Handing a laptop to your kid (and subsequently setting them loose on the internet) naturally comes with safety concerns, but monitoring your kid's computer activity without smothering them is a delicate dance. The already-huge screen time debate was forced into the spotlight when the coronavirus required schools to close, forcing caregivers to find a way to keep kids entertained and engaged all day, every day. Parents were told to not freak out about their kids staring at a screen while stuck at home, as the evidence connecting screen time and cognitive or behavior development is pretty meager. But if you're worried that too much freedom will result in kids landing on an inappropriate site or going into technology zombie mode, parental control software steps in to strike a healthy balance.