Has your kid ever received a gift that you didn’t feel comfortable with? When it comes to unwanted technology-based toys — see our “smart toys” guide for examples — your family might not be ready for the additional screen time or noise, the responsibility, or the privacy and safety risks involved.
If your child receives a tech toy that you’re not so sure about, here are some steps to follow to help keep them safe.
Assess the risk, and don’t be afraid to exchange or hold for later
How do you know if a tech gift is too risky? Some good questions to ask:
- Does it allow internet access?
- Can my child chat with strangers?
- Do I control the content they see?
- Can it access my child’s location?
- Will they want to use it all the time?
These are all risk factors to consider. You know your child best, and if the tech toy or device is a hard no for you, stick to your family’s values. You might put it on a shelf and wait until your child is ready. Or if it’s a nonstarter, see if it can be exchanged for a more appropriate item.
Set every available parental control to the most restrictive setting
If you decide to keep a tech gift you’re unsure about, reduce risk by turning on every available parental control and setting them to the most restrictive options. On phones and tablets, make sure controls are enabled both at the device level and within each individual app. Create a profile for your child using their real birthday, and set yourself up as the supervising parent.
Put the device or toy to bed outside your child’s room
Tech toys and devices need a bedtime, just like kids do. Establishing that your kid’s new tech gift goes to bed at a specific time in a public area of the house will help protect your child’s sleep, enforce breaks, and minimize risky behavior that sometimes happens late at night.
Talk to your child about the specific risks of their new gift
If you have a feeling that a gift might be risky but aren’t sure about the specifics, a quick search of “product name + risks” or even “product name + lawsuits” may help find more information. If you know what the risks are, talk to your child openly about them and what you’ll do to keep them safe. If your child seems too young to have an open conversation about the dangers of a toy, they might be too young to have it.
Set boundaries on gifts for future holidays or events
If an unwelcome gift takes you by surprise this holiday season, use it as an opportunity to set gift-giving boundaries and guidelines with family and friends. Keep it clear and simple with statements like:
- “She’s not ready for her own phone, but loves soccer and fantasy novels.”
- “Gifts without batteries or plugs are welcome.”
- “Instead of gifts, what if we planned a fun activity together?”
Let’s all have a safe and happy holiday season together.
We need better regulation of devices, AI-enabled toys, and apps so that parents can trust the products that their kids receive. Until that happens, parents will continue to be the first line of defense against risky tech products.
