As a parent, you‘ve likely grappled with the challenges of managing your child‘s screen time and online activities. Between social media, gaming, and the endless stream of new apps, it can feel impossible to keep up, let alone set appropriate boundaries. That‘s where parental control solutions like Verizon Smart Family come in – but are they effective, and how do you choose the right one for your family‘s needs? As a consumer tech expert and parent myself, I‘ll share my insights on Verizon Smart Family and offer guidance to help you make an informed decision.
The Screen Time Dilemma
First, let‘s put the issue of children‘s screen time in context. A 2019 Common Sense Media census found that American kids ages 8-12 now spend an average of 4-6 hours per day on digital devices, while teens average a whopping 7-9 hours per day. Younger kids are getting devices of their own at earlier ages, too – over 40% of children have their own smartphone by age 12.
All this screen time isn‘t necessarily harmless. Experts warn that excessive device use can lead to:
- Sleep disruption
- Less physical activity and outdoor play
- Exposure to inappropriate or harmful online content
- Increased vulnerability to cyberbullying
- Distraction from schoolwork and learning
- Impaired social skills and family relationships
So it‘s no wonder that many parents are seeking tools to help them set digital guardrails for their kids. But with dozens of parental control apps now on the market, it can be hard to determine the best fit for your needs and budget.
How Verizon Smart Family Works
Verizon Smart Family is a subscription-based service that lets you track and manage your child‘s online activities across their smartphones and tablets. Some key capabilities include:
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Activity Monitoring: See who your child is texting and calling, which apps they‘re using, and how much time they‘re spending on their device.
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Content Filtering: Block inappropriate websites and apps based on your child‘s age and your family‘s values.
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Screen Time Controls: Set daily time limits for your child‘s device use, or instantly pause their internet access at bedtime or family meal times.
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Location Tracking: Use GPS to view your child‘s device location in real time, and get alerts when they arrive or leave designated places like school or sports practice.
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Driving Insights: Monitor your teen driver‘s speed, braking, and phone use behind the wheel to promote safe habits.
Smart Family requires two apps: the parent app, which lets you view insights and adjust settings from your own device, and the child app, which enforces the rules and restrictions you‘ve put in place. The child app must be installed on each device you want to monitor.
There are two subscription tiers:
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Smart Family ($4.99/month) covers location alerts and basic content filters and screen time settings.
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Smart Family Premium ($9.99/month) adds more advanced location tracking, driving insights, and the ability to block specific contacts and apps.
The Premium tier is included for free in Verizon‘s Just Kids wireless plans. You can also try Premium free for 30 days before the monthly fee kicks in.
Is Smart Family Right For You? Factors to Consider
So how does Verizon Smart Family stack up to competitors like Bark, Qustodio, and FamilyTime? In my assessment, Smart Family offers a robust set of core parental control features and is a particularly good fit for families already in the Verizon ecosystem. Some standout features compared to other apps include:
✓ More precise location tracking with geofencing support
✓ Driving behavior monitoring for teen drivers
✓ Compatibility with iOS parental controls
✓ Ability to filter content and pause WiFi on Fios home internet (separate service)
However, no solution is one-size-fits-all. In evaluating whether Smart Family makes sense for your needs, I encourage parents to weigh the following:
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Filtering and monitoring capabilities: Will the app‘s content filters catch the types of harmful content you‘re most concerned about? Are the activity reports easy for you to access and interpret? Smart Family has solid web and app filtering but is more limited in social media monitoring compared to some other apps.
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Ease of use: Is the interface intuitive to navigate? How much work is required to configure rules and alerts? In general, Smart Family gets good marks for usability, but some less tech-savvy parents may prefer the simpler setup of a solution like Google Family Link.
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Impact on child‘s device: Will the app drain your child‘s phone battery or cause other performance issues? Smart Family‘s location tracking can take a toll on battery life, and a minority of users have reported glitches or crashes.
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Privacy and security: Does the app maker have clear, easy-to-find information on how your child‘s data will be used, shared, and secured? To Verizon‘s credit, they provide detailed privacy FAQs and emphasize their use of encryption and secure cloud storage for Smart Family data.
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Cost: Is the ongoing subscription fee feasible for your budget, and do you feel you‘re getting strong value for what you pay? Depending on your Verizon plan, Smart Family may be more or less cost-effective than a non-carrier option.
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Integration: Will the app play nicely with your existing devices, operating systems (iOS vs Android), carrier, and home internet setup? Smart Family is obviously optimized for the Verizon ecosystem and offers the tightest integration for Verizon home internet and wireless subscribers.
Getting Kids On Board
Of course, even the most full-featured parental control app will be of limited use if your kids refuse to opt in. Some level of resistance is normal—no one likes to feel spied on or constrained. But framing Smart Family as a collaborative tool to help your child learn tech balance and responsibility, not just a disciplinary aid, can go a long way.
Consider these strategies to get buy-in from kids when setting up Smart Family:
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Emphasize that this is a family media plan, not just a set of top-down restrictions. Invite older kids to share input as you decide on daily screen limits and which apps should be out of bounds.
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Start from a place of trust and gradually dial back tracking over time as kids demonstrate good judgment. The ability to "earn off" Smart Family monitoring can be a powerful motivator for teens.
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Accept that your plan will likely need to evolve and adapt—especially as kids get older and their needs and interests shift. Aim to revisit your family‘s Smart Family settings on at least a quarterly basis and make adjustments together.
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Look for opportunities to use Smart Family insights as jumping-off points for crucial conversations around digital literacy, online reputation management, and healthy tech-life balance. Show curiosity about your child‘s digital life and really listen.
By taking a measured approach, you can position Smart Family as a collaborative tool to align your family around shared tech ground rules—not an adversarial surveillance system.
Expert Guidance
To go deeper on best practices for implementing parental controls, I reached out to two psychologists who specialize in kids and media—Dr. Georgene Troseth of Vanderbilt University and Dr. Megan Moreno of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Both experts emphasized that while tools like Verizon Smart Family can be helpful supplements, they work best in the context of an ongoing, open dialogue between parents and kids about technology.
"No filtering tool is going to be able to address everything concerning online, and it‘s important for kids to develop their own skills in being savvy digital citizens and knowing when to ask for adult help," noted Dr. Troseth.
She suggests parents also stay curious about the positive aspects of their child‘s digital interests and fandoms, not just the potential negatives. "It can be easy to get fixated on all the scary things that could happen online, but there are real, meaningful benefits for kids in being connected to online creative communities and using tech for self-expression, too. Talk about those upsides together."
Dr. Moreno echoed the importance of revisiting your family‘s tech agreement frequently. "As kids get older, they need more autonomy to make decisions and learn from mistakes. If you‘re still setting the same rigid content filters for your 16-year-old as your 10-year-old, that‘s likely to backfire or just drive them to more covert device use. Aim to assess and loosen the reins over time in sync with kids‘ developmental stages."
The Bottom Line
No parental control app is a panacea, and using one doesn‘t let parents off the hook for teaching kids to be responsible digital citizens. But a solution like Verizon Smart Family can be one valuable tool in your tech parenting toolbox, especially if you‘re already a Verizon customer. Weigh your options carefully, enlist your child‘s input, and commit to ongoing conversations about what it means to have a balanced relationship with technology. Armed with the right mindset and guardrails, you can help your kid become a savvy navigator of their digital world.
