Apple's iPad has quickly risen in popularity, and, with many schools around the country implementing these tablets in the classroom, children are using iPads at an earlier age than ever before. In a recent Fox Business article, contributor Donna Fuscaldo explained that while in the past, child-proofing things consisted of putting locks on cabinet doors, gates on staircases and clips on bookshelves, parents today need to childproof iPads as well. Children as young as one year old are learning to use tablets, requiring that parents apply certain safeguards to their devices to ensure that their young 'uns are not accidentally exposed to content that is inappropriate for them.
“It's very common for kids to use iPads these days more so than using computers,” Jinny Gudmundsen, author of iPad Apps For Kids For Dummies, told Fox Business. “Parents unfamiliar with the technology open it up, turn it on and don't realize they can customize it to become more user-friendly to kids.”
Steps to ensuring iPads are safe for use by children
Fuscaldo outlined four safety tips for parents to follow in order to make sure children are safe from the dangers of iPads as well as to ensure that iPads are safe from the potential dangers that children can cause to the devices. Her tips include:
- Disabling in-app purchases
- Setting media parameters
- Turning off location services
- Buying a protective cover
When children are particularly young, they will likely have difficulties understanding how in-game currency is related to real money. Gudmundsen told the source that parents should enable password-protection for in-app purchases, and, after making an app purchase, they should close the 15-minute window that allows additional purchases to be made without re-entering your password. Or, parents can block in-app purchases entirely.
In addition, by using “Restrictions” options on the device under the “Allowed Content” settings, parents can select age categories for apps that include 4+, 9+, 12+ and 17+. Fuscaldo explained that turning off location services will help keep your children safe by preventing strangers from being able to physically locate the child. This will also keep retailers from sending targeted advertisements to your children.
It's a simple fact of life that children drop things, and dropping an iPad can cause significant damage to the pricey device. Getting a protective cover or case can be a great way to give these thin devices a bit of extra padding for inevitable drops. However, even the sturdiest cases can sometimes be no match for children. If your child drops and the screen cracks, iResQ's iPad screen repair services will get your device back to your toddler's tiny swiping fingers in no time.