[Fj Abraham]

I bought a couple Gs for my kids (they actually bought them, Xmas money). They are 9 and 10 and do not need phones yet. I picked them as they simply were not using their Kindle Fire tablets for being too large to be mobile. I'd like to set these up fairly dummy proof, but I'm starting to thin it may not be possible. I was under the impression that Kit Kat had pretty good parental settings but find now that it;s for tablets only. Just wondering if there is any way to do this:

- mp3s
- playstore (I'd do any purchasing)
- Amazon app store (again, just because apps bought there are sharable)
-Gmail (not sure I want them having email yet but am tempted for the grandparents sake)
-No browsing
- Ability to lock things down so only I can make changes, add apps, etc (i.e. I don't want them using Youtube)

Anyway you get the gist, it's a poor mans iPod. I know I could do all this with an iPod touch, but I;d prefer not too as they are overpriced.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Unicorn Rancher]

Others can tell you more about parental controls but meanwhile you can put a good password on the wifi router.

[Stephen Spackman]

I wouldn't say it's a poor mans iPod. I actually prefer the Moto G to the iPod Touch 5 32GB i just gave away.

Posted via Android Central App

[neu smurph]

Not tried any of them but there are loads of apps in the playstore of the 'App Lock' variety. You can choose which apps you want to 'lock' and they are only accessible with an additional password/pin code. I'm sure the better ones will also hide away the icons so the kids aren't tempted.

Re APK sharing if you set up both phones with the same gmail account they can share apps (paid and free) from the Play store (there might be a couple of exceptions with paid apps being per device, but that's a rarity). If you want them to have email you could then set up accounts with another provider using the email.apk, and also have access to those accounts on another device you own so you can keep an eye on what they are upto.

[nessinhaw]

about purchasing apps...dont let them know your credit card number lol and if you have the gmail accounts they are using with their Android, you can set the password so only you know and ask for the password to confirm purchases (thats what i do so no one accidentally buy smth on my phone lol)

and about parental control, Windows Phone beats Android with their Kids Corner XD

and i don't wanna sound annoying but you shouldn't have let them buy the smartphones in first place if you think kids shouldn't have it '-'

sent from my Moto G

[philosopherisdog]

[Fj Abraham]

OK, well I suspected as much. Frankly I totally agree with nessinhaw. My two older kids didn't get phones until they were 16, and even then usage was (and still is) restricted. It's not so much a parenting thing as it is a balance thing, which is why I have to thank philosophersdog for that video. Perfect and actually a bit profound if you read between the lines.

Anyway, I only bought these to use as non-phones. But the more I think about it until Google implements some better (and available for phones) parental settings I think these are going back.

I guess I need to either consider a Windows device (which would be fine assuming the parental settings apply to phones?) or a tablet again.

[SactoKingsFan]

There's the kids place parental control app. It requires a password to download apps, open certain apps, text, make calls, etc. My cousin (11) has it on his S3 and it works pretty well.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ware.kidsplace

Sent from my LG-G2 running Carbon 4.4.2