Some of the things that I get to enjoy because I have this website, is the opportunity to learn about new things and share them with other mommas.

I love it when Sabrina and I have the opportunity to make things easier on ourselves with the different clients we are privileged to work with. Photo Credit: Visible Internet
A couple of months ago, my friend Ram contacted Sabrina and I, asking if we would like to help bring awareness to this new application that would empower parents and give us a better handle on our children’s internet usage.
Admittedly, I was intrigued, and started researching Visible Internet.
I learned through a lot, through the informative videos from the website, but I learned even more when Sabrina, Ram and I sat down with app creator, and CEO of Visible Internet, Tony Fawas and his partner Janice Misa.
Visible Internet has two parts to the application.
1-There is a Parent App, that I download on my phone.
2-Then there is a Child App that I can download on any of my kids’ devices.
This include their cell phones, iPads, and even their laptops.
It’s actually quite simple to set up. You can visit both the Google Play Store and the App Store for both Android and iPhone users.

Nikki was candid in sharing some of the challenges that arise with technology in her home with her three kids during the recent launch of the app in Makati.
Once you run through the features to set it up, you can adjust the settings to capture your child’s screen as often as you want.
Here is the process in a series of photos that I screen capped while I was downloading:
Here are some things I love about the app:
- Tex walks you through the set-up on each device so it’s super easy to follow along.
- Once the app is downloaded you can just put it in one of the folders so your kids don’t have be reminded it’s there.
- It’s non-invasive so they won’t even know it’s there once it’s on the phone.
- You can choose how much or how many times you want to check in by adjusting the time settings.

Mommas know what their kids need best. And Mommas also know how to set limits for their little ones. Visible Internet gives us the opportunity to discuss those limits openly with our kiddos.
How does it work?
- Because Visible Internet is set up through the cloud, your information is totally safe.
- You cannot control what your child sees, you can only MONITOR what he/she is looking at.
- The app will take the screen shots and send them to your phone when you hit the Refresh button in your parent app.
- When you enable the app, you can also enable the location service as well. So you will know where you child is, REAL TIME.

No matter how old our kids are, one thing that we all agree on, is that kids need limits. But we also know that kids need to self monitor as well. Visible Internet provides the free will of the child to exist, with the watchful eyes of a parent checking in when necessary.
Ok, admittedly, convincing my teens that they needed to download this app (and leave it on their phone) was an interesting conversation. To give you an idea of how I put it all into context, I had to revisit a conversation I have had with my kids before.

Parenting is serious business. Even more so now., with the added danger or kids roaming the internet freely…
This conversation goes something like this:
Child: I got in trouble doing “this” at school today.
Me: Why did you do that?
Child: I don’t know.
Me: Are you sure you don’t know?
Child: Well, I didn’t think it was a big deal. And besides, so and so did it, and they didn’t get caught.
Me: If everyone jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you do it too? (YES, I say this often.)
Child: Mom!
Me: I’m serious. But that’s besides the point. Would you have still done that if I was there watching?
Child: OF COURSE NOT. MOM!!!!!
Me: Ok. So this is what you need to do before you are going to do something questionable simply because your friend did it too:
- Ask yourself if you would still do it, if I was there.
- Ask yourself if you would still say it if I was there.
- Ask yourself how I would feel if I saw you do and say those things that you know may not be such a kosher idea.
STILL Me: Because if the answer is that you wouldn’t do or say it if I was there? Chances are, you’ll get in trouble for it, and I’ll find out about it anyway…
(Because moms know and see everything.)
Now, factor in all the temptations and peer pressure that our kids are subjected to on a daily basis, add in the world wide web and all of the different things they can search for without any consequence, and that is a recipe for kids definitely getting into some trouble.

Founder and CEO Tony Fawaz impresses upon the mommas that Visible Internet is not to take the place of the parent, instead, it offers the parent real time access to what their children is searching for and viewing without interfering. It’s a tool to keep a watchful eye, and initiate conversation when the family is together.
Visible Internet provides an opportunity for parents like me to check in, pose some questions, continue a conversation, and get the whole family thinking about what is appropriate, and even what is inappropriate as well.

If if looks like we enjoyed sharing this with our other momma friends who have children that range in ages from toddler to teens, PLEASE NOTE: We did. It was empowering and enlightening to learn as much as we did about how this app can aid in parenting today’s generation.
I think the conversation Nino and I initiated with the kids, went even more smoothly when we attended worship one day and the speaker was Brad Huddleston. He shared his first hand knowledge of how digital media affects our brains.
The title of his talk was Digital Cocaine.
That’s one of the things that I love about our church.

Photo Credit: http://www.ccf.org.ph/message/digital-cocaine/
CCF takes real life scenarios we face as parents, as daughters, wives and husbands, and they teach us how we can navigate this life with His manual.
Ok, I won’t get too much into what Brad shared during worship. If you would like to see and hear what he said, you can click on the link above and you will be taken to the CCF YouTube channel to learn more about Digital Addiction.
But here are some really important points that I walked away with:
- Digital Addiction is a real and growing problem.
- It affects not only our children, but it can affect adults too.
- If you look at the MRI scans of someone who is high on drugs and someone who is addicted to digital media, you cannot tell the difference of who is high on what.
- Addiction symptoms are:
- Anger
- Anxiety/Depression
- Emotional Numbness
- Kids can have meltdowns and these meltdowns can increase as technology use increase.
- Many of our teenage children can be addicted to porn.
- BUT (this is the shocker) the average age of those addicted to digital media is 35 years old.
Ok. These (SCARY) things taken into consideration can all be remedied if we are vigilant about how we are raising our kids and limiting the technology we used with some of these helpful hints that Brad also shared with us during his time with CCF.
- Remove all technology from the bedrooms.
- Turn off all push notifications.
- Replace all smart phones with flip phones. (I dunno about that one tho.)
- Swap video games out with outdoor or family type activities.
- Replace electronic baby sitters (this includes t.v.) with humans.
- No music while studying and sleeping.
- Remember that our child is NOT the exception.
I’ll add number 8 for myself by downloading Visible Internet on all of our devices and starting with conversation at the dinner table.
Parenting really is hard. Technology should make our lives easier and not distance us from our children, although admittedly, I know that sometimes I get locked up in the things that I have to do for work (as I work in the digital world as well) and I forget what a huge responsibility we have to SHOW our children how to behave…
Seeing is believing.
And in raising children is a lot like “Monkey See. Monkey Do.”
I am thankful that I can now use another tool to make my life a little easier in starting meaningful conversations where I hold my children accountable for their behavior and what is expected of them.
AND because Visible Internet believes that Filipino Parents need this tool in their parenting lives, CEO and founder Tony Fawaz is gifting 6 lucky families the opportunity to try it out as well.
All you have to do is:
- Like Visible Internet on Facebook
- Follow Visible Internet on Instagram
- Share this blog post on FB and tag Momma ‘N Manila FB page + two of your friends who can use this app in parenting mindfully as well.
I will pick 6 winners at random through Rafflecopter. Make sure to do all 3 options to enter for a chance to win 1 year free with unlimited devices on your account!
USE THE RAFFLECOPTER WIDGET BELOW
Visible Internet
https://visibleinternet.com/
https://www.facebook.com/visibleinternet/
https://www.instagram.com/visibleinternetph/