The Master of Technology (also: why I love my Circle with Disney)

I (like most parents, I assume) have a love/hate relationship with technology.

For example, I love how "here's the iPad" buys me at least an hour of time to adult. Whether I fold the laundry, answer a few emails or sort through the toys scattered across the toyroom, I can buy a decent amount of time thanks to apps such as YouTube Kids, Epic and Disney.

But I also hate plugging my kids in and tuning myself out. I worry about what they're watching even when they are "only on the Disney app, Mom." I worry that I tell myself I will only allow an hour and then it becomes two and so on.

Most of all, I worry that I, myself, am setting a terrible example by being glued to my phone (Just one more post, girls. Just one more.).

So when Pearachute asked me if I wanted to give Circle with Disney a try, I jumped at the chance. With a small, square device that hooks straight up to my WiFi, I could (in theory, anyway!) monitor what my kids are allowed to see and on which devices and how many hours total they are allowed to watch apps or TV each day. It seemed... Too easy.

When it arrived, I seriously doubted I'd be able to set it up as easily as everyone said I could. I am not, how do you say, technologically savvy. But I downloaded the app (easy peasy), followed the prompts, and voila!, I literally did have the little cube ready to go in less than five minutes.

With the Circle app, it turns out, I can manage all the devices in my home easily. I was able to create a profile for each of my kiddos and me. I could filter the content they are able to view by age group (little kid, kid, tween, teen) and assign specific devices to each girl (think Kindles, iPads, iPhones). I could set limits for viewing time each day (say two hours) or completely restrict apps I don't want them accessing (such as YouTube). I can monitor how much time each kiddo is on each device and I can set a bedtime!

I adore the bedtime feature. We have it set to 9 pm in the summertime. So I'm not nagging and saying "turn off the iPads" and then getting out of bed to come confiscate them when the girls try to sneak in extra minutes. The girls now know that 9 pm is bedtime for everyone- devices included. I even set my iPhone to shut off at 10 pm so I'm not scrolling through Facebook when I should be resting up to keep up with my kids ALL. SUMMER.

Even better? Circle has partnered with Common Sense Media, an industry leader in safe Internet usage for kids. Find out more here:
www.meetcircle.com/common-sense

The app costs $4.99 a month and your first month is free with Circle. You can find more info here:
meetcircle.com/?ref=pearachute

Disclaimer: I did receive the Circle device for free. All thoughts and opinions on it are my own.