Parenting Game Changer: Microsoft’s Kid’s Corner for Windows Phone 8

My daughter has been eyeing my new Nokia Lumia 1520 Windows Phone for the last week. This smartphone has an awesome six-inch screen and everything looks gorgeous on it – the photos are sharp, the colors are vibrant, the games and apps look so inviting. So it’s no wonder that my daughter couldn’t wait to get her hands on it! The opportunity came for her this past weekend when I was hosting a yard sale and I let her play with her favorite games so that she could remain occupied while I was busy making sales.

Cut to an hour or so later and my daughter has quickly achieved a high level of the game. When I asked her how she did that so fast, she responded that “I bought things in the game to help me level up.” I immediately pried the phone out of her little hands and checked. Sure enough, she bought several costly items so that she could advance to the next level of her game. Once I added up all of the packs of “power-ups”, “snowballs” and “ice picks” that she purchased, I realized that I had made a big parent-fail in not password protecting my new phone.

I have heard many stories from parents who had their child delete their contacts, send out cryptic emails or text messages to friends or as in my case, purchase things that we would never have let them buy. Shortly after the incident with my kid, I discovered the solution to my problem – Microsoft’s Kid’s Corner!

With Kid’s Corner your child can play the games, listen to the songs, watch the videos, and use the apps you add to Kid’s Corner. They’ll have full use of whatever you add there. Your child won’t be able to make calls, send text messages, share on social networks, or use the Search button while in Kid’s Corner. They also won’t be able to make in-app purchases unless you set a Wallet PIN for your phone. Sweet!

I quickly set-up Kid’s Corner by accessing Settings, tapping Kid’s Corner and then follow the prompts.

To add content to Kid’s Corner, tap Games, Music, Videos, or Apps, then select the items you want to add, and then tap Done.

Once you’ve added everything you want, then click Next.

Now you can set a lock screen password to ensure that your child can’t get to your Start screen from Kid’s Corner.

After you set the password, you are done – easy peasy! But wait….there’s more. Kids have the option to change the name, accent color and background of their very own Kid’s Corner.

Now it’s time to play! To launch it, just tap on the Kid’s Corner tile.

Then tap on the “launch kid’s corner” box and you will arrive at the Kid’s Corner. This is what my daughter’s customized Kid’s Corner screen looks like.

From there, she just scrolls over to her games and starts playing. The best part for me, when she tries to make an in-game purchase, this is what pops up:

Once you set up a Wallet PIN on the phone, your child will not be able to make in-app purchases (such as game points or levels) from Kid’s Corner without entering the PIN to complete each purchase. Maybe before our next road trip, I might add some money into the account, but at least in this manner, I have more control AND peace of mind. Kid’s Corner is literally a game changer for me and my family!

Surf and Sunshine is a part of the Microsoft Champion Blogger program. The device and service was provided to me, but all opinions remain my own.