software provides a myriad of other parental control functions.

SMobile Security Shield Parental Control Edition
For around $29.99 per year this subscription service allows parents to read any inbound or outbound text message and can be used on any web-enabled smartphone. Parents can also see a map giving the location of the phone at any giving time, block messages from selected numbers, and set up automated alerts if messages sent or received contain particular words that aren't acceptable.

TextGuard
This application is designed for Blackberry and Windows Mobile phones. For around $11/month parents can read text messages, review the browsing history and call log on a kid's phone, block spam and specific numbers, filter using keywords, and remotely disable phones.

My Mobile Watchdog
This program allows parents to view inbound and outbound messages, see who they are from/to, see picture messages, and identify "suspicious callers"/those not "approved" by the parents. The software can also allow parents to print full reports of this activity.

Mobile Spy
As the name would imply this is a stealth program. It operates on Windows Mobile smartphones and records SMS and call information as well URLs visited. The user of the phone would be unable to delete data from the monitoring program. Users can subscribe quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. The annual cost is $99.97.

SIM Card Spy
This is a USB device which would allow a parent, or other individual, to discover address book contents and text messages; even those which have been deleted from the phone. The user has to retrieve the SIM card from the phone, plug it into the dongle, and then insert it into the USB port of the computer to view the information. This device costs around $120-$150. Again, this is more of a device for using after-the-fact, with someone who isn't trusted.

There are several products under development that are reportedly set for release soon. Keys2SafeDriving is a Bluetooth device which allows parents to embed car keys inside. When the key is in use, both voice calls and text messaging will be unavailable but 911 and other designated numbers would still be accessible if you choose.

Another anticipated product is DriveAssist which will provide the same type of functionality but will do it via sensing the motion of the car versus the embedding of the car keys.

Photo Credits

Introduction:chrisdlugosz.
Why Would a Parent Monitor: shadowmancer76.
Use of Cell Phones While Driving: Nate Steiner.
Older Kids: www.butkaj.com.