You can lock down any iOS device to practically no functionality. Here I will cover some of the basics to protect your kids.
To begin review these steps from Apple to Turn on restrictions
It is best to think of the apps as a book with hidden chapters. Many are portals to content you will not be able to track or limit and you will not know what they are accessing. These settings should be used to help limit this access.
- Delete any app that you do not recognize
- Turn off Safari and other browsers
- Turn off deleting apps and installing apps
- Limit content by age
Age restrictions – One issue you will run into is that setting app rating below 17 years will hide apps like Netflix. While Netflix does have parental controls the iOS cannot see if these are on, so the app is hidden. The only way around this is to disable installing apps and ensure nothing nefarious is loaded then raise the age limit for apps.
While you can restrict the app store with Circle, this is not without risks so I recommend turning off installing apps on the device.