How to be Mean Using Technology: A Tutorial on Making Your Kid Stay on the Same Old Boring App No Matter How Many Foot Selfies She's Already Posted to Facebook and Snapchat:

Some of you may already be aware that The Boonga is quite comfortable with technology. That would probably be because she sent you a foot selfie. Or two. Or twelve...

Although not ALL of them are foot-selfies.  Some of them are quite respectable, as selfies go:

The point is, she sometimes tells me she wants to "pay emmoh" (play on the Elmo App), and I agree, setting the timer for a reasonable 10 or 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, she starts her phone rampage by disabling the timer and follows up with spamming the known universe with pictures of her foot.

Somewhere on the internets I found the secret to only letting her use ONE APP at a time!

It was hard enough to find that I decided to write instructions for when I forget how.  And also in case anyone else wants to know.  Sorry children of readers, but it's pretty easy:

Go to "Settings":

Then press "General":

Then "accessibility":

From there you have to scroll down kind of a long way.  Like, I thought I was on the wrong screen.  But it's there, under the balance for left and right audio volume balance.  Whoever put it that far down the screen was serious about his or her audio and was NOT the proud owner of a technology savvy toddler I'm guessing.

Then you just move the little switch thingy-me-bobber from off to on, let it guide you through entering a password, and then watch your child's utter despair as "Emmoh" refuses to grant access to the many wonders of the virtual world.

I had to turn the "Accessibility Shortcut" on (slide over to green) on the iPad, but not when I did it on my iPhone, so that part may or may not be optional.

For whatever reason, Older Gal took not just one, but TWO videos of The Boonga's anguish as I reacted in equal or greater heartache (It's HEARTBREAKING and DIFFICULT to set limits, but so very worth it):



I'm sure the internet users of the world will be falling all over themselves thanking me for the general reduction in foot-selfies.  Until The Boonga figures out my password, that is.

 Good luck parents (and teachers) of the world!!!!

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