Set up a tablet for your child | 10 tips for child-friendly settings
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With the rise of technology in recent years, tablets have become an indispensable part of society.
Tablets nowadays already have the same possibilities as a regular computer, but are even easier to use due to the practical size and the touchscreen.
Hospitals, schools, companies: the tablet is already being used almost everywhere, for example to keep track of the administration, to learn or to keep an eye on the finances.
In this article I will tell you how you can set up your tablet to make it safe for your child.
Almost every household has a tablet, if any anymore.
Because the tablet is used so much nowadays, children often come into contact with it.
Parents often do not like this idea because they cannot keep track of what their child is doing on the tablet.
There is then a fear that children will see things that parents would prefer the child not to see.
But this fear is not necessary at all, because nowadays each tablet has different options to make the tablet 'child safe'.
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How do I make my tablet child-friendly?
To help you on your way, we give you ten simple tips to make your tablet child safe.
To make your tablet child-friendly, you can use these ten options:
- Protect the play store
- Install a special internet browser
- Create a special child account
- Protect your tablet with a suitable tablet cover
- Make YouTube child safe
- Purchase a special children's tablet
- Download a 'children's zone' app
- Buy a screen protector
- Use the 'snap windows' function
- Put a password on your tablet
Below I would like to explain exactly how you can use the for a safe environment for your child.
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(also read our post about educational apps to turn your tablet into an educational workstation or check our buyer's guide for tips on the right tablets and covers)
Tip 1: Protect the play store
Whether you own an Apple, Android or Windows tablet: every operating system has an app store where you can download fun or useful applications for your tablet.
The danger with this is that your child can download everything that you as a parent do not want your child to download at all.
It also often happens that a child purchases all kinds of things in the app store or in games without being aware of this.
As a parent you often do not realize anything, until you suddenly receive a bill at home for hundreds of euros.
Fortunately, this is easy to prevent. We will briefly explain how you can prevent these kinds of things per app store.
If you have an Android tablet, you can easily protect the Google Play Store.
To do this, go to the Play Store app and open the settings. Look for the option 'content filtering' and here you can set what can and what cannot be downloaded on the tablet.
Simple, right?
If you own an Apple tablet, you can just as easily protect the App Store. Do this by opening settings on your tablet.
Then press 'general' and scroll down until you see 'restrictions'. Click this and choose 'Enable restrictions'.
After you have done this you can easily turn off things like 'Install apps' and 'Buy from apps' with the sliders.
Do this and make sure that you will not be faced with unpleasant surprises.
Tip 2: Install a special internet browser
As a parent, the internet browser on the tablet is probably the most dangerous zone for your child.
After all, he / she can look up everything he wants here and the internet does not really have any limits.
However, it is super easy to limit your child's internet access on the tablet.
All you have to do is download a special child-safe internet browser. For Android tablets we recommend the 'Safe Browser' app from the Google Play Store.
Download the app on the tablet and you can do things like set a password to access the internet and make certain websites inaccessible on the tablet.
This way you can be sure that your child is safe on the internet. If you are in possession of an Apple tablet, we recommend the 'MetaCert Browser' app.
This app automatically blocks more than 700 million inappropriate websites and filters images and videos.
As a parent you can also see exactly what your child is looking up on the internet. Very safe!
Tip 3: Create a special child account
Another very useful tip is to create a special child account on your tablet.
At the moment this is only possible on Android tablets with an Android version higher than Android 4.3, so if you are an Apple user you better skip this tip.
The advantage of a child account on your tablet is that as a parent you can set exactly which apps your child may or may not use, what your child may or may not look up and so on.
This saves a lot of time because it is faster than downloading all kinds of separate 'child protection' apps.
The safest thing to do is to create a child's account and download child-safe apps on it. That way you can be sure that it cannot go wrong.
A special children's account is super easy to create.
Start by going to settings on the 'regular' account on your tablet. Click here 'users' and click on 'add user'.
You will then be given the choice of two options: user or limited profile. Choose 'limited profile'. The following is a long list of all the apps on your tablet.
You can choose per app whether or not you want the app to be available for your child.
Do this carefully so that you can be sure that your child cannot do strange things on the tablet.
