GLENDALE, Arizona — November 12, 2026 — –REDPRESSWIRE– The Parent Tap, an independent video podcast on youth digital safety, has released a new episode on how parents can set up smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles before giving them to children as holiday gifts. Host Ryan McDonough is joined by Titania Jordan, Chief Parent Officer of Bark Technologies and author of Parental Control, who outlines household rules for connected devices and the steps parents can take before a new device is handed over.
Hosted by McDonough in Glendale, Arizona, The Parent Tap covers youth digital defense, mental health and online safety. The show has drawn more than 80,000 views, 4,500 downloads and 2,000 subscribers.
McDonough opened the discussion with the period immediately after a new device is unboxed. “If there’s a phone, tablet, or gaming console under your tree this year, the most important part of that gift isn’t the device—it’s the first hour after it comes out of the box,” McDonough said. “A parent only has a few minutes to set up that tablet or phone before handing it over, and the conversation you have matters more than any setting.”
Jordan advised families to configure parental controls before the holiday rather than on the day itself. She suggested that parents unbox each connected gift, set it up and re-wrap it in advance.
Jordan outlined three rules for households with connected devices. The first is that smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles stay in shared family areas rather than in bedrooms or behind closed doors. “Some people will say, ‘My kid has an iPad, not a smartphone,’” Jordan said. “It’s the same thing, just a bigger screen.”
The second rule is to enter a child’s real age during device setup, because children can bypass content filters, time limits and safety rules by entering a false birth year. The third is to set devices so that every new app download, website and contact requires parental approval, with the parent acting as the filter for each request.
McDonough and Jordan also discussed a “minimum viable product” approach, in which parents match a device to what a child needs at a given age. For a younger child who only needs location tracking, approved texting and emergency calling, Jordan suggested a smartwatch instead of a smartphone that could open access to social media or adult content.
Jordan discussed early parenting missteps with her oldest son, now nearly 18, including allowing a gaming console in his bedroom and a social media app at age 11. She cautioned parents about the effect of high-dopamine games and algorithm-driven feeds. “Whenever you give your child access to something that lights up the pleasure center of their brain and makes that dopamine spike, you are going to lose a part of them,” Jordan said. “You want them to be able to play outside, but not in the street with a blindfold on.”
The episode also covers several practical steps. Jordan recommended that parents watch online videos with their children on a shared laptop and explain that suggested videos are selected by algorithms to maximize watch time rather than educational value. Answering a listener question sent to The Parent Tap, she advised parents never to share Wi-Fi or device passcodes and to check that a child’s screen recorder is not running when they type in a password.
Jordan also explained how parents can list the devices in their home, together with their child’s age, in an AI assistant to generate step-by-step instructions for securing each device.
Jordan closed the episode by pointing to the time children spend away from screens. “When our kids grow up, I don’t believe they’re going to look back and be like, ‘Oh, remember that hour I spent playing Roblox? That was awesome.’ No, they’re going to remember conversations, experiences, trips, moments—in-real-life moments,” she said.
The full episode is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and on The Parent Tap website.
About The Parent Tap
The Parent Tap is an independent video podcast and digital parenting platform hosted by Ryan McDonough in Glendale, Arizona. The show covers youth safety, mental health and practical digital boundaries, with guidance from industry executives, clinicians and forensic investigators. It has drawn more than 80,000 views, 4,500 downloads and 2,000 subscribers. More information is available on The Parent Tap website.
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