Parental Control/Game time limiter

Hi,

 

we have a 13 year old and controlling his user habits on the ipod touch is really hard. The Problem comes from all the stuff an ipod can do. It´s not only a web browser, it´s a gaming device and an walkmen plus plus plus.

 

So we have an agreement saying he can play 2 hours of games per day. But after playing on his iPod or on his Wii I still see him on his iPod. Of course he´s going like:"I´m only listening to music", which in most cases was true, but it is incredibly easy for him to cheat on this agreement. The problem is that it is a real pain in the neck to be after him all the time to see what he is doing with his iPod and of course he is feeling controlled.

 

No here is what I want to do:

 

- I want to prevent my boy from using the ipod at night. Pretty much in a way I saw in the  parental control menu on my MBP.

- Next, I want to limit his game time. Sure there are a lot of third party solutions out there. But they don´t work for me. I want him to play say between 20min. to X hours a day. I want to set up a timer with my password that my boy can´t change. So once I hand the iPod back to him I can be sure he plays no more than 2 hours a day. After the 2 hours of game time: nada. he can´t play anymore. And the timer resets itself on the next day.

 

At the same time I want him to be able to listen to his music on the iPod even after the timer locked down the games. Because IMHO he can listen to music as much as he wants.

 

And of course I want him to be able to surf Wikipedia and the like after the timer locked down. Something like an "educational mode" maybe, that is restricted to very few sites?

 

And yes, I´m aware that it is all about communication and trust. But teenage boys NEED control in certain areas of their life. Badly.

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Parental Control/Game time limiter

Hi,

 

we have a 13 year old and controlling his user habits on the ipod touch is really hard. The Problem comes from all the stuff an ipod can do. It´s not only a web browser, it´s a gaming device and an walkmen plus plus plus.

 

So we have an agreement saying he can play 2 hours of games per day. But after playing on his iPod or on his Wii I still see him on his iPod. Of course he´s going like:"I´m only listening to music", which in most cases was true, but it is incredibly easy for him to cheat on this agreement. The problem is that it is a real pain in the neck to be after him all the time to see what he is doing with his iPod and of course he is feeling controlled.

 

No here is what I want to do:

 

- I want to prevent my boy from using the ipod at night. Pretty much in a way I saw in the  parental control menu on my MBP.

- Next, I want to limit his game time. Sure there are a lot of third party solutions out there. But they don´t work for me. I want him to play say between 20min. to X hours a day. I want to set up a timer with my password that my boy can´t change. So once I hand the iPod back to him I can be sure he plays no more than 2 hours a day. After the 2 hours of game time: nada. he can´t play anymore. And the timer resets itself on the next day.

 

At the same time I want him to be able to listen to his music on the iPod even after the timer locked down the games. Because IMHO he can listen to music as much as he wants.

 

And of course I want him to be able to surf Wikipedia and the like after the timer locked down. Something like an "educational mode" maybe, that is restricted to very few sites?

 

And yes, I´m aware that it is all about communication and trust. But teenage boys NEED control in certain areas of their life. Badly.

View the original article here

Read More

Parental Control/Game time limiter

Hi,

 

we have a 13 year old and controlling his user habits on the ipod touch is really hard. The Problem comes from all the stuff an ipod can do. It´s not only a web browser, it´s a gaming device and an walkmen plus plus plus.

 

So we have an agreement saying he can play 2 hours of games per day. But after playing on his iPod or on his Wii I still see him on his iPod. Of course he´s going like:"I´m only listening to music", which in most cases was true, but it is incredibly easy for him to cheat on this agreement. The problem is that it is a real pain in the neck to be after him all the time to see what he is doing with his iPod and of course he is feeling controlled.

 

No here is what I want to do:

 

- I want to prevent my boy from using the ipod at night. Pretty much in a way I saw in the  parental control menu on my MBP.

- Next, I want to limit his game time. Sure there are a lot of third party solutions out there. But they don´t work for me. I want him to play say between 20min. to X hours a day. I want to set up a timer with my password that my boy can´t change. So once I hand the iPod back to him I can be sure he plays no more than 2 hours a day. After the 2 hours of game time: nada. he can´t play anymore. And the timer resets itself on the next day.

 

At the same time I want him to be able to listen to his music on the iPod even after the timer locked down the games. Because IMHO he can listen to music as much as he wants.

 

And of course I want him to be able to surf Wikipedia and the like after the timer locked down. Something like an "educational mode" maybe, that is restricted to very few sites?

 

And yes, I´m aware that it is all about communication and trust. But teenage boys NEED control in certain areas of their life. Badly.

View the original article here

Read More

Parental Control/Game time limiter

Hi,

 

we have a 13 year old and controlling his user habits on the ipod touch is really hard. The Problem comes from all the stuff an ipod can do. It´s not only a web browser, it´s a gaming device and an walkmen plus plus plus.

 

So we have an agreement saying he can play 2 hours of games per day. But after playing on his iPod or on his Wii I still see him on his iPod. Of course he´s going like:"I´m only listening to music", which in most cases was true, but it is incredibly easy for him to cheat on this agreement. The problem is that it is a real pain in the neck to be after him all the time to see what he is doing with his iPod and of course he is feeling controlled.

 

No here is what I want to do:

 

- I want to prevent my boy from using the ipod at night. Pretty much in a way I saw in the  parental control menu on my MBP.

