Using Parental Controls Through Your Satellite Provider
As a parent, you know that there are many television programs that you do not want your children to see. Often, young people stumble on these programs, which are directed toward adults in the first place, when the parents are not in the room. Additionally, you may be concerned about what your children or a teenaged babysitter may have access to when you are out.
In any case, it used to be that the only way you could control what your child saw on television was to either monitor their viewing constantly or turn off the TV completely. However, much has changed, and your satellite provider has some exciting parental controls that are built right into your receiver.
You most likely have some questions about how the controls work. Here, you will find answers to the most common questions you may have.
Can I block entire channels that I do not care for? Yes, you can go through your whole subscribed channel list, choosing which you would like to block. This can be a handy feature if there are channels that you feel are either inappropriate for your children, or you prefer for no one in the family to view them.
What if I only want to block certain shows, can I do that? You can block shows of a certain MPAA rating. This can be quite helpful in avoiding shows that you may not know much about. All television shows are required to be rated by the MPAA system, so you can block anything above a mature or TV-13 level to make sure your children do not see shows that include foul language or adult content.
What if I do not want my child watching television channels at night? You can do this. You can actually set time limits on certain channels, so that your kids will not have access to them late at night when more adult programming is being broadcasted.
How do I set up parental control? You can go under options when you select your user profile. From you options menu, you will be able to set parental controls through a series of steps. If you need further help with setting controls, you can tune in to channel 201, where your satellite provider offers an on-screen guide.
What if I want to watch channels or shows that have been blocked? When you set your parental controls, you will have to create a four-digit number, called a pin number. Anytime that you wish to bypass the parental controls, you will simply need to enter the pin number.
Make sure that you do not write down or store your pin number in a place where your child may find it, or you will defeat the whole purpose of the controls.
You no longer have to worry about what your child may be watching when you have to step out of the room or leave them with a babysitter. You will be able to block what you need and make sure that only you have access to the controls.
