I recenty bought a new IMAC for the family and I have two little ones at home who are keen to start using the computer. My son is almost 4 and my daughter is 2. I mainly let them play games that only require pressing keys on the keyboard and I didn’t want them messing about with my files and other import info and settings.
Using the new parental controls in Leopard I was able to create a simple account for the kids that require no login and then strip out pretty much all the functionality except for a few programs I want them to be able to run and a web browser. Not only that but I was able to disable most of the shortcut keys on the keyboard so that I can pretty much let them pound away on the keyboard and there is not much they can do to harm the computer.
If you are intesting in learning more about how to do this, here is an article that got me started. If you have older kids you can even restrict internet usage and control times and durations that the kids can use the computer. Pretty slick!
http://www.macworld.com/article/61132/2007/11/tco_parentcontrols.html
Tags: Kids Imac, Parental Controls, Parental Controls in Leopard
