Resources for families

Need help figuring out where to start with online safety? We’ve got you covered!

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What Cyberbullying Looks Like in 2024

Cyberbullying is so common now that we might as well call it “bullying.” More and ...

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How to Deal With FOMO in Kids

FOMO — or fear of missing out — starts early in kids, as you might remember. It’s ...

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5 Ways to Celebrate National Family Day

Calling all kids, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and pets! National Family Day, designated for the ...

"Ask Titania; Are the new Instagram parental controls any good?"

Ask Titania: Are the New Instagram Parental Controls Any Good?

Dear Titania, This week, I read about Instagram’s new parental controls. I wanted to know ...

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A Parent’s Guide to Childhood 2.0 

At Bark, we consider one of our most important jobs to be educating parents and ...

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An iOS 18 Update Guide for Families

iOS 18 launches today, and Apple has once again shown the world that their devices ...

app logos: discord, spotify, apple, telegram, roblox, reddit

What Parents Need to Know About the 2024 Dirty Dozen List

Every year, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation releases its Dirty Dozen list, which calls ...

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World Suicide Prevention Day 2024: Changing the Narrative on Suicide

September 10 is dedicated as World Suicide Prevention Day, an important day dedicated to suicide ...

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Should You Read Your Child’s Texts? The Pros and Cons

For many parents today, one of the most divisive questions in digital parenting is whether ...

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Driving Safety Tips: How Parents Can Support Their Teen Driver

Parents know there seems to be an endless list of things you want to teach ...

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Monitoring Your Child’s Phone? Here’s What You Need to Know

Before the age of smartphones, chat rooms, and social media, parents didn’t have to figure ...

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Removing Social Media Access After Granting It: A Parent’s Guide

This is an all-too-common scenario these days: You allow your teenager access to a few ...

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What Parents Need to Know About 988

Many parents may not know that suicide is currently the second-leading cause of death for ...

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How to Limit Screen Time on an Android Device

Curious about how to limit screen time on your child’s Android? Aside from the old-school ...

What Do I Need to Know About YouTube to Help Protect My Kid?

**This blog post was updated on September 19, 2024.** Dear Titania,  As my 6-year-old gets ...

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3 Reasons Why Family Center Parental Controls Are Not Enough

Right now, we’re in a pivotal time where tech companies are receiving more and more ...

mom and daughter with school emojis around them

Conquer Back-to-School Anxiety with Our 10 Tried & True Parenting Hacks

If May-hem is the month where everything end-of-school comes down at all once, then Aug-stress ...

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7 Teen Movies That Would Be Very Different If They Had Bark

Parenting in 2024 is definitely challenging, but raising kids before cell phones and the internet ...

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5 Questions with Mike Arterburn About Sextortion, Kids, and Online Safety

Sextortion is a serious issue facing kids, but many parents may not be familiar with ...

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Parenting in a Digital Age When Your Kid is More Tech Savvy Than You

The amount of technology kids are born into today is truly mind-boggling — for our generation, ...

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7 Ways to Build Trust With Your Child

Among all the responsibilities parents have, one of the most important ones is building a ...

Ask Titania; Are there any safe ways for kids to listen to music online?

Are There Any Safe Ways for Kids to Listen to Music Online?

Dear Titania, My family uses Spotify, and our 11-year-old just told me that kids at ...

notification to block account on an illustrated phone with app logos around it

Blocking and Reporting on Social Media: What Parents Need to Know

At Bark, we’re pretty vocal about the inadequate parental controls and safety features social media ...

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What Would Banning Cellphones in Schools Actually Look Like?

Every day, more and more schools and districts are announcing they’re banning cellphones in K–12 ...

illustrated magnifying glass with the word "seggsy" in it

Algospeak: The Words Teens Use to Outsmart Social Media Moderation

Do you ever remember hearing older generations talk about a club in a college town ...

Bark Turns 9: Nine Employees on What Makes Bark Special

This week, Bark turned 9 years old — we’re almost to double-digits! It’s been an ...

illustrated image of text conversation on smartphone

How to Monitor Kids’ Text Messages

If you find yourself Googling how to monitor your kid’s text messages, you’re definitely not ...

Why Do I Feel Like the Only Parent Monitoring Their Kid’s Phone?

Dear Titania, My 14-year-old has an Android, and we monitor it with Bark. He’s fine ...

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Here Are 10 Content Creators All Parents Should Follow

It’s no secret that parents could use a little help when it comes to keeping ...

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10 Takeaways for Parents from the Surgeon General’s Recent Op-Ed

**This blog post was updated on August 8, 2024.** Key takeaways from this blog post: ...

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5 Reasons to Have a Daily Schedule for Kids

Most parents know that having a consistent daily schedule is a goal worth having — ...