Click further and you have finished creating a special child account.
To switch to the restricted profile now, all you have to do is close the screen and click on the logo at the top right of your screen.
There you click on the newly created restricted profile and your tablet is completely ready for your child to be used!
Tip 4: Protect your tablet with a suitable tablet cover
Okay, this tip will not stop a child from doing strange things on the tablet without you as a parent knowing anything about it.
Nevertheless, this tip is very important to ensure that your tablet does not break within a few weeks.
A tablet cover around your tablet ensures that the tablet does not immediately break with the slightest bump.
The number of times I have heard about children who accidentally dropped their glass of cola over the tablet or children who dropped the tablet off the couch can no longer be counted on one hand.
Such a shame, because it is so easy to do something about it and it is difficult to blame your child.
After all, children are often a bit clumsy with holding things and they don't think about it that way.
There are very good tablet cases available today at normal prices.
Many tablet covers also let you fold the cover in a certain way so that you can put the tablet upright. Many people find this very useful.
For example, take a look at the 'Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 Book Cover'. This tablet sleeve offers all kinds of useful functions for a reasonable price.
Please note when purchasing a tablet cover that you purchase a tablet cover of the correct size. Our tip is to type on Google: 'Your tablet name + cover'.
This way you can be sure that you purchase a cover that is suitable for your tablet. I have written a whole article about it choosing the right tablet cover.
Tip 5: Make YouTube child safe
On average, 1 in 2 children in the Netherlands watches a YouTube video every day. YouTube is extremely popular and it keeps growing.
So there is also a very high chance that your child will want to watch YouTube videos on the tablet.
But how can you be sure that he / she will not see strange videos or videos with foul language, for example?
Recently, YouTube has a solution for this: safety mode.
YouTube's safety mode is quite simple and uses data in YouTube's database and community notifications to filter certain videos from YouTube.
This system is still available within YouTube and is therefore not completely flawless. It will certainly ensure that no crude videos are recommended to your child.
The safety mode is easy to set in a few steps.
You start by opening the YouTube app on the tablet or opening the YouTube website in your tablet browser.
First log in to the YouTube account that you want to make 'safe'.
Then scroll all the way down and go to settings and then click on 'Security'.
Now you will be given the option to turn on safety mode. Do this and YouTube on your tablet has been made a lot safer.
If someone else later wants to use YouTube on the tablet, they only have to log out of the locked account and log in to their own account.
Pretty easy, right?
It might be good to know that Google is currently working hard on a YouTube app especially for children.
This app will be called YouTube Kids and will offer numerous functions for parents to control what videos can and cannot be watched.
It will also offer functions such as 'child profile, search blocking and viewing history' which will make browsing YouTube even safer for your child.
The app is already being tested in other countries, but it will take a while before YouTube kids is also released in the Netherlands.
For more information about YouTube kids you could check out kids.youtube.com and I made a blog post about children's tablets that are suitable for Youtube.
Tip 6: Purchase a special children's tablet
You may find all the things you have to do with your tablet to keep it child safe and you want that to be done in advance.
This is possible with the emergence of the special children's tablet. A children's tablet is quite similar to a regular tablet.
The children's tablet (almost) always runs on the Android operating system and is optimized for children.
As a parent, it is super easy to configure a children's tablet to your preferences about what the child can and cannot do.
However, configuration is not required because this has already been done with the tablet in advance.
That is why a children's tablet is very suitable if you are afraid that you are not handy enough with a tablet to make it child-safe.
But where do you buy such a children's tablet and which children's tablet do we recommend?
A children's tablet is easy to purchase on bol.com. There are currently plenty of good children's tablets on the market for not too high prices.
The average price of a children's tablet is between 60 euros and 120 euros.
However, it does not necessarily have to be that a more expensive children's tablet is also a better one.
We recommend a reasonably cheap model: the Denver TAQ. The Denver-TAQ comes in an attractive color for children and offers all the functions you could wish for in a children's tablet.
At the moment, the tablet is offered for 70 euros and that is no money for the specifications that come with this children's tablet.
The tablet also has a built-in extensive parent panel in which you as a parent can easily set everything to how you want it.
