What’s ultimately more important is the new “Kids Zone.” One press of a button on the special round remote changes the entire TalkTalk TV UI, dropping little ones into an easily navigable menu of on-demand shows (you’ll need the £5 per month children’s TV package for this, mind). They are isolated to the Kids Zone until an older member of the household enters a code on the primary remote, so guardians needn’t worry about them messing around outside the digital playpen.
Parents also have control of what’s shown in the Kids Zone, so they can hide whatever cartoon crack they think their children might be getting a little too obsessed with. They can also set viewing hours to stop sprogs going square-eyed, with a bedtime setting that’s particularly clever. If a show finishes a few minutes before the designated cut-off point, the child won’t be able to play another episode, hopefully minimising the potential for bedtime tantrums when you start running a bath halfway through the opening credits of Peppa Pig.
