Child phone rules

[garden77]

Hello,

Sorry if wrong area to post but am wondering can anyone advise me on how to make iPhone as child safe as possible for my 11 year old whose getting one for Xmas. I have done it as a child profile I think. What else can I do to make safe and also how do I make it more basic so it's not got so much clutter almost on it.

Hope that makes sense. Am not tech savvy but keen to keep him safe. Everyone else in year has one and so have finally agreed but if anyone could advise rules they use I'd appreciate it.

Thank you

1 thing my cousin did with her kids when they were younger, which I thought was pretty smart (using ipads rather than iphones) was not to put a sim card in it. Instead she set her phone as a 'hot spot' when they were out using it remotely and let them use the wifi only. Meant she had additional control on what things could be downloaded and had to ask her if they were out and about.

We've recently put the Qustodio app on the kids phones and linked them to ours. We can set different rules to manage screen time, block certain websites and filter what they can search for online etc, and see what apps they've been using and for how long. There is also a location function, panic button, and other upgrades you can get for full visibility. We pay £40 a year for the premium basic package.

and no, I don't work for them but I just think it's a great product!

In terms of rules, my 11 year old gets 3 hours a day and my 15 year old gets 5 hours a day. This increases by 2 hours at the weekend. Seems like a lot but they both use Spotify to play music and a lot of the time is used up by that! It's their responsibility to manage their phone time.
11 year old hands phone in 1 hour before bed and doesn't get it until 7am next day.

Punishment for bad behaviour, rudeness etc is time docked in 15 minute chunks. They get extra time for doing chores/good behaviour etc.

Manage their phone time? They get 3/5 and 5/7 hours per day! That's nuts.
Also, if your whole behaviour policy revolves around removing phone time, that makes me think its the easiest option because it is such a horrific thought for them........because they are addicted. I would seriously consider reducing that screen time.

Thanks for your input. The OP asked for asked for what types of rules people put in place. I'm just giving mine. I didn't ask for anyone's appraisal on whether my rules were okay. They work for me and my kids.

I also didn't say that they use their full allocation every day, nor did I say it was the only part of their consequence structure. They do homework quizzes etc on their phones as it's set via the satchelone app and play music from them as they have spotify on the phone. Jeez, they don't sit and scroll on tik tok for three hours solid. My DS doesn't even have tik tok as he finds it stupid.

My kids have a full and active life playing sport every day and are achieving academically. My DS is on target to achieve 7-9s for all his GCSEs and is signed to a professional football club so is there 3 times a week. My DD plays for 2 football teams and has been chosen to do a Leadership programme with her school. So please don't presume to know anything about them or my parenting just because of one rule that I set for them for one particular area of their lives.

Another vote for a tracking app! Mine has kids 360. I can block apps, set time limits for apps and also set bedtime rules, so phone cannot be used from 8pm to 8am.

I can also track location, which is a godsend when my DC is walking to and from school and I want to see where they are.

You can also add tasks for them to complete which will win them extra app time. So my DC can hoover + mop to earn an extra 20 mins, or make me a cup of tea for an extra 10 🤣

I can also see any websites they type in and would get an immediate notification if they are trying to access something like porn.

My younger ds got his phone last January for his 11th birthday. He's allowed WhatsApp as we all use it. YouTube has a 30 minute limit and set to under 13s. He can have more if he asks and it's reasonable. Same for Roblox and Internet. He just has to ask and I can monitor his usage without necessarily saying no all the time.

If he wants something off the play store (game or app) its set to automatically ask me for permission, he has no ability to just download it until I unlock it. He's only asked for geometry dash and chess which I approved straight away.

Downtime is set for 8pm til 7am and he leaves the phone on charge downstairs during this time.

I use Google Family Link to control this and see where he is. It's good enough for me and costs nothing.

Set downtime for at least 45 mins prior to their bedtime and only 5 mins before their morning alarm. Take phones off them at night.

Thank you. This is all very useful. The kids 360 - does that cost or is it free? Does iPhone come with any parental stuff?

They have free and paid modes. I paid for it because I believe that gave me access to the tracker, which otherwise it didn't have - but may be wrong.