If you share your iPad with younger children, you may be wondering what the parental ratings are and how to set them. Games and other iPad apps have four ratings that are similar to those you would see at the movies. For example “4+” means there is no objectionable material and is similar to “Rated G” for a movie. The rating “9+” is similar to a PG rated movie in that there could be some violence or suggestive content that is not considered suitable for younger children.

The iPad parental rating “12+” is similar to a PG-13 rated movie and you might find mild language, more intense violence or other mature content. The last rating is “17+” and this would be about the same as an R rated movie in that you might find more realistic violence, sexual content and other content not suitable for those under the age of 17.

You can choose a number of settings on your iPad in order to control what children access, such as disabling the Safari browser so children can only view certain websites and set limits in regard to what types of apps get downloaded, or if any can be downloaded. You will need a four digit passcode and this can be used to turn the settings on and off so you can use your iPad however you want when the children aren’t using it.

You’ll find where to set the parental controls on your iPad by choosing Settings and then General. From that point you will see Restrictions and that is where you will find the settings for the parental control options.