Kids Email Safe Email for Kids REVIEW

I AM "THAT MOM."  I protect my kids sometimes to the verge of too much.  Or, can there really be a "too much" in today's society.  Each generation seems to say, "It just wasn't like that in MY generation."  With the dangers of today's technology, I was more than happy to have a chance to review Kids Email Safe Email for Kids by Kids Email.

She thinks it's pretty cool to have her own email!

We received a free 1-year subscription for up to 6 kids.  This is a digital product so you, of course, must have internet access to use this.  It is very customizable.  It was easy to sign up for the account and add the kids in.  You basically have a parent account with a dashboard to customize all of your settings and set up accounts for each child.  I even chose the more "adult" teen version for my 14 year old son.  The extension on his email is kmail instead of kidsemail and he has the extra option to customize his folders in his inbox.  Now my kids can communicate safely with our family members and those I choose to allow.  Don't worry, there is also an option to review all ingoing and outgoing mail in your kids email account.

Customized templates

Teen version has a little different interface that
 also allows for custom organizing of folders

I just don't think you can be "too safe" with what is out there today in cyberspace.  It is too easy for strangers to connect with our kids.  Did you even know that a lot of "innocent" game apps allow your kids to communicate with strangers?  I have the tablets for my kids on lockdown (or so I thought) because I just don't trust what is out there.  My son was telling me a story one day and I said, "who were you talking to and how?!"  He said through his game!!  I said, "well we will just fix that," much to his dismay until I explained to him that he really has no idea who this person claims to be.  I even have a net nanny to filter stuff out, but the "chat" feature from an app got missed.  Mind you this was one of his game apps, not anything like facebook or musically.  I just didn't realize that they have "chat site" options in these games that allow them to play with others over the internet.  I have tried to not allow those games in, but this one got missed.
Kids Email Safe Email for Kids seemed the perfect solution for us.  I have not allowed him to have email, but now he can and I can rest easy.  It allows you to only allow contacts you choose or approve of if you want (or you can allow it to work like regular email with no restrictions except their safe filter).  There are NO ads!  Yup, no worries on crazy images or inappropriate advertisements your kids might accidentally see.  This alone is worth a lot to me!  Especially with a teenage son.  Other features include:

• email filters that can not just block certain people or allow all emails, but also any attachments, pictures, or links
• time of day restrictions or even "grounding" for a period of time
• contact manager that allows you to have a list of approved contacts
• spam filter (no spam!!)
• mail queue that allows you to review emails going in and/or out if you choose
• custom mailbox that your child can organize (teen version) and customize their own inbox (some cute templates are available).

There are so many customizations available and it really does work to block unwanted content.  It also blocks any offensive words.  The activity log not only shows you when they logged in and out but also when they try to access it when not allowed.  Customizing it is fun for the kids and really makes it "their" email.  I love that they can now safely communicate with our relatives that do not live locally.

For my K5 daughter, there is a READ IT feature that actually reads her email to her!  What a great thing while she is learning to read right now.  I love it!  Some other really fun features include the option for them to DRAW a picture in the email (on the tablet and mobile devices) and send it.  They can also send their own attachments if you allow that.

Little Bug LOVES the drawing feature!!

Another bonus for us is that it is also available as a Kindle app!  I love that! I chose Kindles for my kids because of the safety features, now they have kid friendly email to go with it.  The dashboard does look different on your mobile devices and tablets as compared to the computer or laptop, but just as user-friendly.  If your kids have mobile phones, no problem, they have the apps available.

The interface is a little different on the Kindle tablet

If I can't convince you how awesome this is then I have even more good news.  You can try this out for FREE using their 30 day trial.  You don't even need a credit card or anything to sign up.  Just register and you can try it out for 30 days with nothing more to do unless you choose to continue your subscription. How cool is that?!  

If you choose to continue they have 2 options and the annual option is by far the best.  If you choose annual it is only $38.95 for the year (approx $2.99/mth because you get 1 free month extra) and 6 email accounts.  If you choose monthly it will be billed at $4.95/mth and you only get 4 email accounts.

