This post is not sponsored at all. I purchased disney circle with my own money because i am very worried about keeping my kids safe online. Although if disney wants to send us something, I’ll totally take it! haha
So, this Internet stuff is scary, absolutely terrifying that my kid can see ANYTHING that ANYONE HAS POSTED. And I am absolutely NOT pretending to have the answers if I ever appear that I do, reconsider because it is simply not true. However, I wanted to share what we are doing to keep my people safe online, it is a million times better than what I was doing before, which was nothing. And actually, it’s turning out to be amazing!
Not completely related, but with John’s death, we did nothing wrong just a victim of another’s decisions. I look at internet filtering in this same manner. Even if my kids are following all of the rules, it is MY responsibility to put every guard in place to protect them from others. They could be doing nothing wrong and have traumatic consequences…. Circle helps prevent this. No guarantees however because the world is unpredictable but for sure better than doing nothing. I’m also pretty strict about the recommended age limits for games, apps, and websites.
They could be doing nothing wrong and have traumatic consequences…
Disney Circle
In the beginning of December, we purchased Disney Circle, after a series of successful online marketing attempts. I saw it everywhere, but never was able to make myself purchase. FINALLY, I pulled the trigger and Amazon Prime sent Disney Circle straight to my door. After sitting in the box for about a month I finally got it installed over Christmas break. At the point of writing we have had it installed and running for about 9 months. When doing research for this post, I learned that they now have a second-generation circle that comes with a subscription package, we do NOT have that, we have the first generation.
Disney Circle is basically a super simple online filter for kids. You can filter what content they get per device/kid, you can put limits on the amount of time spent online as well as times of the day/night. You are able to turn the WiFi off for specific devices and not for others. The first image below is off of Amazon and the second and third are screenshots from my app.
Disney Circle with new devices
When someone comes to our house and connects to our wifi, Circle automatically kicks in. So, if a friend comes over with their device (as long as it is only connecting via wifi, their internet will be filtered. You are filtering the wifi for everything that joins. The kids don’t completely realize this, so they can’t figure out why it isn’t working and helps promote them going outside to play, which makes me happier than anything!
Automatically adding devices to circle has given me a headache a time or two before I figured it out. We purchased a Firestick and I could not get it to work. I was seriously beyond frustrated and had to walk away! I realized a few hours later that it was connected to wifi and automatically connected to circle, once I realized this, I was able to change the circle settings on my phone and it was set up in minutes. Minor, minor problem once I realized what was happening.
Is it perfect? Certainly not. However, it makes me feel a lot better being able to see exactly what sites they have visited, even if the history has been cleared. I like feeling in control by turning off the internet for any kid not walking the line!! Being able to put firm limits on it has encouraged them to not spend a ton of time online. If they unplug it, the battery instantly starts and you get a text message letting you know it’s unplugged.
And the verdict is…
I asked Eliza if she liked Disney Circle. She said she HATES it because it only lets her one for a limited amount of time! So, mission accomplished.
In the Blink of a Fly is led by Leah Fullenkamp. Leah is the mother of four young children. Their lives were tragically altered after a crash caused by distracted driving killed her husband and her children’s father. This website is the tale of them learning to live again and serves as a passion project to help prevent distracted driving and this tragedy from happening to someone else.
