How to Turn On Parental Controls for the iPad

How to Enable iPad Parental Controls

By Daniel Nations, About.com Guide

How to Turn On Parental Controls for the iPad

The iPad's parental controls allow you to restrict how your child uses the iPad, from disabling the Safari browser to limit which websites your child can view to putting an age restriction on the apps downloaded. You can even turn off app downloads completely, which allows you to closely monitor what your child is doing on the iPad.
The iPad parental control work by setting a four digit passcode on the iPad that is required when setting the different restrictions. Once enabled, you can set restrictions for apps, television, music and movies.
How to Turn On Parental Controls for the iPad
The first step is going into the iPad settings by touching the settings icon. It looks like a bunch of gears and is one of the default icons for the iPad.
Once in settings, choose the general settings from the left-hand menu. You should reach a screen like the one shown above.
Next, choose Restrictions to go into the iPad settings for parental control.

The next step for enabling parental controls on the iPad is to turn on the iPad restrictions. Simply touch the top of the screen where it reads Enable Restrictions.
You will be prompted for a four digit passcode. Choose something you will remember, but not something your child can guess like a birthday or the last digits of a driver's license. If there is a significant date your like to remember in your past besides birthdays and anniversaries, that would be perfect.
The passcode for the iPad's restrictions will need to be entered twice to make sure you don't accidentally tap a different number than intended.

Once you have the iPad's parental controls enabled, you will be able to set different restrictions and even restrict some of the default applications that came with the iPad. This includes the Safari browser, YouTube and iTunes, so you can restrict your child's ability to view websites, watch videos and purchase music from their iPad.
You can also turn off the ability to install apps. You can still get apps on the iPad by installing them to iTunes and syncing them to the iPad, which will allow you to have complete control over which apps are on the iPad.
If you don't need that much control, you can set a ratings restriction for what type of apps can be installed on the iPad. (Find out more about the different iPad app ratings.)
Another good thing to turn off is in-app purchases. Many free apps allow in-app purchases, which is how they make their money. This type of monetization can be seen in apps like Pocket Legends, which is a great iPad app, but parents must be aware that it allows for the purchase of in-game money.