QuickAdvice: Control Your Child's Game Time With Game Time Limit
Game Time Limit for Parents ($1.99) by XVision gives parents control over the amount of time that their kids can play games (or anything) on the iPhone or iPod Touch.
The first thing you'll do when you open the app is set the alarm. The default is 20 minutes, but you can change that from a couple of minutes to as much as 23 hours and 59 minutes. Don't forget to set the passcode that will shut the alarm off when the time comes! The passcode doesn't necessarily need to be numbers either, it allows a combination of letters and numbers, much like a regular old password.
Once you settle on the duration, set the alarm. Now hand your kid the device and let them do what they want (play games, use the internet, draw, etc). It doesn't matter what application they use, because after the set amount of time, the app will send out a local push notification with a voice saying 'Time's up!' continuously, until they hand the device back to the parent (or owner, whatever).
The only way to get rid of the alarm is if the passcode is entered, and the only way to do that is to give the device back. Until then, it doesn't matter if the child hits 'Close' or 'Stop Alarm' (this option takes it to the passcode screen). The alarm will continue to go off, blocking them from doing anything else on the device.
Oh, and don't worry about your child going into the Settings.app and turning off notifications. I believe that this app uses local notifications (thanks to iOS 4) so it's not affected by turning off the universal Notifications setting.
Simply put - your child cannot use the device anymore once that alarm goes off.
If you're a parent and have kids that borrow your iDevice to play games or entertain themselves, then this is a great little tool to limit how much they can use it for.
According to the developers, it's recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics that children only get about 2 hours a day on an iDevice to play games or watch videos.
Hey, it's also a little useful tool to help yourself control how much time you spend on the device! Perhaps it can help you focus on your work if you could spend less time playing Angry Birds. Standard timers don't annoy you enough to stop, after all (at least for me).
Either way, this is a great app to help control iDevice usage. Definitely recommended if you're a parent, or just someone that needs to cut back on how much time you spend on your device too (like me!).
