
Apple needs to do more for parents - ssclafani
http://scobleizer.com/2011/02/15/apple-needs-to-do-more-for-parents/
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Synaesthesia
Reminded of a story a friend told me: her little daughter saw her dragging
icons to the trash on her Mac (OS9). When she came back again, all her
applications and documents had been thoroughly deleted!

Anyway on the iPhone, deleting apps can be restricted in the settings. Buying
apps can be restricted. Your phone can have a passlock. As wccrawford says,
the best way is just to keep it away from your little kids, or monitor them
closely.

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capstone
Something tells me you don't have kids, or they are mostly taken care of by
your significant other, or you've simply never explored the possibilities.
Keeping kids away from electronics can rob them of wonderful developmental
opportunities. My 18-months old can't speak or dress himself but he is getting
very good at several challenging iPhone apps that involve assembling shapes,
matching tiles from memory, mixing music, etc. Likewise, constant monitoring
of your little ones is neither realistic nor desirable, especially when there
is a simple solution at the technology level. We don't get all worked up about
door locks - why the negative attitude towards e-locks for children?

~~~
joezydeco
I'd be happer with something a lot simpler: disabling the home button.

My 3 year-old loves watching videos and playing simple games on my iPhone. But
she can't grasp the idea of _not pressing this really cool button_ at the
bottom of the screen. So 30 seconds into the video I get an "aah! bring it
back!". Over and over and over.

The only solution I have to date is to wrap a piece of cardboard with a
rubberband and strap it over the home button. That works a bit longer, but
it's still not perfect.

~~~
capstone
I hear you. Disabling the home button for a preset amount of time, or until
you press the top off button, would be a godsent.

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Cadsby
iPad's and iPhone's are not made for small children. People are being a little
silly in demanding that Apple child proof their luxury brand gizmos.

Your child will not lose IQ points if he doesn't have a shiny iOS device to
play with. Give him a book or puzzle to do like the rest of us had growing up.
I promise you he'll turn out just fine.

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jhancock
My son just received an iPod Touch for his 6th birthday. Problem solved!! He
can do whatever he wants with it and sync it to our family iMac using his own
account. All I need do is be a bit careful about handing the 'iTouch' back to
him right after I made a purchase for him.

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wccrawford
Show them the money. Those features are undeveloped because they aren't valued
enough. If more people wanted and used them, they'd develop them better.

Here's my favorite quote from the comments: "Simple solution, don't let your
kids get their grubby paws on your phone. I have none of these issues as my
kids are not allowed to touch my phone. They have their own electronic toys
and iDevices to play with."

Yes, that's right, the best way to prevent kids from destroying expensive
things is to not hand them to them. There are devices designed for children
that have these protections and more.

~~~
capstone
Huh? The solution to missing features is to stop using the product?

My 18-months old is getting really good at several puzzles on my old iPhone.
He also deletes apps constantly, because there is no lock mechanism/parental
controls. The fact that the iPhone is exclusively his to play with is
irrelevant, as is its price.

"Show them the money" is equally irrelevant. By definition, you cannot measure
how much consumers value something that's not there. I'd love to show Apple my
money but I can't magically pay for a non-offered feature.

~~~
Synaesthesia
Settings -> General -> Restrictions.

My pleasure ;)

~~~
capstone
Thanks, I wasn't aware of those options. Still, that's only a small subset of
parental controls that are needed.

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Flemlord
Plus, there are many apps our 1-yr old uses, but if she pushes the wrong
button it enters a settings mode or something where she can't get back to the
main app.

~~~
capstone
Which apps can you recommend?

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Uhhrrr
Similar to a 'first-world' problem, this is a 'dumbass' problem. Should you
give a child an easy-to-use device which contains all of your data? There is a
simple and clear answer to this. Parental lock is irrelevant. If it becomes
simpler for the average parent it will only become simpler for the average
child to defeat. Add in the fact that the device is breakable, and it becomes
all the clearer. I don't know - perhaps Scoble's children are angels who never
break things. Do you think?

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soulclap
At least the kids can't buy anything involving naked girls on the app store.
Not sure if daddy is still a fan of this 'feature' late at night though.

