Set up your kid's first devices like an IT department would.

Safe Mode Dad publishes short, step-by-step guides for parents of kids 6 to 12: which settings to change, where to find them, and why they matter.

The guides are written by an IT operations manager with 25 years in enterprise infrastructure. Same job, smaller network.

What we cover

• Setup guides. Phones, tablets, consoles and home routers, by device and by age, with the exact menu path for each setting.
• Threat briefs. What official sources such as the FBI, NCMEC, CISA and the FTC are warning about, and the one setting or conversation that helps.
• App reviews. What an app lets strangers do, what it collects, and how to configure it if you allow it.
• Policy explainers. New laws and platform rules, in parent terms.

How we work

• Free built-in tools first: Apple Screen Time, Google Family Link, your router. Paid products only after that, with a disclosure next to the link.
• Every threat statistic links to its official source.
• Every guide shows the date we verified it and the OS or app version we tested.
• No setting, app or product makes a child completely safe, and we will never say one does.

More on who writes this and how it is made.

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Where to watch

New short videos are published on YouTube.

This site is for adults. We do not collect information from children.