This way, it really cannot go wrong and you can be sure that your child has fun on the tablet safely!
Tip 7: Download a 'children's zone' app
Another good tip that can help very well in making a tablet child safe is to download a special 'children's zone' app.
As soon as you open such an app, the tablet switches to a completely new protected environment with only content that is suitable for children and often very educational.
Think of a zone with educational games, fun comics and funny videos for children.
A good kids zone app that we recommend is the Kids Mode app made by Samsung. Download the app from the Play Store or the App Store and open the app.
You automatically enter a kind of virtual play environment where your child can entertain you for hours. The play environment consists of all friendly looking 3D figures.
A child can click on the figures and the figure then 'takes' the child to a kind of play arena where a child can fully enjoy themselves.
If you use a IPad then the Kids Mode app cannot be downloaded as it is an Android limited app, but there are plenty of other options for the IPad too!
Tip 8: Buy a screen protector
Another slightly smaller tip that we can give you is to buy a so-called screen protector for your tablet.
This is a kind of transparent sticker that you stick over your screen to prevent scratches.
Buy this together with a tablet cover and your tablet is actually completely safe from accidents.
Make sure, just like with the tablet cover, that you buy a screen protector that fits well on your screen.
Especially with a screen protector, this is very important because you can still get scratches around your screen with a screen protector that is too small or too large.
A good screen protector costs between 20 euros and 30 euros and is easy to purchase from a website like bol.com.
In total you have a completely protected tablet for about 50 to 60 euros on which your child can fully enjoy themselves.
Tip 9: Use the 'snap windows' function
It is quite common that you as a parent are working in the car on the tablet and your child asks if he / she can play a game.
You are reasonably done with your work, so your child can play a game for a while, but you want to make sure that your child does not accidentally change or even delete important files from your work.
How can you quickly give your child access to just one game without having to create profiles or something like that?
This can be done by means of the 'attach windows' function. It is important to note that this is a feature for Android tablets with an Android version of Lollipop 5.0 or higher.
So if you have an Apple or Windows tablet, this is possible.
On your Android tablet, go to settings and in the search bar, type 'snap window'. Click on this and follow the instructions, this is fairly self-explanatory.
After this you can safely let your child play a game in the back seat!
Tip 10: Put a password on your tablet
Perhaps the best tip is to put a password on your tablet that your child does not know.
If you do not have this, there is a danger that your child can take the tablet when you are away from home as a parent.
The child can then do whatever it takes on the tablet without you having any supervision whatsoever: asking for problems.
This can easily be prevented by setting a password on your tablet.
After all, every time your child wants to play with the tablet, he / she must first go to a parent who knows the password of the tablet and can therefore enter it.
This way you can be sure that there is always someone with supervision when your child starts playing on the tablet.
It is best to sit next to your child to see what he / she is up to on the tablet.
This way you can see that he / she does not do strange things and you can also give your child some nice tips about how you can do things more easily on the tablet.
After all, as a parent you probably know a little more about the tablet than a child of a very young age.
In this way, your child will also learn something about these types of devices and your child will have it easier later if he / she switches to a smartphone, for example.
A password is easy to set on any type of tablet.
On an Apple iPad, you set a password (also known as a PIN) by going to the settings and then to 'Touch ID and access code'.
On an Android tablet, you can set a password by going to the settings and then going to 'Protection' and then pressing 'Screen lock'.
You can choose whether you want a pattern, a word or a number code as a password.
We recommend an acronym as a password because it is not easy for children to guess.
Conclusion
The fear that some parents have that their child will do strange things on a tablet without the parents knowing anything about it is completely unnecessary.
By following our tips, you can be sure that you as a parent will not be faced with unpleasant surprises.
Maybe some small investments are needed such as a nice cover and a screen protector, but everything else is free to do.
Set a password, download a special children's app or create a child profile: there are plenty of options to let your child fully enjoy themselves on the tablet without having to worry as a parent.
Good luck with the tips and if you have any good tips yourself to make a tablet child safe, you can certainly leave them in the comments.
* After the 5 days it stops automatically and you can always unsubscribe
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
Play Choice now has the ultimate activity book collection, with over 60 pages of fun coloring pages and educational puzzles.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.