Our Plum saved all of her allowance and holiday money over the past year to purchase an iPad Mini. Since we don’t see the need at her age (10) for an iPad, we had told Plum that she would have to save up on her own for that particular purchase. As we’ve stated before, we aren’t opposed to our children having gadgets and gizmos as long as these things are used within our family’s guidelines.
We do not allow our children to access the internet in the privacy of their room, or anywhere else in the house, beyond our designated family computer. We also prohibit the use of any electronics during the school week before 4:30pm. Our kids do not own cell phones, even though Plum would love to have one. As our children get older, we will relax some of these rules to match new situations.
So how did we welcome this brand new iPad Mini? Our situation was complicated by the fact that Plum purchased it while visiting a submissive relative. She had a solid day of unsupervised play. Once we had Plum home, we reminded her that our family rules would apply. We had Plum hand over her iPad, once she got ready for bed, with the knowledge that: we would examine everything on it, place parental controls, disconnect the internet access, and make a list of all apps that did not meet with our approval. We also got Apple customer service on the phone to make sure we weren’t missing anything. We are happy to report that every app our Plum downloaded was allowed to remain on her iPad Mini!
Once a month we will again take Plum’s iPad for a parental review. We find these bullet points spot on with our family’s rules and beliefs:
- As in the real world, there are people on the Internet that make very bad choices and we must work together to protect you from them.
- In order to do that, we will set limits on what you can do with your iPad so that we balance access and enjoyment with safety.
- We trust you, but we reserve the right to check up on you. And yes, that means grabbing your iPad every so often to see what you’re doing with it.
- Do not overshare. It’s no one’s business where you live, who you hang out with, how others can get in touch with you, or what you look like. This includes not only requests that come via email and chat, but social networking sites as well.
- You hold in your hand a wonderful (and expensive) piece of hardware that can, with ill-treatment, break. You bought it with your own money. Take care of it. Don’t take it places where it can be lost or taken. Don’t lend it out. Use the case we bought.
Plum appreciates her iPad Mini tenfold, as she spent her own money to get it. Thus far, she is using it responsibly and is now saving for a protective carrier. We’ll help her out with the cost of that purchase!
–> And feel free to share your favorite family-friendly apps. Or tips you have for using an iPad. We’re still familiarizing ourselves with this device and would love to hear from you.