Setting up a child’s device for the start of Year 4 can be an overwhelming job but it’s important to get it right the first time so that problems and glitches are minimised for the long-term.
We highly recommend that Family Sharing is set up to start with. This means that the cost of app purchases is minimised and that the child’s device can be managed easily.
The basic steps are to:
- Use the parent device to tap on Family Sharing within settings and to create child accounts.
- Then, using this child account, sign into the child’s device with this Apple ID.
Screen Time is a fabulous tool to then manage the child’s device whilst on the parent device.
There’s a myriad of settings you can change within Screen Time. Three of the ones we recommend that you immediately turn on are below:
Turning off iMessage:
It’s important to realise that we have no need for iMessage at school or within an educational context. We highly recommend that iMessage is not allowed for Yr 4 and only under supervision when in Yr 5. There are settings you can use to manage children’s contacts when you do allow iMessage and I’ll post a video about this at a later time.
Utilising Downtime:
This is the hours between which you do not want the iPad used.
Setting up basic restrictions:
It’s important to realise that our school internet and filtered and managed. When at home however, it’s important to have a few basic restrictions enabled