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The parental gate: what it protects and why it asks for a number in words
Apple requires apps for children to put anything that leaves the child's experience behind a gate. Ours asks you to type "eight hundred forty-five" as digits — and there is a reason it is not a sum.
What sits behind the gate
- Settings — the learning range (tables to 10 or 12), haptic feedback, replaying the onboarding.
- Outgoing links — the website, the privacy policy, the terms, and the Rate us link that opens the App Store.
- The reset zone — wiping progress. The one button a seven-year-old should never find by accident.
Why a number in words and not a sum
A lot of kids' apps gate with a multiplication: "solve 7 × 8 to continue". In a maths app that is a joke — the child has just spent a week learning exactly that. A number written in words is different: reading and converting "eight hundred forty-five" needs a reading level that most children under eight do not have, and the number changes every time, so it cannot be memorised from watching a parent once.
Using the gate in Kalko
You will meet it the first time you tap the settings cog on the profile screen.
- Tap the profile icon, then the cog. The Ask a grown-up sheet appears with a number in words.
- Type it in digits. "eight hundred forty-five" → 845. The field accepts digits only.
- Change what you need. Learning range 1–10 or 1–12, haptics on or off, replay the three welcome screens.
- Close the sheet. The gate closes with it; the next visit asks again with a new number.
The gate appears every time on purpose. A gate that stays open for ten minutes is a gate a child can walk through after you put the phone down.
Download on the App StoreTips
- Read the number out loud when you type it — for a nine-year-old that is a mini number-words lesson, and they still cannot reproduce it next time.
- Rating the app is behind the gate too, so a review is always from an adult.
Questions about the gate
Can my child change the learning range?
Not without reading a number in words and typing it. Practically, that means a parent does it.
Can the gate be disabled?
No. It is required for the Kids category and it protects the reset button.