{I’m starting to wandering a small off subject today.  This post has zero to do with flattering homes or flattering things, so if we need which kind of shun today, we competence wish to exit theatre right as great as click upon a small of my prettier posts. And if we do, no tough feelings, we all get it!}

BUT…

If we have a immature kid in your hold up who has an ipod Touch – or who competence have a single in nearby a destiny – this post competence seductiveness you.  In box we haven’t already finished so, I’m starting to uncover we how to set a small controls to have it safer.  But first, let me discuss it we a story.

Like most, a ipod story starts innocently enough…with a man in a red suit.

Once upon a time, there was a 7-year aged lady declared Miss G who came home asking declaring, “Mommy, we need an Ipod Touch  pleeeeease. So-and-so has one, as great as we NEED a single too!”

Not bargain many about a facilities of an ipod Touch some-more than which it has a hold shade Mommy says, “Why upon earth would we presumably need one?”  (Seriously, we suspicion my Nano was flattering cool, deliberation we proposed out with a Shuffle!)

“You can fool around games, as great as take cinema as great as have videos, Mommy!”

“Well, it’s as great expensive.” Yadda yadda. End of story.

So a time rolls around to have a list for Santa, as great as Miss G says, “Mommy, we asked Santa for a ipod Touch.  I know he’ll have a single for me!”

So Mommy says “Sorry doll, Santa doesn’t have ipod Touches, they’re approach to difficult for a elves”, whilst personally tall five-ing herself for meditative upon her feet after a day of negotiating with two-year aged identical tiwn boys.

Miss G says: “Yes, he DOES, Mommy!  He gave a single to a small kids in my category final year.  So, we am certain he could have a single for ME too, right?  And we am certain he doesn’t consider I’m as great immature since they have been all 7 year olds too!”

Mommy scans her end-of-day duck boiled brain for an additional comeback, though can’t find a single quick enough.  Stutter, stutter. “Um, great let me consider about it, ok?”

And so, a exploding begins.

“It’s usually similar to a fasten recorder, right?”

Months goes by, as great as a bucket-load some-more kids have been combined to her list of kids we know who have been asking Santa for an ipod Touch.

So we proceed to ask myself: Do we have a great reason not to concede it?

She’s a single of a many obliged as great as infallible kids we know. A “rule follower” if there ever was one.  And, well, it’s a usually thing upon her Yuletide list…except of course, “a genuine house house pet fairy”, as great as we all know how easy house house pet fairies have been for Santa to find, lol.

And, we mean, isn’t it usually a modern-day homogeneous to a fasten fasten deck Santa gave me in a early 80s?  I still recollect all a fun we had recording as great as re-recording my chronicle of ‘the dusk news’ , lol.  Is it her error which a complicated day chronicle of a fasten fasten deck costs $ 200+?

So, prior to we know it, we’re observant approbation to a  7-year old: “I theory a elves can have we an ipod Touch.”

“Um, what’s which now?”

A couple of weeks pass, as great as I’m conference a word “Face Time” thrown around.

Me: “What’s this Face Time you’re articulate about?”

Miss G explains:  ”It’s similar to when we speak to Daddy upon a webcam.  When we get my ipod Touch from Santa, I’ll be means to see as great as speak to my friends during your convenience we want!”

Back it up.  Me: “Um, what’s which now?”

I suspicion a damn thing was usually a souped up chronicle of my ipod Nano, not a mini-computer.   I proceed to consider which may be we should have researched this ipod Touch a small better!

So we ask my sister.  Her 2 kids have been a small comparison than Miss G, as great as they already own ipod Touches. She confirms what we obviously should have well known by now: an ipod Touch connects to your WiFi network.   She can “Face Time” any a single else with an ipod Touch – or an iphone, mac or ipad.  All she needs is their e-mail address, as great as afterwards she’s regularly a single click divided from video chat.  (You can see Apple’s desciption, here).

By now, we am feeling a small bewail for observant approbation so soon.  But it feels to late to spin back. It’s December, as great as Miss G’s outlayed weeks articulate about Santa as great as her ipod Touch.

And, we couldn’t repudiate which FaceTime competence come in accessible when Daddy’s travelling.  Or, for gripping in hold with her BFF cousins who live a craft float away.

Surely, with a small manners in place, a ipod Touch would be OK.  Right?

You did WHAT?!?

Fast brazen 8 weeks.

Christmas sunrise is prolonged over, as great as Miss G as great as her glossy ipod hold have been BFFs.  We’ve set rules, as great as she’s followed them. No Internet upon a ipod…except with Mommy or Daddy during her side.

