6 Important Steps that will make your iPad safe and friendly for your child

Kids love to handle mobile phones or tablets. The main reason for children to pick your iPad is to play some game and to explore the apps for entertainment and fun.  But as a parent you are always concerned for your kids safety therefore you wish to hand over your device to the kid when its more of child friendly with parental control so as to prevent them from accessing inappropriate content.

Also if your kid downloads an app which requires a purchase then you are more alert before giving your kid access to your tablet.

Here are the six steps to follow before handing your iPad to your kid

1. Clear your inappropriate Data

When you give your kid access to your iPad it is advisable for general security reasons as well that you remove all your data from it.

• Back up the device first or you may want to restore that data to a new device.
• Then open the Settings app >Select General, then scroll down>select Reset >then Erase All Contents and Settings.
• Now enter your passcode.
• You’ll get one last warning: confirm you decision by tapping Erase one last time.

2. Download the app or create an Apple ID for your kid

For young kids below 12 you should take responsibility for selecting apps on their behalf and purchasing and downloading the apps through your own App Store account. That way, not only will you know exactly what’s on their iPad, but you can also deal with organising and configuring the apps yourself.

For older kids create an Apple ID for them or let them do so. In this way they will learn too and will feel the independence to download the apps and media they want. As their apps are tied to their account they alsowon’t have access to yours, some of which may be inappropriate for children. You may  create a separate account for them on your Mac or PC too.

3. Set up Restrictions

As you know iOS offers broad options to switch off Safari, YouTube, iTunes and Ping, and to disable the ability to install and delete apps. Additionally, you can allow app and media downloads based on their rating – restricting movies to U and PG ratings, and apps to ages 12 and over, for instance  and prevent your child from making in-app purchases, playing multiplayer games, and adding friends within Game Center.

If you wish to enable restrictions> launch Settings on the iPad>tap General >tap Restrictions. When you Enable Restrictions you’ll be prompted to enter and confirm a four-digit passcode and also make sure your child doesn’t know the passcode. So if anyone tries to change your settings, they’ll first need to enter the code you selected at this point.

Now that Restrictions are enabled, you can toggle specific apps and functions on an off – if the slider next to an item is green, the child can access it; if it’s white, a passcode will need to be entered in order to either access the function or to disable the restriction entirely.

4. Configure email

If your child hasn’t got an email address, you can obtain a free one from a source such as Gmail or Yahoo. Both services ask that the owner of the email address be at least 13 years old, although they have no way of confirming the owner’s actual age.

Unwanted email can be a problem with iOS devices because, as you have no way of limiting the addresses your child can receive email from or send email to on the device. Gmail and Yahoo allow you to create limited white lists of senders the recipient should always receive messages from, but offers no way to block senders who aren’t on the list. The same applies to iCloud email accounts. You can set up basic filters on the iCloud website, but they can’t prevent the sending of mail to your child’s iCloud email account.

For this reason, you should be completely sure that your child can handle the responsibility that comes with an email account and is willing to tell you if they are receiving inappropriate messages.

5. Choose apps for the iPad

If you want complete control over the apps that your child can install on the iPad, switch off restrictions if they’re enabled, sit down with them, and choose some appropriate apps. When you’ve finished, switch restrictions as On and toggle the Installing Apps option from green to white. This prevents your child from installing apps.

6. Tell your kid about the good and bad of this technology

Before you hand over your iPad to your child, you should first sit down and chat to them about its benefits and dangers. In this case, the talk should address the importance of setting limits on iPad use, asserting your right as a parent to check up on your child and warning of the dangers of giving out personal details on the internet.

Keep in mind the age of your kid when disclosing the dangers of internet and online things as kids below 10 might be terrified and feel afraid to venture into technological devices and neither should you overprotect a teenager. Just advise them of potential risk as well as the good part of it.