Smart Junior Plan for Kids, Officially Launched: Online Celebs Share Digital Parenting Tips

• Digital Safety Deep Dive: Celebrity parents, navigating the complex online world, share actionable strategies for safeguarding children, emphasizing the critical balance of monitoring, education, and fostering open communication to build digital resilience in the next generation.
• Junior Plan: Secure Digital Ecosystem: Smart's Junior Plan emerges as a comprehensive solution, offering not just connectivity but a curated, secure digital environment for kids. This plan, fortified by Smart's Child Protection Platform, provides access to educational and entertainment apps while actively blocking harmful content, giving parents crucial peace of mind.
• Parent-Child Digital Connection: Beyond rules and restrictions, the core message is about forging genuine connections with children in the digital realm. Emphasizing trust, open dialogue, and shared digital experiences, this approach aims to make parents a reliable "safe place" for kids navigating the challenges and opportunities of the online world.

Parenting in the digital age is like navigating a minefield. One minute your kid's watching cute animal videos, the next, they're stumbling into the dark corners of the internet. But don't panic! Smart recently gathered some of our favorite online celeb parents to spill their secrets on raising tech-savvy, but safe, kids. As expected, they dropped some serious wisdom.

This whole pow-wow went down at Smart's flagship store in Mandaluyong City, coinciding with the launch of the Smart Junior Plan. This ain't your average plan; it's a postpaid deal designed to keep kids connected while giving parents peace of mind with a curated suite of kid-friendly apps and Smart's Child Protection Platform. Think of it as a digital safety net.

L-R: PLDT and Smart Chief Sustainability Officer Melissa Vergel de Dios, Eri Neeman (@erineeman), Celine Cornejo (@teachercelineph), and Louise Santos(@mommypracticality) recently

joined Smart's Family Day to share valuable parenting tips to keep children safe in the digital age

From left: Robin Cruz (@anythingarticulated), Kelly Misa-Fernandez (@kellymisa), and Ulya Nikita (@ulyanikitaa)

Setting Boundaries: Screentime and Safe Sites

Louise Santos (@mommypracticality), juggling sons aged 8, 14, and 21, knows a thing or two about varying levels of digital literacy. "We really talk about the sites that they can visit or not," she says. "That also applies to us because we have to teach by example." It's a reminder that parental responsibility extends to our own online habits.

Celine Cornejo (@teachercelineph), a preschool teacher with kids aged 2, 10, and 12, enforces strict screentime limits. "Kaya kapag Friday, excited na sila," she shares. Weekends are for gadgets, school nights are for sleep. Model-turned-host Kelly Misa-Fernandez (@kellymisa) echoes this, saying her nine-year-old's internet access is "very restricted" and primarily limited to weekends.

Stranger Danger: Online Edition

Celine stresses the importance of teaching kids not to share personal information and to never talk to strangers online. "I always remind my kids that there are people out there, they pretend to be kids, that chat with you, but in reality, they are adults," she warns.

She also had a tough conversation with her kids about online health information. "When I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer, my husband and I talked to our kids. We told them that, ‘I know you guys are smart kids, but I know you tend to consult Dr. Google’," she recalls. "So, I told them that whatever you read online, it doesn’t mean that it will apply with my condition because each patient is unique."

Connection Before Correction: Building Trust

Louise emphasizes the importance of open communication. "We go back to having a very honest, open communication where they see us, as parents, as their safety net," she explains. "Kasi before you correct your children, you should first connect."

Events host Eri Neeman (@erineeman) agrees. "Kasi how can your children come to you kung takot siyang pumunta sa’yo?" he asks. "Like kung may masamang mangyari kasi parati mo siyang pinapagalitan, walang connection, walang relationship, how would I feel confident na pwedeng kausapin si Mommy, si Daddy?" He also highlights the need for parents to address their own "inner child" issues.

Embracing Tech: Bonding Through Digital

Robin Cruz (@anythingarticulated) uses the digital world to bond with his eight-year-old son, Gabe. "We do unboxing ng mga toys, ‘yun yung bonding namin. Ang rule lang namin, during lunch and dinner, no gadgets are allowed," he shares.

Kelly also finds common ground with her son through shared interests like Mario Bros. and ’80s music. "So parang it’s a positive spin for me, I take it in a very positive way, but I am aware na may mga scary things out there," she admits. Mommy content creator Ulya Nikita (@ulyanikitaa) loves the convenience of online communication with her six-year-old. "Parang kinikilig ako when I get a notification - what? That’s my baby!" she shares. She also stresses the importance of having a direct line of communication, especially in emergencies.

The Smart Junior Plan, available as a supplementary line for Smart Postpaid subscribers on Plan 999 and up, offers 10 GB of data, unlimited calls and texts, and access to kid-friendly apps like Khan Academy, YouTube Kids, and Mobile Legends for PHP 499 per month. It's also secured by Smart's Child Protection Platform, which blocked 1.6 million malicious sites in 2024. Smart's Chief Sustainability Officer, Melissa Vergel de Dios, emphasizes their commitment to "safety-by-design" in their products.