The kid is getting fussy and wants to play on your phone or tablet while you wait. You hand it over knowing that they’ll quiet down, but have you taken proper precautions to make sure nothing gets messed up in the process? I’ve handed over my phone to a kid thinking “I have nothing to hide. They can play Angry Birds. I don’t care.” But it’s much more than that.

Teach Them How to Use It

Kids like to push buttons. They make noise and the screen is so bright. It’s great! I do like gadgets, too. Even though you’re letting your child use it to amuse themselves, make sure you make it clear that the phone is not a toy. Yes, they’re using it to play, but it’s not a play thing. Teach them how to get to what they’re looking for so they don’t accidentally go somewhere they weren’t supposed to and mess something up.

Buy a Case

Kids drop stuff. Heck, adults drop stuff! Smartphones cost a lot of money to buy and if you don’t have insurance on your phone, you’ll have to pay for it again if it gets broken. Your best defense is a good offense. Spend the money to get a good case. I have an Android phone and I invested in an Otter Box case right away. It was about $45, but when you think about how much you paid for your phone, $45 for a good protective case is nothing compared to a new phone.

Put It in Safe Mode

The iPhone, Windows phones and Android all have apps and modes available to the user that can be turned on with just a tap to make sure kids stay out of trouble on their parents’ phones. The Apple App Store has a bunch of different apps and many of them are free. Windows Phones features Kid’s Corner which is customizable with kid friendly activities and Google Play also has several apps that parents can download to keep kids out of trouble by blocking things like email, browsing, accessing personal information and deleting other apps.

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