My 11 year old has been dying to use email. Well, since she doesn’t have a phone that is. And, we made an email for her; however, we were refluctant to just turn her loose.
ENTER KidsEmail!
KidsEmail was created in 2009 to provide a safe email environment for kids.
Features that make KidsEmail.org different include:
- mail monitoring
- blocking
- time restrictions
- contact list management
- mail alert queue
- GPS tracker
What are These Features?
Mail Monitoring – This feature allows parents to view all mail sent and received. This feature can be turned on or off easily. Parent can receive a copy of all mail sent and received in the mail box of their choice.
Blocking – This feature allows specific email addresses to be block. These addresses can be alerted they are blocked if the parent wishes to include a message.
Time Restrictions – KidsEmail.org also allows parents to put restrictions on when a child can access their email. The program allows different times each day of the week and can be limited by the hour not just blocks of time.
Contact List Management – Parents can also manage the email contact list. The parent can allow the user to send and receive from any email address or only emails on a list. That list can be managed by the parent.
Mail Alert Queue – All emails sent to the child that are not on the contact list go into a mail queue and the parent receives a copy of the email. The parent then can decide to approve that the email be sent to the child or deny and remove the email from the queue. However, this service only works if the parent allows emails to be received from those on the child’s’ contact list. But the parent can still select to receive a copy of all incoming emails to still have oversight.
GPS Tracking – If your child is using the mobile KidsEmail app on their smartphone, and enables GPS on the mobile devise, the parent can get historical data on the location where the child has been with the phone.
Some additional features:
No Ads – KidsEmail.org doesn’t allow advertising on their site so there is no inappropriate content being viewed.
Folders – Kids can make custom folders within their email account to organize their emails.
Customization – Kids can customize their KidsEmail.org view with fun backgrounds and themes.
Choose their address – Kids/Parents can setup the email address with USERNAME@kidsmail.org or @kmail.org. The kmail.org exchange is available for older children that do not want to be identified as a kidsEmail account.
Grounding– This feature allows a child to be “grounded” for a set time period or number of days.
What We Thought
My daughter is 11, almost 12, and has been begging for a phone like most pre-teens I would guess. She has a tablet, a Kindle Fire. I had thought that it would be nice if she could text or email her friends or grandmother or even her dad and I when we are out of town.
You can use KidsEmail.org on a computer, with a Kindle app, an iOS app, or an Android app. So the versatility to meet your personal needs is definitely there with KidsEmail.
My daughter loved the background theme choices and changed them periodically. There is an option to draw in the program, so my daughter LOVED including handwritten and drawn messages.
We chose the kmail.org email address since she is a little older, which she preferred, and installed the app on her Kindle. However, Kindle Fires also have the option to add websites to a child’s FreeTime profile, which is what we use on the tablets. So I was able to add the KidsEmail.org website to her website list and she could use that interface as well.
In parents mode we set parameters including non-availability times. However, we had more open use on weekends than during the week. We also only allow sending and receiving from our approved email list. We have KidsEmail send all emails to me and my husband and can approve friends if she gives out her email address to a friend and we want to add them.
You can have KidsEmail send you email on only emails from those NOT on the approved contact list, which we may switch to once we are comfortable with her usage.
Overall, I’m extremely impressed with KidsEmail.org. The parental controls are thorough and the interface very aesthetically pleasing and easy to use.
It’s so easy to setup and easy to use for both the child and the parent.
Having no ads is exceptional and the features are great for any age using KidsEmail.
I really like that I can see the use history and see incoming emails. I don’t read them because I see who she is corresponding with but I could if I were concerned and, of course, she is aware of the fact that we can see them.
I’m extremely pleased with KidsEmail.org and I think it is most definitely what we were looking for to allow the kids the freedom of corresponding with friends and family while giving us our peace of mind that the correspondence environment is as safe as we can make it.
Check out what the rest of the TOS Review Crew had to say about KidsEmail.org by clicking the banner below. Visit KidsEmail.org online and on social media and see what you think about KidsEmail.org.
KidsEmail.org on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KidsEmail.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KidsEmail
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kidsemail1/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+KidsemailOrg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kidsemail/
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