- Next, I want to limit his game time. Sure there are a lot of third party solutions out there. But they don´t work for me. I want him to play say between 20min. to X hours a day. I want to set up a timer with my password that my boy can´t change. So once I hand the iPod back to him I can be sure he plays no more than 2 hours a day. After the 2 hours of game time: nada. he can´t play anymore. And the timer resets itself on the next day.

 

At the same time I want him to be able to listen to his music on the iPod even after the timer locked down the games. Because IMHO he can listen to music as much as he wants.

 

And of course I want him to be able to surf Wikipedia and the like after the timer locked down. Something like an "educational mode" maybe, that is restricted to very few sites?

 

And yes, I´m aware that it is all about communication and trust. But teenage boys NEED control in certain areas of their life. Badly.

View the original article here

Read More

Parental Control/Game time limiter

Hi,

 

we have a 13 year old and controlling his user habits on the ipod touch is really hard. The Problem comes from all the stuff an ipod can do. It´s not only a web browser, it´s a gaming device and an walkmen plus plus plus.

 

So we have an agreement saying he can play 2 hours of games per day. But after playing on his iPod or on his Wii I still see him on his iPod. Of course he´s going like:"I´m only listening to music", which in most cases was true, but it is incredibly easy for him to cheat on this agreement. The problem is that it is a real pain in the neck to be after him all the time to see what he is doing with his iPod and of course he is feeling controlled.

 

No here is what I want to do:

 

- I want to prevent my boy from using the ipod at night. Pretty much in a way I saw in the  parental control menu on my MBP.

- Next, I want to limit his game time. Sure there are a lot of third party solutions out there. But they don´t work for me. I want him to play say between 20min. to X hours a day. I want to set up a timer with my password that my boy can´t change. So once I hand the iPod back to him I can be sure he plays no more than 2 hours a day. After the 2 hours of game time: nada. he can´t play anymore. And the timer resets itself on the next day.

 

At the same time I want him to be able to listen to his music on the iPod even after the timer locked down the games. Because IMHO he can listen to music as much as he wants.

 

And of course I want him to be able to surf Wikipedia and the like after the timer locked down. Something like an "educational mode" maybe, that is restricted to very few sites?

 

And yes, I´m aware that it is all about communication and trust. But teenage boys NEED control in certain areas of their life. Badly.

View the original article here

Read More

Parental Control/Game time limiter

Hi,

 

we have a 13 year old and controlling his user habits on the ipod touch is really hard. The Problem comes from all the stuff an ipod can do. It´s not only a web browser, it´s a gaming device and an walkmen plus plus plus.

 

So we have an agreement saying he can play 2 hours of games per day. But after playing on his iPod or on his Wii I still see him on his iPod. Of course he´s going like:"I´m only listening to music", which in most cases was true, but it is incredibly easy for him to cheat on this agreement. The problem is that it is a real pain in the neck to be after him all the time to see what he is doing with his iPod and of course he is feeling controlled.

 

No here is what I want to do:

 

- I want to prevent my boy from using the ipod at night. Pretty much in a way I saw in the  parental control menu on my MBP.

- Next, I want to limit his game time. Sure there are a lot of third party solutions out there. But they don´t work for me. I want him to play say between 20min. to X hours a day. I want to set up a timer with my password that my boy can´t change. So once I hand the iPod back to him I can be sure he plays no more than 2 hours a day. After the 2 hours of game time: nada. he can´t play anymore. And the timer resets itself on the next day.

 

At the same time I want him to be able to listen to his music on the iPod even after the timer locked down the games. Because IMHO he can listen to music as much as he wants.

 

And of course I want him to be able to surf Wikipedia and the like after the timer locked down. Something like an "educational mode" maybe, that is restricted to very few sites?

 

And yes, I´m aware that it is all about communication and trust. But teenage boys NEED control in certain areas of their life. Badly.

View the original article here

Read More

Parental Control/Game time limiter

John, MY concern is that if Apple is intentionally disallowing these kinds of apps or controls, then it is because they know very well the psychology of their use (you can bet your life they do) and know that we are becoming addicted to their products, which is what drives their profits. This starts to look very sinister indeed when you start to look carefully at the current research:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/07/08/is-the-internet-making-us-crazy -what-the-new-research-says.html

Really, they are the biggest drug dealers in the World, and they are completely untouchable. This is more dangerous than marijuana use, but because parents are just as addicted, there will be no moral outcry until enough parents see their children comitted.

When it becomes a national health crisis here in the U.S., which it is already, by some accounts, or at least on the brink of being so, nobody will even suspect that Apple knew long ago that there was that potential. In the final hour, they will sweep in like knights on white horses to finally allow some solutions but only well after they have as many addicted users and have wrung as much profict as could possibly be had.

For what it's worth, AVG Family Safety (like Open DNS but can be configured for individual devices/users and has timers/blackouts) is one good way to have some control over devices' internet use, but unfortunately, it does nothing to limit time or blackout periods on apps, which is the main feature I would like.  I'd like to be able to let her use prodcuctivity/time management apps, do as much digital art as she wants, use social media for a limited amount of time... but don't want it to morph into texting for 5 hours or being on youtube (which can be accessed through Facebook) or some time-wasting game for 3 hours!

I've already written Apple and told them I'd be willing to pay more for these controls and I think many parents would. Please, if you agree with me, write apple and tell them you want specific time and blackout control for individual apps or at least over all non-educational/productivity/enrichment apps, as a group. Any app such as Spray Can that integrates socializing with random users should also be in this group of restrictable apps. Individual website restrictions would be helpful as well.

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