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Comment by capstone | Hacker News Reader

Something tells me you don't have kids, or they are mostly taken care of by your significant other, or you've simply never explored the possibilities. Keeping kids away from electronics can rob them of wonderful developmental opportunities. My 18-months old can't speak or dress himself but he is getting very good at several challenging iPhone apps that involve assembling shapes, matching tiles from memory, mixing music, etc. Likewise, constant monitoring of your little ones is neither realistic nor desirable, especially when there is a simple solution at the technology level. We don't get all worked up about door locks - why the negative attitude towards e-locks for children?

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I'd be happer with something a lot simpler: disabling the home button.

My 3 year-old loves watching videos and playing simple games on my iPhone. But she can't grasp the idea of not pressing this really cool button at the bottom of the screen. So 30 seconds into the video I get an "aah! bring it back!". Over and over and over.

The only solution I have to date is to wrap a piece of cardboard with a rubberband and strap it over the home button. That works a bit longer, but it's still not perfect.

I hear you. Disabling the home button for a preset amount of time, or until you press the top off button, would be a godsent.

No, but I let my little nephews play with my iPod Touch all the time. They love it. I still think it should be monitored, because I don't like children getting addicted to video games, plus I find I need to guide them.

As mentioned, you can block App deletion, and even if an App is deleted, you can easily restore (sure you lose data, but it's not a huge loss). I find little kids stay away from things they don't understand, like Mail, the browser, settings etc. They usually push the home button when they see the "grown-up" stuff, and want the games.

The one big issue is deleting photos. Apple should let you undo that, or maybe lock it.

It should be monitored, because I don't like children getting addicted to video games.

Exactly. Instead of a blanket "keep your kids away from electronics", why not add parental controls where kids have access to educational apps but not videogames?

My 18-months old can't speak or dress himself but he is getting very good at several challenging iPhone apps that involve assembling shapes, matching tiles from memory, mixing music, etc

Which apps are those? I'm experimenting with making an app for kids and am trying to figure out what apps my 1 and 3 year old nieces are into.

Baby's phone is not on me but if memory serves, ShapeBuilder, MatchingZoo, ItsyBitsy, DJBaby, and a few others.

Don't take the list above as endorsement though. From a toddler's perspective, they leave a lot to be desired. I have some thoughts you might find useful but perhaps you could elaborate on what kind of app are you building first?

It's an app about Australian animals. Right now I am just doing the art and trying to find or record animal sounds. Beyond that it's pretty vague. It will probably end up being just a "storybook" app. I'm going to re-use the same characters for other games as I learn more about game programming.

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