Apple Mac OS X hints and tips and tweaks
Use iTunes parental controls to limit what kids can do
As an adult, you don't want your access to the computer, the internet, applications and media to be limited in any way. You want to be able to download and listen to any type of music by any artist you like, or to download and watch the latest movie, or purchase products in onoine storesm, but what about your kids?
If they have access to the computer they could run up large bills on your credit card, download songs with explicit lyrics or watch movies that an unsuitable for young audiences. There are many ways of limiting what your children can do on the computer and iTunes provides parental controls that are useful for anyone that has children that use their computer.
Log on to the Mac using the child's account, Open iTunes and select Preferences on the iTunes menu, then click the Parental icon in the toolbar. You can disable podcasts and streaming radio if you feel that they are unsuitable for your children.
You can disable the iTunes store so that they can't access it to buy unsuitable media, but there's an interesting ioption to allow access to iTunes U(niversity) though. Learning is OK!
There are content restrictions for movies and you can choose the age range (they may vary from country to country), for example, here in the UK we have U and PG for movies that anyone can watch, then 12, 15 and 18 age restrictions.
You can bar TV programmes marked with Caution, and iPod/iPhone applications with age restrictions.
The settings you choose will depend on the ages of your children and what you feel comfortable with them watching or listening to.
When you have finished setting up the parental controls in iTunes, don't forget to click the padlock icon in the bottom left-hand corner to lock the parental controls settings, and don't make your child's account an administrator or they will have the power to undo the settings.
