My secret for added peace of mind while my kids are on their devices*

This article was written by Bryan Borzykowski on behalf of Samsung Electronics Canada, who provided us with the Galaxy Tab A Kids Edition for testing.

As a father to three tech-savvy daughters (ages 11, 8 and 4), I’m always looking for ways to entertain – and protect – them. While I want them to explore different games, e-books, and videos, when I’m busy at work, I can’t always monitor how they use their devices.

That said – the internet is a big place and it’s difficult not to worry about sites they might visit or the videos they might watch. While I have outlined rules for when my daughters use their devices, staying on top of their online activity can be exhausting.

And then I found out about the Samsung Kids App.

What really intrigued me about the app, is that it allows children to play games, watch videos and read e-books without surfing the Internet unsupervised. It comes with parental control features which allow parents to control screen time and monitor usage for our little ones. The Samsung Kids App can be downloaded on most Samsung devices, including smartphones and tablets.*

Here’s a few of my thoughts from the experience:

Connecting with the Samsung Kids App

When you first open the app, you’ll be asked to create a profile for each user so that every child has their own space where only the games they download are shown. I made profiles for each of my kids. Once you are in the Samsung Kids App, your child is in a kid-friendly learning environment, to which you can control the content and screen time. You’ll also need to create a PIN which lets the parent leave the Samsung Kids App and access the device settings and features.  Your children won’t be able to exit the app without entering the PIN you created, preventing any un-monitored browsing or content.

One of the main benefits of the app is its cost. Until now, I’ve had to buy individual apps for my daughters and argue about how all these little purchases add up over time. With the Samsung Kids App, parents pay an annual fee of $78.99 (or $9.99 monthly). There are no in-app purchase options, so your child won’t accidentally (or not-so-accidentally) surprise you with unauthorized purchases. Even better, when you subscribe, you get a 30 day free-trial so you can test it out.**

Once you are logged in to the app, your little one can now pick their favourite activity from over 10,000 hours of premium games, e-books and videos.

Getting into the games

Once I set everything up, I called my daughters over one at a time to see how they would use it. Like most children these days, they’re already tech savvy, so they didn’t need much help figuring things out.

My four-year-old required some prodding; I had to open the Samsung Kids App for her, show her how to download some of the games and explain how to find videos and e-books. It took maybe 20 minutes before she was off on her own. The large icons make it easy to sift through all the apps, while the “install” button that pops up after you press the app you want to download was also large enough for her to touch on her own.

She immediately went to the icons she recognized and quickly downloaded a few games. Most of the programs have enough features to keep kids busy for a while, and although she needed help with a few games at first, she quickly figured out how to play them by herself.

As for my 8-year-old, navigating the device came naturally and so did finding the games she wanted. She enjoyed downloading and playing all of the programs and I enjoyed not having to pay for each one separately like I’ve had to in the past.

Child-friendly environment

The Samsung Kids App helps provide peace of mind that your child is actively engaged with content in a parent-controlled environment. There are no ads, no in-app purchases, and no access to the internet (unless you choose to enable it). Your child can only leave the Samsung Kids App if you enter your PIN to allow them to do so.

You can also monitor and customize your child’s screen time by seeing how much they have been reading, playing, and watching. Furthermore, you can create custom learning experience for your child’s individual needs by different subject areas, like Math, Science, and more. This encourages an educational experience while they are enjoying themselves playing.

Final word

The best part for me is that my kids are able to experience all the great things technology offers while I maintain my peace of mind. Because using technology is inevitable in today’s world, I want to teach my children how to navigate through it in a responsible manner. With the Samsung Kids App, I am much less worried about handing a device to my little ones. I’ve heard my daughters reading e-books, watching movies, and dancing along to the little cartoon music videos on the Samsung Kids App, and not once did I need to worry because I know that what they’re interacting with is both safer and fun, thanks to the Samsung Kids App.

Click here to download the app now to start your 30 day free-trial**.

Holiday Pick for 2019: Samsung Galaxy Tab A Kids Edition

Your kids will love finding this gift under the tree, and here’s why you will love it too.

Samsung recently launched Galaxy Tab A Kids Edition tablet, which comes with the Samsung Kids App already preloaded. With the purchase of the Galaxy Tab A Kids Edition tablet, you’ll also get a 90-day free trial of the Samsung Kids App, so you can test it out***.  The 8.0" Galaxy Tab A Kids Edition includes a durable bumper case to help protect against bumps and drops as your child takes their first steps in the digital world.  The tablet has a built-in memory with 32GB storage so you can keep all the picture-perfect moments stored. Don’t forget to turn on the Blue light filter setting to help reduce harmful blue light without compromising colour.

Galaxy Tab A Kids Edition is a tablet that can be shared by the entire family.  You can easily exit the Samsung Kids App interface with a PIN to access settings, browsers, and other apps, just like any tablet.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A Kids Edition is currently available in Samsung Experience Stores in Canada, online at Samsung/com.ca and at select authorized Canadian retailers.

For more information on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A Kids Edition, go to https://www.samsung.com/ca/tablets/galaxy-taba-t290k/.

*Samsung Kids App can be downloaded from Galaxy Store or Google Playstore on Samsung Galaxy phone S4 and above, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and above, Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 and above, Samsung Galaxy Tab S and A and Samsung Galaxy View.

** For more information and to see full terms and conditions of the Samsung Kids 30 day free trial membership offer, visit: https://www.samsung.com/ca/microsite/samsung-kids/.

***For more information and to see full terms and conditions of the Samsung Kids 90 day free trial membership offer with purchase of Galaxy Tab A Kids Edition, visit: https://www.samsung.com/ca/tablets/galaxy-taba-t290k/