There are already educational centers that promote and integrate the tablet or iPad as a complement to learning, and in more than one home with children, they have their own iPad with which to play with more or less control by adults.
In this article we will see how to adapt an old iPad or a new one that we want our children to use but with the maximum guarantees and safety, for their sake and ours.
What are we interested in limiting
As in the article where I talked about Android tablets for children, before setting up an iPad for children we are interested in knowing what we want to limit.
Basically, the points that we are interested in controlling are the installation of apps and games according to our child’s age, avoiding the purchase of apps or games without permission to avoid surprises on our credit card, limit the use of certain applications and avoid content inappropriate when surfing the net.
Once we have clear our priorities, we can get down to work.
Before configuring the iPad, we are interested in having it updated. To check if you already have the latest version of iOS installed, go to Settings> General> Software update and if a new version appears, click on Download and install and follow the instructions.
In case you are reusing an old iPad and have already copied your data to the new device (or copied it to your iCloud space), you can delete that content at once. From Settings> General> Reset just click on Clear contents and settings and you will have an iPad with the operating system clean as factory.
Limit the use of apps and games
The operating system of iPad and iPhone, iOS, has parental controls to limit certain elements such as those that interest us.
From Settings> General> Restrictions we can mark and unmark each and every one of the installed apps and Apple’s official ones. Safari, Camera, FaceTime, Apple Music, Podcasts, Twitter, Facebook, microphone, contacts, location … We can even block AirDrop and Siri.
To activate the restrictions you must enter a code. Do not forget, because without it you will not be able to unlock restricted options and you will have to erase the device to restore it.
In addition to blocking certain apps and games, you can limit access by age.
Limit the installation of apps and games
In Settings> General> Restrictions you will also find limitations regarding the installation or removal of apps and games.
In this way, you can decide whether to block access to the App Store or if you only limit the purchase within apps and games from the Integrated purchases option.
Another possibility is to force the iTunes Store or App Store to ask for your Apple ID password in each request to download games and applications. To do this, you will have to go to Settings> App Store and iTunes Store> Password settings and check the option Always request in Purchases and / or Request password in Free downloads.
Limit accessible content
From Settings> General> Restrictions we can also limit what content to access. On the one hand, it allows you to limit movies, books, music and other items purchased from the iTunes Store.
On the other hand, we can limit the websites you access from Safari or another browser. The options are: All websites, Limit adult content and a more drastic, Only specific websites.
The second option is more than enough, since it uses a very complete predefined list that blocks sites and keywords.