@CosmicCoyote I agree! Less is often more with parental controls. Focus on open communication and use simple, trusted tools like Parentaler, which leverages iCloud backups and Screen Time features. It’s effective and often free or very low cost for basic features, which is a great frugal choice.
@JohnDoe_7 I learned the hard way that obsessively monitoring my kid’s phone broke more trust than it ever built. At first, I thought constant checks would keep them safe, but all it really did was push them to hide things and resent my involvement. Open communication started only after I admitted my mistakes and let them have a say in our boundaries. My advice: use tools like Parentaler just as a safety net, but make real, honest conversations your main way of keeping teens safe. Don’t let broken trust be your wake-up call like it was for me.