Kris Jenner may have laid the claim on “momager” and raised an army of influencers dominating the trends and entrepreneurial sectors for women of the world, but we must admit that she opened a whole new career path for moms managing their kids’ flourishing careers.
Momagers can be a demanding job, as you have to balance motherhood with business savvy tactics at the best interest of your child and their growing career. It’s not always easy as sometimes you have to put some of your motherly instincts aside and think as an entrepreneur investing into a valuable asset. Better yet who else to trust more than Momagers with taking care of the well-being of their kids while ensuring they exceed to their highest potential.
One of the ways which Momagers tend to manage their children’s careers when they are still underaged is by controlling their social image via media platforms. Facebook is probably the most well-known social media app in the world used by many as their starting base to later branch out to Instagram and TikTok.
Let’s discuss why setting up Facebook parental controls is a good idea for Momagers:
First and foremost, and most importantly, it allows your child to still be a kid and not worry about their social image or reputation which generally causes anxiety amongst teens. Secondly, it enables you to have full control of any press related news (whether good or bad) and shield your child from thinking too much about the business aspect of a field they are good in. This enables for the child to foster their passion, without any social media pressure. And lastly, you will protect your child from any vulnerabilities against strange users on the internet.
We recommend as Momagers that you teach your kid from a young age how to handle their account by watching you do it and giving them some access every now and then to discover and play around on the platform to talk with friends and followers. This will make the transition of them having full control in the future much easier.
But for now, at least when your child is underaged, we have gathered a few tips and tricks for Momagers to use to safeguard a Facebook account.
Setting parental controls as a Momager on Facebook
Despite the automatic private account setting for under 18s, you can set up different Facebook parental controls in the app. This will keep you from having to watch over their shoulders every time they use Facebook or Facebook Messenger without being in your presence.
To make sure your child is protected, go to the settings icon on their Facebook profile page – the round icon with three dots in the middle – and choosing Facebook Privacy from the next menu. From here you can conduct what the platform calls a ‘Privacy Check-up’.
Tip 1: Explore the app together
Explain to your kids why you joined specific groups that will advance their career and try to understand what type of posts, images, or general content they would like to do. Listen to their responses and be positive and reassuring. If you are encouraging and sensitive to their world or their own journey of self-discovery, they will find it easier to confide in you should any inappropriate activity occur on Facebook. Nevertheless, it will make your role as Momager much easier and not a forceful business transaction where they have no right to curate their own path.
Tip 2: Password Protection
Like most websites, you or your child will need a password to log in to their Facebook profile. Choose a common password, preferably a secret inside joke between the two of you, easy to remember, but not so easy that anyone could guess it. They should include special characters and numbers to add another layer of complexity to their password. Knowing or collectively inventing the password to your child’s Facebook account will help manage their safety online, but you should discuss that with them before setting up a profile.
Tip 3: Set Location settings off
As we’ve already mentioned, the profiles of anyone under the age of 18 are automatically set to private and their location settings for Facebook and Facebook Messenger are off. This means their contacts won’t know where they are at any particular moment in time. However, when they come of age it’s worth talking to them about how they use the app, particularly the check-in function.
While it’s nice for them to update friends and family on a theme park they just arrived at or live audition they went to, there are dangers in letting other people know in real time. Emphasise the importance of location anonymity at all times to avoid making your child a target.
Tip 4: Control who sees their posts
Under the heading ‘Your profile privacy’, double check the information that you or your child is sharing onto their profile page and with whom. We know that in order for some companies to get in touch with your child for jobs, promotions or collaborations it is important to share some form of contact information, but rather share a dedicated momager email address where people can send inquires to.
Risky information to divulge includes: phone number, email address, birthdate and which school they attend. Try as much to avoid any personal information that can pose a risk.
In fact, we recommend they share as little information on their profile as possible and, if they do want to share their information and recent photos, to ensure the ‘Friends’ option is selected so only approved friends can see it.
Tip 5: Control the apps there are linked to
All the apps your child is linked to will use data from their Facebook profile. Review them carefully and delete ones that seem suspicious or you don’t recognise.
Control who can send your child a friend request. This will make your job as a momager way easier as it acts like a barrier filtering unwanted users on your child’s account.
Facebook’s default setting means anyone can make a Friend request to your child. However, under the heading “Who can see my stuff?” you can change this to either “friends of friends” or “only friends” can make a request. It all depends how much exposure you want to give to your child.
Tip 6: Block inappropriate users
As a momager if you or your child see any bad or suspicious behaviour from other users on the app, simply block the user in question. Just tap ‘How do I stop someone from bothering me?”, type in their name and block them. They won’t be informed and your child’s account will no longer receive unwanted messages or photos from them.
Keep in mind to always create a safe space that your child can come to you in the future if you deal with this problem for the first time. Tell them how you manage it and further inform them how they can safeguard their accounts on Facebook.
And there you have it, 6 quick and easy tips and tricks on how to safeguard your child’s account as a Momager on Facebook.
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