Many parents monitor their child’s activity when using a computer, phone, or tablet, but the task of checking individual apps and browsing history can be daunting. Amazon thinks it has the answer, at least for kids using its FreeTime program, in a new Parent Dashboard.
Amazon announced today the launch of Parent Dashboard that allows parents to see what their kids are viewing on the e-commerce company’s FreeTime kids app.
The dashboard, which is free, can be accessed from any web browser and provides daily reports on each FreeTime account registered to a family.
Reports — which feature pie charts — include information like videos watched, books read, apps or games played, and websites visited. By clicking on a specific chart, parents can see how many minutes were spent on a particular title and how that usage may have changed over the week.
“This provides parents with more information to determine how to manage screen time, time limits, and daily education goals within the FreeTime child profile,” Amazon says.
Parent Dashboard also includes “Discussion Cards” that allow parents to learn more about what their child is viewing and to foster those interests.
The cards, written by Amazon Content Editors, include summaries of content and sample questions that parents can use to interact with their children.
For example, Amazon notes, when a parent clicks on the “National Geographic Readers: Cats vs. Dogs” discussion card they will see questions like, “what’s the difference between a canine and a feline?” or “which pet would you like and why?”
The cards also provide ideas for parents and children to interact in the real world to build on their interests. In the National Geographic example, the discussion cards suggest visiting an animal shelter.
“As kids learn and play more independently with their tablets, we want to provide parents with more ways to join in that digital discovery,” Kurt Beidler, director of Kids & Family for Amazon, said in a statement.
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist