Quick Tips for Connecting Your Kids Safely

No matter the age recommendations for giving a young person a new cell phone or access to certain apps, parents will make their own choices. So here are a few tips to make giving your child their first phone just a little less nerve wracking and a little bit safer.

1.      Before handing over a new phone, you can set up the app or play store with an email account and password that only you have access to. Your child will not have access to download apps without your permission.

2.      The app store will require a credit or debit card number on file. You may be tempted to enter a gift card number for your child to use, which is fine when they receive one. But by entering your own as the default payment method gives you another way to monitor their purchases for apps.

3.      Setting the phone up as a child’s phone on start-up is essential. This will give you the option for creating a parent pin number to lock out certain functions such as the app store itself if you don’t want your child downloading anything without your knowledge.

4.      Install FindMyIphone, Life360, or a similar app, so that you can always track the location of your child’s phone.

5.      When your child goes to sleep for the night, have them plug their phone and other devices in to charge in your room. The easiest way to avoid a problem is to remove the chance of their being one. A simple rule should be “no reason to have a phone while parents are asleep”.

Good luck with your newly connected kids!

Written By: Alice.in.Londini.land