So a single dusk final week, we beheld something which catches my eye. Her screensaver was an odd, doctored-up design of a Chipettes in bikinis.  Innocent enough, though positively a design which lifted a red flag.

Me: “Where’d we get which picture?”

Her ( a small hesitantly): “I got it from YouTube.”

Me: “YOU DID WHAT?!?”  I consider my heart stopped.

She, right divided crying, explains which she clicked a symbol which pronounced “YouTube”, as great as afterwards she typed in “Chipettes”.  Within seconds, she had dozens of Chipettes videos to collect from.

(Dear gawd, we have nightmares about what she competence have seen if she’d searched for “Chip as great as Dale” instead.)

Worst.Parent. Ever.

The review which followed was a critical one.  We finished up pity some-more with her about Internet risk than we ever suspicion we’d have to with a 7-year old.  Her low mark was handing over her ipod Touch. Mine was feeling similar to The Worst Parent Ever.

Your misfortune nightmare: in usually 3 clicks.

So here’s where a preachy partial of this post begins.

1. The ipod Touch is not similar to a fasten recorder, as great as a not a toy.  It’s a absolute square of record which gives your kid entrance to web, as great as ‘one click’ entrance to things similar to video discuss as great as YouTube.

2. Don’t certitude which a kid understands this.  While we pronounced “No Internet”, did she unequivocally assimilate which meant “Don’t click a YouTube button”?  After all, a ‘toy’ is something to explore.  An ipod isn’t.  All it took was a single click from her home shade to land in YouTube-land.

Once in YouTube, she clicked a single of a tabs upon a bottom.

Luckily (I guess), she clicked ‘Search’ to find an picture from a Chipettes movie.

But had she clicked ‘Most Viewed’ (and afterwards All) instead, we was repelled to see a videos which would have appeared upon her screen.

Please take note of a fourth a single down (at right).  I won’t write which pretension here for viewable reasons.  Now, here’s a unequivocally frightful part. Had she clicked which outrageous link, she would have been unprotected to a single of a misfortune written assaults upon women which I’ve ever heard.

I would never have authorised her to roller YouTube willy-nilly upon a family mechanism for fright of anticipating something EXACTLY similar to this.  Yet, with her ipod Touch, she had a capability to do so right in her hands.

It’s each parent’s misfortune nightmare. In usually 3 clicks.

Parental Controls

Fortunately, there’s an easy solution.  It is so easy which we am broke which we hadn’t suspicion of it sooner.  Drum hurl please…it’s called Parental Controls.  I know, we know. we should have set these right out of a box. But we am presumption which if we didn’t consider of environment them, afterwards may be a small some-more of we moms as great as dads out there haven’t set them nonetheless either. (Please humour me as great as nod.)

Here’s how we did it:

1. The initial thing we did was click upon Settings upon a home screen, as great as afterwards Location Services and incited it OFF!   Nobody needs to know my child’s “approximate location”. (Again, frightful stuff.)

2. Then, still underneath Settings, we went to General, afterwards Passcode Lock.  Once in there, we set a passcode for a parental controls.  Once this is formula is set by you, it is a usually which passcode can be used to refurbish a restrictions we set as a parent.  Make certain we don’t emanate a same passcode which your kid uses to login to a ipod.

3. Next we went to Restrictions, which you’ll find but delay underneath Passcode Lock.  This is similar to authority executive where we can spin off a services which we don’t wish your kid to have entrance to.  (You’ll note which it prompts we for a passcode which we usually created.)  You can spin off You Tube, Face Time, Safari, or a capability to implement apps, usually to name a few.  When we incited off YouTube, a idol no longer appeared upon her home screen.

If we corkscrew serve down, you’ll additionally see which we have a small capability to carry out “Allowed Content”, for e.g. by permitting usually Clean vs Explicit song lyrics, by branch off Movies as great as TV shows, and/or disallowing Multi-player Gaming.

OK, so here’s my qualifier. we don’t demonstrate to know everything about how to have an ipod Touch safe.  Perhaps there have been alternative parental controls  that we  didn’t find in my research.  (If we know of any others, greatfully let us know in a comments!) And certainly, we all know which parental contols aren’t 100% fail-proof but genuine parental monitoring.  But we feel a total lot improved meaningful that Miss G’s ipod Touch is many safer right divided than it was before.

I hope which a small of we found this helpful, as great as which it keeps during slightest a single kid a small safer from Internet danger.

I promise, it’s behind to a flattering cinema subsequent time!

Until then,

Kerri

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