Parent
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
New Solution Helps Parents Manage Kids' Device Use at Home
Nearly three quarters of parents wish they had a way to turn off their children's Wi-Fi access, according to results of a recent survey conducted by Wakefield Research for Comcast.
Parents are right to be concerned as device use reportedly rises with the warmer temperatures. In fact, they say that children spend as much as four more hours a day online during the summer months.
Comcast's latest "Active Time Alert" feature on Xfinity xFi, available with Xfinity Internet, however, can help parents set healthy time limits for their child's device use at home. Xfinity Internet customers with a compatible wireless Gateway can easily access xFi features for no additional charge online, on their TV via the X1 voice remote, or on the xFi mobile app. Parents simply create and choose a child's user profile within the xFi app and set time limits on the in-home network for weekdays and weekends.
The survey also found that use of Wi-Fi devices can easily overtake other vacation activities. Over half (56 percent) of the parents of teenagers responded that they thought their teens would prefer to go online rather than play in the ocean during a vacation.
Additionally, according to the survey, 76 percent of parents report that their children are more addicted to their devices than to candy. So what is a parent to do?
Of the parents surveyed, about 73 percent say that they set limits on devices such as computers and gaming consoles, and 51 percent report setting limits on only their children's devices, such as laptops and tablets.
The xFi platform lets users know exactly which devices are connected to the in-home network at what times and for how long. With "Active Time Alert," parents can choose to receive a push notification, text or email alert when their child is approaching his or her device time limit. Once parents receive the alert, they can either choose to extend the time or pause the child's Wi-Fi access. Another xFi feature allows parents to either pause or stop the Wi-Fi connection to a child's device in the home anytime and to prevent devices from accessing Wi-Fi.
This survey and Comcast's new xFi feature align with recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics to prevent device use from interfering with sleep, exercise, and face-to-face family interaction.
The Wakefield Research and Comcast survey include responses from a nationally representative sample of 1,000 parents in the United States aged 18 years and older.
Xfinity xFi is available to Xfinity Internet service customers with a compatible Xfinity Gateway and is limited to the home Wi-Fi network. For more information about the Xfinity xFi platform and availability, visit www.xfinity.com/xfi.
