Linux for Kids?

I'm thinking about building a desktop with one of my kids and I would really prefer to put Linux on it. My wife is not a fan of the idea, however.

I'm wondering are there any good Linux distros/utilities for children that include parental control features and things like that? And that are easy to use for a child who has only used basic Chromebooks in the past?

For reference the child is under 12.

joewilliams007 ,
@joewilliams007@kbin.melroy.org avatar

dont use parental controls. Its fake, doesnt make sense, and limits learn oportunities. Any Linux works out. Linux Mint works great

TimeSquirrel ,
@TimeSquirrel@kbin.social avatar

dont use parental controls

That's how you get your kid to encounter MLP porn. Or worse, discover Gab and 4chan.

vzq ,

And then you’d have to talk to them about it. Can you imagine the horror!

TimeSquirrel ,
@TimeSquirrel@kbin.social avatar

Who said I'd never talk to them about it? I'd just like to do it in a controlled manner at an appropriate age and prepare them without them seeing the most depraved shit right off the bat. Is that unreasonable?

Don't assume the intentions of other people.

520 ,

Standard Ubuntu should have you covered.

One word of warning though, don't be too egregious with the parental controls. If your kids are motivated enough, they will find a way around it.

Education really is your best weapon here. Tell them about the dangers of the modern web and computing.

krolden ,
@krolden@lemmy.ml avatar

Parents shouldn't teach kids to use snaps

jjlinux ,

Someone had to say it 🤣🤣

MentalEdge ,
@MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz avatar

Fedora apparently has some functionality.

There is also an arch wiki page on the subject.

Linux systems are used all over for enterprise use cases, which means there is a robust user permission system. Usage won't be Googleable with stuff like "parental control" but more likely keywords like "user restriction".

Not sure if you mention your wife because she knows Linux and thinks it's a bad idea, or because doesn't know Linux, and still thinks it's a bad idea.

Of course, when your kid one day learns to flash an iso onto a usb, and install an OS, any and all parental control will be symbolic. Hopefully you've successfully taught your kid how to use tech safely by then.

You'll want to look into browser extensions and blocking websites on your router, as well.

atzanteol ,

I abhor the idea of things made "for kids". I learned to program when I was 10 on a Commodore 64. And we would wear an onion on our belt which was the style at the time.... Sorry, where was I?

I'd just install a normal distro. Let the kiddo break shit and learn to fix it. Keep backups for recovery and probably isolate the system on your network for if/when kiddo does something stupid. Talk about security, being responsible, etc. We learn through mistakes not by playing in safe walled-gardens.

wesley OP ,

I appreciate your input, I was also teaching myself to code by the time I was in middle school, but this is a different situation and some guard rails are needed to manage screen time and app usage, etc.

I'm not so much worried about her wrecking the computer and more about her wrecking her brain with unfettered access to the Internet

Stillhart ,
@Stillhart@lemm.ee avatar

Personally, I'd use the router to limit access to locations and times. It's more reliable, easier to do, and lets you be less picky with your distro.

Using a DNS level content blocker like Adblock DNS is a great option, IMHO, and is super easy to setup.

(For the record, parent of 8 and 11 yr olds)

Serinus ,

Which isn't a bad idea, but I'd still want some kind of parental controls like Android has to limit screen time. I don't need Netflix.com to be all or nothing, but I certainly don't want it to be four hours a day either.

Stillhart ,
@Stillhart@lemm.ee avatar

Having your router limit internet connectivity time is effectively the same thing these days. There are some things they can do offline but not much anymore.

jjlinux ,

That's exactly right. My kids' VLAN goes down at 8pm every night, and they are aware of it. So much so that they usually just shut down at around 7:30pm and start asking for dinner.

Evidently, I audit their network usage regularly and if I find anything concerning, I sit down with them and my wife and talk about it (have found 1 instance in which my boy was looking for pirated games for Linux, and my daughter was looking for "pranks for school and how not to get caught" 🤣).

All in all, I think we nerds have an easier shot at parenting than most people.

teawrecks ,

Does it need to be connected to the internet? At that age, I think you could get away with installing stuff locally that they could play with.

IMO you should create guard rails that you intend her to eventually understand and circumvent. Nothing is more empowering for a kid interested in tech than thinking they figured out how to get around the guard rails. Just make sure you can detect when it has happened.

Do something locally on the machine to block internet access. Maybe something as simple as turning off the network adapter. One day she'll either learn enough about the system to remove the guard rails, or she'll find other interests.

520 ,

I learned to program when I was 10 on a Commodore 64. And we would wear an onion on our belt which was the style at the time… Sorry, where was I?

Totally get that, but we live in a much more dangerous and predatory computer landscape these days. It would be foolish not to take some precautions.

RootBeerGuy ,
@RootBeerGuy@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

Wouldn't this be a usecase for a immutable distro? Cannot really break it? But haven't used one myself yet so not sure how that holds up.

BaalInvoker ,

I bet that a kid with no root access or sudo permission couldn't break any Linux system, immutable or not...

Jumuta ,
@Jumuta@sh.itjust.works avatar

but then they won't be able to install apps

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