Parenting Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Parenting Tip: How to control what your child watches on YouTube

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 23rd, 2013)

My kids are growing up as part of the internet generation and, as a result, they love watching videos online. Being good internet citizens, it's not surprising their favorite videos involve cats doing silly tricks. I would love to let them loose on YouTube to watch their cat videos, but there is ...

Parenting tip: Recover your lost parental control password, or not

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 16th, 2013)

Parental Controls on iOS are extremely helpful for parents of iOS-device-using kids. They allow a parent to block in-app purchases, restrict explicit content on the device and block apps that are not needed for younger children (Mail, Safari, etc.). Setting up these restrictions requires a ...

Parenting Tip: Using Find My iPhone to locate a misplaced iOS device

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 8th, 2013)

We've read countless stories about Find My iPhone and how it has helped police recover a stolen iOS device. The service is great for this type of field work, but did you know that Find My iPhone can help you find an iOS device that's been misplaced around your house? If you are a parent of little ...

Parenting tip: How to exit out of Guided Access when it locks up

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 1st, 2013)

Guided Access is a handy feature in iOS 6 that lets you lock your child into a single app by disabling the hardware buttons on a device. It prevents your child from going hog wild through your iPhone or iPad when you hand it to them for some play time. Guided Access is great until it locks up and ...

Baby Monitor 3G makes watching your baby much easier with new OS X version

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 30th, 2013)

Having a baby requires constant vigilance -- morning and night you are watching over your little one to keep them safe and happy. One indispensable tool for parents is a baby monitor that lets you watch over your child from afar. If you have an old iOS device lying around, then you might want to ...

Parenting Tip: Limit screen time using Kaboom App Timer

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 24th, 2013)

Limiting screen time is a challenge for any parent. It's easy to hand an iPad to your kids and even easier to get distracted and forget to take it away. One way to move that responsibility away from your forgetful self and onto the device is using the Kaboom App Timer. As its name implies, ...

Daily iPhone App: Artkive helps you save your child's artwork for posterity

by Mike Schramm (Apr 16th, 2013)

I first learned about Artkive last week at an event here in LA, put on by Technori and designed to show off some of the best startup ideas in the City of Angels. The company has been around for quite a while, and has picked up a whole lot of buzz from mom bloggers and the parenting industry ...

Parent iPhones can track kids' non-iPhones with MobileKids

by Michael Rose (Jan 24th, 2013)

The delicate dance of independence, safety and personal boundaries between anxious parents and digital-generation kids is always tricky. Some apps and device usages are A-OK, some are a highly concentrated essence of bad choices (looking at you, Snapchat) -- but most fall into a gray area, ...

Mom gives son iPhone with 18-point contract

by Dave Caolo (Dec 31st, 2012)

Blogger and mother Janelle Burley Hofman gave her 13-year-old son, Gregory, an iPhone for Christmas. That's a pretty great gift. The iPhone came with a rather special accessory in the form of an 18-point contract between mother and son, which must be observed to the letter. Highlights ...

Parents with questions may find guidance in Questioning Autism? app

by Michael Rose (Nov 25th, 2012)

It's the rare mom or dad who's never spent a sleepless night wondering "Is my kid OK?" Developmental issues, in particular, can be a nightmare to classify and confirm. Normal variations between children may mean that a milestone delay is nothing to worry about; for another child, when seen in ...

How a kid-friendly app leaks mature content via YouTube

by Michael Rose (Nov 19th, 2012)

With the rose-hued glasses of nostalgia firmly in place, today's tech-tangled parents may long for a simpler pre-Internet time when kids simply got into fights or stayed out too late, rather than getting tangled up in sexting mishaps or giving out inappropriate personal info on Facebook. For ...

What happens in a toddler's brain when they use an iPad

by Mike Schramm (May 23rd, 2012)

Those of us who have used traditional computers for a while think the iPad is pretty magical. t's super fast, super portable, and the direct interactivity is a very different experience from what we're used to with a mouse and keyboard. But those comparisons aren't as valid for children who are ...

An iPod touch for kids and parents: one dad's guide

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Apr 4th, 2012)

I've been separated for about two years now; as any part-time custodial parent will tell you, it can be tricky to communicate with the kids when you're not around as much. This past Christmas I decided to get an iPod touch for each of my kids. At the time, they were living about 30 minutes away ...

The iPad and parenting

by Kelly Hodgkins (Nov 2nd, 2011)

Parents with young children are often faced with a difficult decision when it comes to the iPhone and iPad. Kids love Apple's mobile devices! They are bright, colorful, responsive and easy to use. They can be used as a tool to help young children learn their colors, shapes and letters. And a ...

Foto Find: Angry Birds breakfast

by Mike Schramm (Sep 28th, 2010)

This is super cute -- a breakfast styled to look just like the popular Angry Birds app. A woman had some complications during her pregnancy, and she was bedridden and restricted to only eating certain types of food during childbirth. So, her husband started making food art, using the various foods ...