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How to Model Healthy Screen Time Habits for Your Kids

For much of human history, raising kids meant teaching important life skills like reading, cooking, ...

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CapCut Alternatives: The 5 Best Video Editing Apps for Kids

Nowadays, it’s a common hobby among Gen Z (and now Gen Alpha) to dabble in ...

three teens at a sleepover

Is Your Child Ready for Their First Sleepover?

Do you remember your sleepovers as a kid? Perhaps you remember movie watching, telling ghost ...

child on phone using bark's location tracking app

The Best Family Tracking App? It’s Actually Bark

**This post was updated on September 5, 2024.** You may already know about Bark’s powerful ...

mom and daughter talking, illustrated pill bottle in thought bubble

What Parents Need to Know About Laced Drugs & Social Media

Drug dealers today don’t just peddle marijuana and cocaine — there’s an incredibly surging market ...

graphic of bark phone vs iphone

The Bark Phone vs iPhone: Here’s The Breakdown

When it comes to giving your kid a phone, many families — especially the hardcore and ...

illustrated laptop with a chatbot open saying "write me an essay about hamlet"

Top 5 AI Platforms Kids Are Using

Whether you realize it or not, AI — artificial intelligence — influences almost every part ...

How Do I Navigate School Activities that Use Social Media?

Dear Titania, My 13-year-old is active in baseball and soccer at his school, but keeping ...

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What Is Telegram? Here’s What Parents Need to Know

Here at Bark, we see tons of popular apps, so we know all the red ...

kid outside on a smartphone

Should Kids Have Cell Phones at Summer Camp?

**This post was updated on September 5, 2024.** If you’re considering sending your kids to ...

5 Things Parents Should Know During Mental Health Awareness Month

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and now is a good time for families to strike ...

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Cranky Kids? Learn How Much Screen Time Is Too Much

Parents, do these next few phrases sound familiar?  “Just five more minutes — let me ...

child on device, reading app logos illustrated around her

Our Top Picks for Reading Apps for Kids

It's pretty amazing when technology and education come together to give kids an interactive boost ...

teen boy on smartphone

What to Do If Your Child Is the Victim of a Sextortion Scam

If you're familiar with sextortion, you're probably aware of the emotional and psychological impact it ...

parent and teen looking at phone

A Parent’s Guide to Snapchat

Snapchat has been a long-time favorite for Gen Z (and now Gen Alpha!) and as ...

Where Do I Even Start With Digital Parenting?

Dear Titania, My kids are 9 and 5, and so far, we’ve not had to ...

Upgrade Your Next Family Movie Night with 7 Fun Ideas

Gone are the days of loading up the whole family in the minivan on Friday ...

The 5 Best Family Calendar Apps to Keep You on Track

**This blog post was updated on August 8, 2024.** Key takeaways from this blog post: ...

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Best Educational Apps for SAT and ACT Prep

If you have an older high schooler, you’re probably swimming in information about SATs, ACTs, ...

What Parents Need to Know About Popular Netflix Shows for Teens

Netflix is still one of the most popular streaming platforms, and kids and teens especially ...

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Disappearing Messages: 5 Apps That Parents Need to Know About

**This blog post was updated on August 8, 2024.** Key takeaways from this blog post: ...

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Here’s the Best Parental Control App for iPhone Devices

In 2023, it was reported that about 87% of teenagers in America have iPhones. No ...

teen on their phone with illustrated notification bubbles around them

How to Recognize the Signs of Digital Addictions in Kids

One of the most common questions we hear about from parents in our Facebook group ...

teen girl on her phone with illustrated flowers around her

Our Top Screen Time Tips for a Breezy Spring Break

It’s spring break season and many kids feel the drag of school and are counting ...

Is Snapchat Really That Bad?

Dear Titania, My son is 13, and we’re starting to explore social media (very, very ...

android logo with illustrated emojis around it

Here’s the Best Android Parental Control App for Parents

Many parents have realized that making an Android phone — or any smartphone — safer for ...

illustrated movie popcorn with stills from popular 90s movies around it

8 Parenting Lessons from Our Favorite ’90s Teen Movies

Ask any Gen Xer or elder Millenial and you’ll learn that the 1990s truly were ...

teen girl looking in the mirror, sad face and broken heart emoji

Recognizing the Signs of Disordered Eating in Teens

In today’s age of airbrushed influencers and celebrities with perfect bodies crafted by personal trainers, ...

health app icons with colorful background

5 Must-Have Health Apps for Teens 

Most teenagers have a lot on their plate — never-ending school assignments, extracurriculars, part-time jobs, ...

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Bark helps families manage and protect their children’s digital lives.

mother and daughter discussing Bark Parental Controls

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