Do you have an iPad? Do you have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews? If you answer yes to both questions we bet the kids love playing on your iPad!
No matter what age, whether they are pre-school or at that lovely teenager phase, they want to borrow it, use it, try it out, play with it, show their friends something and you won’t see it for hours!
The thing that many parents have concerns about is the safety of the iPad as well as having that parental control over what can be changed, viewed and downloaded. Have you made the necessary precautions to keep kids safe online whilst using your iPad? We offer some simple steps and advice below.
Set Restrictions
Got to Settings, then General and scroll down to Restrictions. From here you can:
- Switch off Safari, YouTube, iTunes, Ping and Mail
- You can disable the camera on the iPad
- You can disable to ability to install and delete apps – perfect for those younger’s who are “app-happy” completely
- Here you have settings that will restrict apps and media to be un-accessible if over a certain age rating. You can (separately) set films, TV programs, music and podcasts and apps to not show content that has been classed as ages 12 and over (12+). (Assuming there is an age rating on that media.)
- Also, you can turn off the Game Centre options “ Multi-player Games” and “Adding Friends” so you can prevent strangers from reaching your kids through Game Centre.
Additional controls
We would recommend backing up your iPad on a regular basis. Little fingers can tap away, accidentally deleting things. This way, you can restore anything that has been lost.
Passcode Lock is useful if you want to prevent your kids from using the iPad without your help, but make sure you can remember that password! Also, don't use the option of "Erase Data" - after 10 failed attempts...GONE! This password will also be used for you Restriction controls above.
You can lock the volume limit for the iPod app if you wish as well, especially if they use headphones, to help protect their ears. The rule of thumb for headphones is 60% volume for 1 hour is generally safe.
Teach and Advise Them
This section is always essential with children, no matter what age. The internet is a big place, there are lots of the "wrong" type of people and places out there and you need to make sure they are being safe as well are looking after an expensive piece of equipment! Tailer your advice depending on their age - remember teenagers need a certain amount of freedom and trust...just not too much!
- If needed, (more so for younger children) have the discussion about "Do not talk to strangers". We have all heard the horror stories about "dodgy" people on chat rooms and social media sites - and the stories are true. They should only take to their friends and family, no one else.
- Advise your children that you have set certain limits as to what they can and can't access - and explain to them why.
- Explain to them the importance of not sharing personal information online - you don't need the wrong type of people knowing that the whole family are in holiday for 2 weeks in August. If it gets into the wrong hands, you could come back to an empty house.
- Let them know that you probably will check up on them. It's for their own safety and your piece of mind and those are the rules if they want to use you iPad!
- Always make them aware of the value of this stunning piece of equipment - it's not to be leant out to people, stood on, eaten off or used as a frisby!
