Mobile Phones can be a lifeline for children as they start becoming more independent. The pre-mobile
advice to carry change for a phone box or knock on a stranger’s door and ask to use their phone
in an emergency is these days, dangerously out of date. That makes me feel old, but it’s sadly true.
A major point of stress and worry for parents is an inability to contact their children, even if they are
carrying a phone. They may call and try a location service but if the phone is turned off, or out of signal then both will fail. It’s impossible to know whether the battery is flat, whether the phone has been set in aircraft mode, or whether connections have deliberately been blocked by the user.
ParentShield is the only network dedicated to being used by children and those with similar special
needs. They have released something called “Network Watch” an advanced continuous ping service that watches a child’s phone and alerts the parent the instant it is re-connected to a network. The Parent
receives an SMS message with the Child’s phone status, and the child’s phone can be instantly
messaged and instructed to make contact if desired.
Knowing they will be alerted as soon as the phone regains a network connection provides considerable peace of mind to parents who find themselves in this worrying situation. They no longer find themselves having to call again and again not knowing if the phone is actually on or not, and not knowing whether any voicemail left will or has been listened to. An SMS to the phone will no doubt be read and seen instantly.
The Network Watch feature is a new free-of-charge addition to all of ParentShield’s thousands of existing customers and is available in the ParentShield parent portal that customers use to access all their child’s network controls and call and SMS recordings. It is available on all four of the company’s Child-Safe SIM-Only Plans which start from £9.99 per month. The ParentShield Portal also allows parents to see the latest registration status of the child’s phone – including which network the SIM is attached to. This is a service the Network can also provide on request to the Authorities that are trying to locate a missing person.
ParentShield’s roaming SIM empowers users by allowing them to remain social with their friends at all times through text, calls, and online interactions. Meanwhile, parents gain peace of mind from having an uninterrupted source of contact. This also ensures that other features, such as parental alerts, can be sent immediately rather than hours later when the signal is back to full strength.
As it is a Mobile Network and SIM card, ParentShield is not restricted by the constraints of individual devices. The only way a signal will be interrupted is if the entire network fails or if the user puts their smartphone on airplane mode. However, if they do that, they won’t be able to share text messages or calls with other people.
The child-safe and family-friendly roaming SIM has quickly established itself as a major hit with parents of pre-teens and teenagers alike. And because they can stay connected, many kids love it too.
About ParentShield
ParentShield is the UK’s only Mobile Network designed specifically with children in mind, incorporating a wide range of tools – from call recording to keyword alerts – that allow parents to oversee their child’s phone usage without invading their privacy. It can work with any unlocked feature phone, smartphone, or smartwatch and does not require any app or parental controls to be set on the device. Its features are handled remotely, allowing for optimal convenience while kids retain their independence. The SIMs work across the UK and beyond.
Being a SIM-based network-side service, parents can provide ANY unlocked phone to their child and give them a totally normal mobile phone experience without the stigma of being locked or crippled “parental control” phone that you wouldn’t want to show your friends in the playground.
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