Is parental control indispensable to protect children? Here's when it works
The National Medical Association's team of doctors and anti-fraud experts answers the most important health questions
As the term implies, 'parental control' is a form of 'control' that parents apply to digital devices (from TV to smartphones) to monitor how and when their children use these devices and above all to prevent them from coming into contact with inappropriate content or people. As reported by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, minors spend on average between 5 and 7 hours a day online, and a study conducted on about 18,000 Italian students found that 2.5 per cent present characteristics compatible with an addiction to social media, a percentage that, projected on the entire Italian school population between the ages of 11 and 17, corresponds to about 100,000 adolescents. In this scenario, many parents turn to parental control as if it were an infallible shield. But does research really say that a technical tool is enough to keep children safe?
What exactly is parental control and how does it work?
The term 'parental control' refers to all the tools - integrated into the operating systems of TVs, smartphones, tablets, game consoles or installable as applications - that allow parents to filter the content accessible to their children, set time limits, block unauthorised purchases or know the location of the device. The most popular operating systems offer preconfigured control functions that can be activated through a personal code chosen by the parent. There are also more advanced applications that make it possible to view browsing history, messages received and sent, and movements in the territory. As the Department for Family Policies of the Italia Government points out, these tools can be applied to computers, televisions, smartphones and tablets. However, although increasingly effective, they cannot be considered a sufficient solution on their own to ensure the well-being of children online.
Is parental control alone sufficient to protect my children?
No, it is not sufficient on its own. A rapid literature review published in 2024 and based on the analysis of 40 studies, concluded that the results of parental control as an autonomous strategy are overall mixed: some applications bring benefits, but others show no effect, some limit children's opportunities for growth and some produce negative effects on communication between parents and children. The authors themselves point out that control tools based on privacy-invasive techniques, authoritarian rules or overly strict measures tend to be ineffective and are not appreciated by either parents or children. A systematic review published in 2025 in the journal JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting found a significant effect in reducing screen time in randomised controlled trials, but only when the interventions actively involved parents in a broader educational pathway. In summary, parental control works best when it is part of a broader strategy that includes communication. On the importance of communication and useful strategies, we had already talked about it in "Doctor, is it true that teenagers do not take risks on the Internet?"
What does the research say about the dialogue between parents and children on the use of technical controls?
Research shows quite consistently that active mediation - i.e. talking with children about what they do online, explaining risks, surfing together - is associated with lower levels of exposure to online risks than strategies based only on restriction and control. A study published in 2025 in the International Journal of Adolescence and Youth found that parents use both active and restrictive mediation, and that those who favour open dialogue report greater awareness of their children's online behaviour. Consistent data emerges from the ISS study on Generation Z: the very children most at risk of behavioural addictions are those who report the most difficulty in talking to their parents about things that concern them. It is therefore not surprising that researchers and international bodies agree that digital safety cannot be delegated entirely to a technological tool. As the ISS points out in its 2025 communiqué on International Children's Rights Day, digital safety cannot be delegated to minors and is the responsibility of adults, but that responsibility is exercised primarily through presence and dialogue.
How should I use parental control in a useful way?
Research suggests that it should be used transparently, shared and proportionate to the child's age: it is not advisable to install control software without the child's knowledge; on the contrary, it is useful to agree together on time limits and discuss them collectively. This approach - which could be called co-regulation - is the one that produces the best results according to the available literature. Finally, it is useful to remember that in Italia the law sets 14 as the minimum age for autonomous access to social networks, and that dialogue between parents and children on these issues must begin much earlier, gradually adapting to the different stages of development.
