Tag: control

How to set Parental Controls on LoveFilm App

I really should pay more attention.  I put far too much trust in Film/TV Producers and recently Lovefilm, to know what is appropriate for my daughter to watch.  I’m guilty of putting the TV on and if it’s on Cbeebies, Boomerang or Nickelodeon I don’t even give it a second thought, trusting that what she is watching is appropriate.

So what’s the problem?

I have a subscription to Lovefilm, so our 5 year old can watch movies on demand.  She tends to watch movies in the morning with breakfast.   Armed with a bowl of cereal she grabs the iPad, loads up Lovefilm and navigates to the ‘Children’s ‘ films.   She’s watched the likes of Mary Poppins, Enchanted and Scooby Doo plus a few others.  All pretty harmless in my view.

Eeek!

However, this morning, do bear in mind she also tends to wear earphones so I couldn’t hear what she was watching, I was walking past and glanced at the screen and the word ‘rape’ jumped out at me in the subtitles.  I quickly grabbed it off her to find out what she was watching.  It was a movie called ‘Mulan’ which is rated 15, previously I hadn’t realised that within the ‘Children’s’ collection there are also movies that are rated 12, 15 and 18; which makes perfect sense as 12-18 are kids but what’s appropriate for them is worlds apart from what appropriate for a 5 year old.

Phew!

I’ve now found the parental settings and have turned them on.  However, according to some the Parental controls on Lovefilm and Netflix aren’t what they should be.   She can now only watch movies rated U freely but if she tries to watch something PG (e.g Matilda, Karate Kid, Parent Trap) or higher she will have to ask me to enter a password.  Phew!  One less thing to worry about.

To set the parental controls:

  1. Go to Lovefilm.com and sign into your account
  2. Access ‘your account’ which is in the top right.
  3. In the My details section you will see Preferences on the right.
  4. Scroll down to parental controls
  5. You will be prompted for your Lovefilm password
  6. On the next page you will need to choose a pin and the level of control you want.

Setting Parental Control

Is there anything else I should be watching out for?

 

Doggie Doo’s and Don’ts!

Photo Credit

I should preface this by saying I’m NOT anti-dog, nor do I think they should be muzzled, not allowed in public places and are just as important to people as children but if you can’t control it then it should be on a lead!  I grew up with dogs; we had everything from Maltese poodles to a St. Bernard named Angie, which I used to crawl all over.  Unfortunately, somewhere in my late twenties and early thirties I developed an irrational fear of them.  I don’t know if it’s the media or my days as a backpacker with rabid dogs.

This morning we were in a lovely green space, with a couple of friends.  A dog, not a large one, but a sinewy one, came racing towards us.  The owner desperately was trying to call it back but it didn’t listen.  You have no idea the level of fear I had….my first response is to run, but I didn’t, I just picked up Madame and then hid behind my friends, like a girl!  The gentleman was very apologetic, and I was polite but all I wanted to say was put the (insert swear word) dog on a lead!  In the end, I met the dog and it was absolutely fine but I think as a dog owner it’s your responsibility to keep it under control.

I’m doing my utmost to ensure that my daughter doesn’t develop this stupid fear and so far she hasn’t….I’ve allowed her to crawl all over a Newfoundlander.  She adores dogs and sadly has a dog lead for her toys but no real dog.  The only thing I’m trying to instil in her is that she always has to ask the owner before she approaches them.

I don’t know how many times I have seen dogs run at children in a playful way, but on too many occasions I have seen children in hysterics, and the owner always says don’t worry it’s okay.  Sorry, but it’s not okay…..the child is obviously terrified and forcing it isn’t going to help, it’s only going to exacerbate the problem.

Lets meet halfway….I won’t inflict my daughter on people who don’t like kids and if you can’t control your dog please put it on a lead.  Thanking you in advance.