Practical advice for parents
A free, independent playbook for parents setting up, supervising, and talking about devices with kids of any age.
Start here: the three-layer mindset
No single app or setting makes a kid’s device safe. Think in layers: the network (your home WiFi), the device (phone, tablet, console), and the app (TikTok, Roblox, Discord). A gap in any layer is a gap overall.
Setting up a new device (day 1)
- Create a child account, not an adult account with the kid’s name. On iOS this means a child Apple ID under Family Sharing. On Android it means a supervised Google account via Family Link.
- Turn on Screen Time / Digital Wellbeing before handing the device over.
- Set app-store age rating (4+, 9+, 12+, 17+). This is the #1 quietly-skipped setting.
- Disable purchases or require password for every purchase. Gift-card and V-Bucks scams depend on loose purchase settings.
- Turn off location sharing by default; enable per-app only when needed.
- Install your chosen monitoring tool (if using one) before the kid has the device.
Age-appropriate rules
Under 6
Shared family device. No personal profile. YouTube Kids, not YouTube. No messaging apps. Co-watch whenever possible.
Ages 7-12
Start introducing supervised autonomy. A smartwatch or kid phone before a full smartphone. If gaming, stay on age-appropriate titles with chat disabled. Introduce the “tell me if something weird happens” rule with zero punishment.
Ages 13-17
Shift from controls to coaching. Teens can and will bypass controls; what matters is whether they come to you when something goes wrong. Keep Find My / location sharing as a family norm (both ways), but drop invasive content monitoring as they approach 16.
Screen time that actually works
Hard-number limits (“1 hour a day”) break down fast. Instead:
- No devices in bedrooms overnight — charge in the kitchen.
- No devices at meals (parents included).
- One screen-free day or evening per week.
- Homework first, and social apps blocked during school hours via Screen Time/Family Link.
Privacy settings worth the five minutes
- Private accounts by default on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat.
- No “suggest my account to others.”
- Turn off “people nearby” features (Snap Maps, Life360, location in photo metadata).
- Restrict DMs to friends or turn them off entirely.
- Review app permissions monthly (microphone, camera, contacts, location).
Talking to your kid about online safety
The single most protective thing you can do: make it safe to tell you when something goes wrong. That means no phone-confiscation punishment for honest reporting. Kids who fear losing the phone hide sextortion, scams, and contact from strangers — exactly the cases where speed matters most.
Use news stories as conversation starters, not lectures. “I read about this scam today — have you ever seen anything like that?” works better than “let me show you what’s dangerous.”