Children are brought into the world of technology even before birth, with ultrasounds posted on Facebook, and baby names crowdsourced online. Is it no doubt then, that the wireless spans the whole family?
Image courtesy of CTIA-The Wireless Association. Click to see the whole infographic.
Wireless is wonderful in that it allows anytime anywhere connections and learning. These affordances come with (the usual online) dangers and it’s important for adults and children to take steps to mitigate these dangers.
Before giving a wireless device to a child, explore the available parental restrictions and other safety settings available. You may find helpful resources at http://www.growingwireless.com. I’m most familiar with the restrictions available in iOS because I’ve set those up at my school.
It is important to enable restrictions on mobile devices, especially when you will be using them with young children. Apple iOS allows you to restrict applications, content, privacy, and game center. Get help for setting up these restrictions at http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4213. I think that turning In-App Purchases off and Requiring Password Immediately are important to prevent children from (even accidentally) making purchases. I also turn off Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, Game Center, Bluetooth Sharing, Location Services, and all explicit content, disable account changes, and disable deleting apps whenever my nieces and nephews are playing with my Apple devices.
Sample settings for content restrictions.