A new school year and new classes also means new friends and followers online – and parents need tools and resources to both keep their teens safe and feel empowered to implement changes that will positively impact their teens.

As teens across Atlanta head back for another school year, parents are making their way through an endless list of things they need to get done before they declare the summer officially over. That includes a checklist of what their teens might need for the new school year, including new notebooks, backpacks, or maybe even a new haircut. This time of year also means new worries for parents on how their kids will adjust to being back in school and how they’re interacting online.

To prepare for the new school year, parents can access recently rolled out parental supervision tools through Meta’s Family Center.

One key tool as teens head back into classrooms is the ability for parents to block specific times of day their teens can use Instagram and Quest, making it easier to keep things like the school day, dinnertime and homework time uninterrupted. Parents can also block hours overnight to ensure their teens are getting the sleep they need.

Meta’s resources cover a range of topics:

How parents can set specific times to help manage and limit their teen’s use of Instagram and virtual reality headsets to block off hours for homework time, family dinners and the overnight hours to support good sleep habits. This is in addition to Instagram’s “Take a Break,” a feature that allows users to set their own timed reminders to set down their phones
How parents can use supervision tools to support their teen’s Instagram and VR experience; including knowing when their teen reports an account
Where to find new resources available for parents including more expert-backed articles on the Family Center’s Education Hub