If you are a parent you may have found your kid's demands are no longer restricted to gaming consoles, iPods or laptops. Recently cell phones like Blackberry, iPhones and Android phones have entered in their must have items list. On one hand these cell phones have made life easier for parents to keep tabs on their child, but with threats like sexting and cyberbullying many parents are wondering if it is worth it.

Misuse of cell phone privileges like sharing personal information with strangers, talking and texting in the wee hours of the morning, or neglecting schoolwork can lead kids to feel embarrassed and fear the loss of their cell phone use. In this scenario teens often won't share the source of their issues if their phone privileges are at stake.

In such a situation, you need smart parenting! You can follow the steps below to ensure your kids use cell phones wisely and stay safe: + Use parental controls that come with many cell phones like setting a restricted time to use the phone. + Do not allow your child to take a cell phone to the school if it is not allowed, or seems to be affecting their grades. + Get involved with your kids social life, keep an eye on their cell phone use, who they are calling & texting and at what time. + Learn how to text, track minutes used, sexting acronyms, use SMS and other cell phone functions. + Get complete information about the features your kid can access in their phone + Instruct your kid not to share their contact details and personal information with strangers + You can easily monitor cell phones of your Kids and can track text messages and call logs with the help of a cell phone monitoring software

There are many cell phone Parental control's available like Safetyweb that can help you to monitoring cell phones without being downloaded or installed.

You just need to sign up with them and the software will:

1.  Immediately alert you via email or text message about your Kid's cell phone related activity, and will help you track unusual text messages and calls.

2. Alert you about the unusual sudden increase or decrease of texting or calling activity of your child. This will help you pinpoint any sudden change in your child's behaviour and identify if it related to cell phone use.

3. Give you peace of mind. Although you cannot always be by your child's side, knowing that you are still doing a reasonable job of looking out for their wellbeing will give you a sense of satisfaction.

As kids turn into teens and start to create a social circle outside of the home, it is nice to know that parents can still keep an eye on their kids as they progress into adulthood.