Everybody loves their kids, and in this new digital age, you can never be too sure what your child is doing online. While many parents have their own way of keeping tabs on what their kids are doing online, no doubt a tech geeky dad will have some other creative ways. Well, Mark Cuban is one of those parents. As the tech mogul, who also stars on ABC’s reality show “Shark Tank,” and who owns the Dallas Mavericks, Cuban sat down with Arianna Huffington to discuss how the billionaire investor uses his tech knowledge to ensure his kids aren’t spending a lot of time on TV or online.
For starters, Mark has Cisco routers and an additional management software that is designed to detect and identify the apps that his kids are using. The father of three can shut down all these apps from the system and the tech obsessed investor stated that his 13-year-old has never liked this solution. Cuban adds jokingly that this is the downside of having a techy dad. Anything you do online, he’ll figure it out a countermeasure for it.
For Mark, it’s about staying ahead of the pack. He recalls one time when he had an interesting arrangement with his kids. It was about earning Netflix hours. He says that for every hour the kids would read, they would get two hours of Netflix. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long because a neighbor decided to give them the password. But of course, he figured it out. Cuban admits that keeping tabs on the kids and staying one step ahead of everyone has its benefits. The tech guru says that it’s because of this that he is able to keep up with the latest apps and see what’s new in the app world.
The same strategy also applied to Cuban’s son. “The Shark Tank” star says that one time his son was really into Minecraft videos. However, in order to make sure he was also doing well in math, the two had a simple arrangement. If his son did well in math or if he solved a math problem, then he would get to watch two hours of Minecraft videos. It worked just fine! Cuban recalls that this was actually a win-win situation for the kid. In addition to getting better at Minecraft, which can be mentally stimulating, his child also got better at math.
Mark Cuban might be a renowned businessman with a stellar record of managing companies but he is also good at managing his children’s cell phone time. And the great thing is that the billionaire has found simple ways to always be one step ahead of the curve. The interview with Arianna Huffington has since been released as a podcast and there is more you can learn there. Tracking your kid’s online activity does not require a lot of time. Even a tech geek like Cuban does very little and it works. The trick is to always make sure your kids are not falling in with the bas apps.
