nullIf you’re lucky enough to cohabitate with kids and an iOS device, here are four things to do to make things work smoothly (assuming you’re already adept at removing applesauce from the screen). If there’s a fifth, please share below.
1. Lock in-app purchases behind a secret pin. A “free” app that combines a child-friendly theme like Tap Pet Hotel or Smurfs’ Village with in-app purchases can cost you real money. Here’s how you can make in-app purchases impossible.
Step 1: Open Settings.
Step 2: Select General.
Step 3. Select Restrictions and create a four-digit pin.
Step 4: Find the “Restrictions” menu, and slide off the features you don’t want your child to use. These include YouTube, your camera, the iTunes store, and — at the bottom, In-App purchases. Remember that if you want to use these features later, you’ll have to reverse the process.
2. Make folders. Make desired apps easy to find, by naming a folder after your child. Here are four steps.
Step 1: Together with your child, flip through all your apps and make a list of the favorites.
Step 2: Make a folder by asking your child to hold their finger on an app and count to three. It will start to wriggle.
Step 3: Help them to slide one of the their favorite app icons over another. A folder is automatically created. Type in your child’s name; tap the screen again to close the folder. Note that you can make as many folders as you like, say, one for each family member.
Step 4: Move the folder to the dock — the shelf on the bottom — so it stays in view. Swipe through your apps and fill the folder.
If you give your child an active role in finding, naming and filling the folders, you’ll increase the chance they will get used. It is easy to rename a folder later, or erase the folder simply by emptying it out, in case you make a mistake.
3. Check your account frequently. Go into iTunes and find the Purchase History tab in your Account, and have a look at your recent purchases. Also keep an eye on your bank statement. Hopefully, there will be no surprises.
4. Pick the right payment options. If you have your child set up with his or her own iTunes Store account, you can fund that account with a monthly allowance. Doing so will send a preset amount of money (between $10 and $50) to your child’s account every month. If they don’t use the entire stipend each month, whatever’s left over rolls into next month.
If you don’t want to fund a child’s account on a monthly basis, you can send them an iTunes gift certificate, either by e-mail or a hard copy via the Post Office. That will give them a one-time cash infusion. You can also fund your own account this way and remove the link to your credit or debit card. When your account is empty, it’s empty. This can help children learn a valuable lesson: There are limits to onscreen luxuries.