I plan to continue our Kids Email Safe Email for Kids subscription and highly recommend that you check this wonderful resource out.  You can connect with Kids Email on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, and GOOGLE+.

Please take the time to see what other Crew Review members are saying about this.

Parenting Made Practical REVIEW

Dating and Courtship can be a controversial topic, but I was more than happy to be able to take a peek at Dating, Courting & Choosing a Mate . . . What Works? by Parenting Made Practical.  I was so happy that it was biblically based and really what I needed at this time in my child's life.  I received the DVD teaching and the accompanying workbook.
There are always so many questions surrounding dating and courtship.  I was introduced to the courtship model many years ago and have wished it for my children.  However, like the DVD teaching states, what exactly does that mean?  What exactly is courting and what should it look like?  The DVD has two sessions on it. Session 1 is Developing Your Dating Philosophy and it runs 50 minutes.  Session 2 is How to Make It Work and it runs 58 minutes.  I was unable to watch the DVD on my laptop (mine's pretty old) but it ran just fine in the DVD player.


The DVD is recommended for parents of children ages 9 and up.  Joey and Carla believe that parents should be prepared to train their children as early as 4th and 5th grade to navigate the field of relationships.  I know we often don't want to think about it that early, but our kids do.  At that age they are hardly mature enough to make sound decisions in the area of relationships.
In Session 1 the Links have some very interesting, and I feel sound, advice in the area of relationships.  They define what they feel the courtship model is and why it is flawed.  I have heard many versions of courtship so I think the way they define it is one way and based on that they suggest an interesting model of dating based on biblical principles that take into account 4 areas.  The 4 areas they discuss include mental, physical, spiritual, and social aspects of relationships.  They define and compare the difference between Cultural and Courtship Dating.  Their model shows how they are both out of balance and show a new perspective of balance in Friendship Dating.
Joey and Carla also discuss the 4 levels of relationships that lead to marriage.  These 4 levels include Potential, Possible, Probable, and Proposal. Each level includes each of the 4 areas of relationship and the depth of the relationship increases as your child and potential mate move through the 4 levels.  Of course, if things seem incompatible in the beginning it never progresses past the first level.  I also like how they stress that the plan is initiated by the couple rather than being dictated by the parents.  They explain very well that if you have an open, trusting relationship with your child that they will have the skills you trained them with (possibly with the teachings from this DVD) to make wise, God-honoring decisions in their relationship plan.  Another plus is that they stress that each "plan" is unique and customized to the couple and their personalities.  No plans will really ever look alike since there are so many variables within each relationship.
In Session 2 they go into MUCH more detail on how the model works.  They look at each of the four areas (mental, physical, spiritual, and  social) and discuss:

• Goals
• What Can Parents Do?
• Suggestions for each of the four levels
• Potential
• Possible
• Probable
• Proposal

There is a lot of information in this session. They also discuss:

• How Teens/Young Adults Know They are Attracted to Someone Enough to Date Him/Her
• How Far Is Too Far?
• How do you know when your young adult is ready to start a Friendship Dating Relationship?
• How to Implement This Teaching
• Why Do We Call this Friendship Dating?

The accompanying workbook follows both sessions of the DVD and has fill-in-the-blanks as you follow along.  There were a couple of discrepancies where the workbook did not match the DVD (omissions and a couple of typos) but all in all, it was very helpful and nice to have in writing to refer to and study.  There are also suggested books in each area for further research and reading.  Testimonies are also included at the end of the workbook.

I personally would recommend Dating, Courting & Choosing a Mate . . . What Works?  Especially if you are already sold on the courtship model.  I really appreciate the scripture references throughout the teaching.  If you are even questioning how you are going to navigate dating and relationships with your children this is a very sound and informative option to consider.

I really like Joey and Carla's philosophy and I am interested in checking out more of their products.  Two others I would like to check out that the Crew is also reviewing are Taming the Lecture Bug and Getting Your Kids to Think and Why Can't I Get My Kids to Behave?

You can connect with Parenting Made Practical on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and PINTEREST.

Be sure to stop by and check out the other reviews on this product and several of their other products that the Crew had the opportunity to review.