How to youth-proof your smartphone

Forget the hundred or so toys you bought for your toddler- they want to get their little hands on your most prized, most valuable gadgets. And it only seems to get worse the older your children get. According to Techcrunch, the average age kids were getting a mobile phone, in 2016, was 10 years old. So, whether you’ve got a wriggling baby, a persistent teenager or any age in between, we’re offering some tips on how to keep them and your phones safe and secure.

If you’ve had a young child take or use your phone, you’ll find that they accidentally press buttons, and can download or purchase things unknowingly. The first thing you should do is set up a screen lock with a passcode, so that if you turn your back for a second and your child grabs your phone, they can’t do too much damage! You can also do this in-apps, so they require authentication for any purchases (or you can restrict in-app purchases altogether).

On iOS, there’s a feature in Settings called Guided Access, which means that you can limit the phone to use one app at a time. This means, if your child wants to borrow your phone at any time, you won’t need to constantly monitor them and worry about what they are up to!  Perhaps one of the biggest concerns as a parent to children born into this tech-centric era, is them being able to explore the internet and have access to potentially inappropriate or even harmful content. You can help prevent this by enabling parental control in Settings, allowing you to restrict web-browsing entirely, or you can install parental software or an app that sets limits and filters the information your child can access.

If you are a parent of a small child, the chances are you’ve seen your phone or tablet being dropped or smashed and felt your heart momentarily stop. The first thing you should do to help protect your gadgets is buy a protective tablet or phone case, which should help reduce the impact on your gadget if it is dropped. And to really put your mind at ease, you can take out a cheap gadget insurance that covers accidental damage and cracked screens.