Windows 8.1 Tablet and Kids - Not Quite Ready

[garak0410]

I wanted to share my experience with setting up a Windows 8.1 tablet for a 6 year old to use. I used the Dell Venue Pro 8 32GB model. I am a big proponent of Windows 8x. I really like it both on the desktop and on a tablet. My little girl has a Kindle Fire HD and I decided I would try an 8" Windows 8 tablet so she can do more than just "apps." It was a hard decision considering the Kindle Fire has the best Child Mode of any device, though Windows Family Safety has its good points.

After hours of configuration, I decided to return the Venue Pro and get the Kindle Fire HDX. Main reason...the Child Safety Options. Kindle FreeTime is excellent. You control exactly what you want your child to have access to. For example, in XBOX Video...I couldn't block movie previews of more "adult" choices, say I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. There is no granular blocking of content within XBOX Video. I wanted to be able to just allow her movies in there and that's all. The same goes with XBOX Music. There was no tighter control of what albums and the like she can listen to. In addition, I couldn't sign into my XBOX Music and Video accounts with her Microsoft Account signed in or even a local account. Would not let me do it. Only the Windows STORE would allow me to sign in with a different ID.

32GB of space is not recommended as well. I installed several kids friendly applications, including the new Clifford Reading Adventures and storage was down to 1.7GB. The hack to install to MicroSD has been taken out of Windows 8.1, so I really had no other options.

On Windows Phone, while it is not perfect, Kids Corner does a fairly decent job of letting you pick and choose the apps and music (though can't for video yet.) I think Windows 8.1 needs a Kids Corner.

I've gone back to Kindle Fire (now HDX) mainly for the best in industry kids filter. She does use our Windows 8 desktop for some things like leaning to type and a few games but for tablets, Windows 8.1 is not ready for "kid" time yet.

 

[Jazmac]

I think you are the final arbiter over what your kids have access to. Period. I would never leave that responsibility to Amazon, Microsoft, Apple or anyone else claiming to put these controls in place. If parents (not you) think electronic entertainment is a substitute for adult supervision, you end up with kids in trouble that you cannot control. I didn't allow mine to watch cartoons until they were almost 6 and tablets (if we had them) would never see a game.

 

[garak0410]

I think you are the final arbiter over what your kids have access to. Period. I would never leave that responsibility to Amazon, Microsoft, Apple or anyone else claiming to put these controls in place. If parents (not you) think electronic entertainment is a substitute for adult supervision, you end up with kids in trouble that you cannot control. I didn't allow mine to watch cartoons until they were almost 6 and tablets (if we had them) would never see a game.

Good reply...I knew I would get various opinions on parenting too. . Her upgraded HDX will be more focused on reading. She went from barely reading in Kindergarten this year to almost second grade level and blowing the teacher away. (shameless bragging...LOL). Going to encourage a lot of reading this summer...and with real paperback books!

 

[onlysublime]

Parental Control Settings | Xbox Music | Xbox Live

The Xbox Music app and the Zune Family Settings feature let you as a parent or caregiver customize your family's access to music and videos, allowing you to decide if you want to enable access to explicit music, explicit music videos, and mature content in the Xbox Music Store or Xbox Video Store. (This setting doesn't affect content already downloaded to your computer.)

These family settings let you control:

Your child?s ability to makes purchases.
Access to explicit content.
To adjust the privacy settings for the Xbox Music app (Windows 8):
Start the Music app.
Swipe from the right or place your cursor in the upper-right or lower-right corner of your screen.
Tap or click Settings.
Tap or click Account.
Tap or click Privacy and Online Settings.
Sign in to your account (if prompted).
On the Online and Privacy Settings page, select the appropriate child account level (Teen, Child, or Custom).
Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Under ?Music, Music Videos and Windows Phone Games,? select Allowed or Blocked. (Blocked is selected by default.)
Tap or click Save