Create google account for child failed - Google Account Community
Parents just use their own Google accounts for their children's devices, right?
Configuring a google account for a child - Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange
Creating a Google Account for your toddler? Any other online things to consider?
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Reasons why no one bothers with parental controls and just use their own account for a new tablet:
It appears that gmail for kiddies has only been around since 2017. Prior to that, every Android kid tablet and phone had to be logged into a parent account or a kid account that was nominally for an adult. People stick with what works.
Google's Family Link is a disaster. It has so many problems that it would seem futile to list them here. I'll say my piece: a lack of granular controls, financial account fiascos, and things which aren't blocked. I doubt it's much better with Apple or Microsoft.
No one seems to want the responsibility to restrict what kids do - Google or most parents. Google's website blocking uses the word "try." They will try to block smut. But it's pretty much the full Internet when they go a-searchin'.
VPNs, DNS, captive home screen launchers - are all vulnerable to bloat, feature creep, and smart kids that work around them. They can also be time-consuming and difficult to manage.
No one has time. Just buy a new device and let them figure it out. You spend about 20 minutes on Christmas Day while it's charging to setup the infernal thing, and off they go. Less than that if you are a grandparent.
Once the parental controls are setup, they will be removed anyway. Every kid needs more time all the time for all reasons. When this one breaks, the next one will be setup to avoid that mess.
Age ratings have been around for decades, but they don't work. During the Covid mess, schools couldn't send video links to kids with restricted gmail accounts. So Google opened up YouTube to restricted accounts. So many restricted apps need to be bypassed, and so many others are weirdly not restricted and should be - no one can agree what ages fit what app or video or image or music or written content.
It's futile. Unless you pay for a premium service and have a lot of time and money, parental controls are worthless. That's why I think that there is so little discussion about Google Family Link and Microsoft Family Safety. It's not working. And people don't use it.
Usually we say "please stick with one question per post", as that's how a Q&A site works. But I see the topics somehow belong together, so let me try a "multi-answer" as well:
- I cannot tell for other people. But I'd not even give my full/real details for my own account unless really required (and I don't see that requirement for Google)
- No, I wouldn't do that. And for sure not bind a "credit card" to a kids account (unless it's a pre-paid CC especially made for the kid)
- Never heard of such.
- You can either take a pre-paid CC and load it just with a minimum (say, USD 10). Or you could simply use a "gift card", which are available here in Europe for EUR 15/25/50 (I assume similar values elsewhere).
- Yes. Bought apps are always bound to the account you've acquired them with.
Yes, you have to lie. A separate google-account is the only way to protect your under-age kid.
All other options have these restrictions:
- no privacy settings.
- apps using of private data can not be restricted.
- child can not install child safe games.
- child is not allowed to communicate with parent using text messages.
- child always uses parent account.
- only one age, so only one child possible.
- all data of child is lost when the child is allowed its own account.
- apps of all children are also your apps.
- child can not have contact information.
- you are not allowed to create a google+ page for your child.
- children receive all notifications. E.g. your private e-mail.
- etc.
I just found out again by not lying. All drawings, letters to grandma, games and in-game-progress, pictures etc are gone.