A Ten-Minute Check Before Any New App

A short, repeatable set of questions to ask before a new app reaches a young child, and again a week later.

Why a short checklist helps

A new app usually arrives with a child already asking for it. A fixed set of questions, asked every time, takes the pressure out of that moment: the answer comes from the checklist, not from how tired everyone is.

Before you download

Read the listing as a careful shopper would. Look for who made the app, when it was last updated and whether the description says plainly what a child does in it. An app that cannot explain itself in two sentences is rarely worth the storage space.

• Check the age rating, and treat it as a starting point rather than a verdict.
• Look at the screenshots for adverts, shop buttons and countdown timers.
• Note whether the app works without an account. For young children, no account is usually the better sign.

The first ten minutes

Play it yourself before handing it over. Ten minutes is enough to see how the app behaves when you get something wrong, when you stop tapping and when you try to leave. Good apps for young children are patient: they wait, they repeat an instruction calmly and they let you quit without a fuss.

Watch for anything that interrupts play to ask for money. In-app purchases are not automatically a problem, but a child should never be the one deciding on them. If prompts appear in the middle of a game, either switch purchases off in the device settings or choose something else.

Permissions and privacy

An alphabet game does not need your contacts, your location or the microphone. When an app asks for access, ask what feature needs it. If the answer is not obvious, decline and see whether the app still works. Most well-made children's apps ask for very little, and say why in plain words.

It is also worth opening the privacy summary on the store page. You are not looking for legal detail, only for a clear statement of what is collected and whether it is shared. Vague or missing summaries are a reason to pause.

After a week

The real test comes later. After a week, ask three questions. Does your child talk about what they did in the app, or only about getting more time on it? Has the app led to anything away from the screen, such as drawing, counting or a question at dinner? And does stopping cause more upset than stopping other activities does?

These answers matter more than any rating. An app that passes every earlier check can still be a poor fit for one particular child, and an unglamorous one can turn out to be the favourite that teaches the most.

Keeping the list short

Young children do better with a handful of familiar apps than with a crowded screen. When something new comes in, consider letting something old go. A small, known set is easier for a child to choose from and easier for you to keep an eye on, and it makes each new request a decision rather than a habit.

A checklist to copy

• Who made it, and is it still being updated?
• Can I say in one sentence what my child will do in it?
• Does it work without an account and without adverts?
• Are purchases switched off or out of a child's reach?
• Does it ask only for the access it clearly needs?
• After a week, is my child doing more away from the screen, not less?

None of this needs special knowledge. It needs ten minutes, the same questions each time and a willingness to delete an app that does not earn its place. Used that way, parental controls become a backstop rather than the main plan.

Revised 2026-11-12