mike eggleston

As a parent, I can definitely say that this is a bad idea. Apple already lets me mark accounts as a child account. As such, when one of my kids asks to be allowed to download an app, it has to get permission from me or my wife. This is already a simple enough solution to this problem, and it puts the onus of the situation where it belongs: WITH THE PARENTS.

The moment that you are having additional age verification, you are having to store sensitive information. Since the App Store (and Google Play for that matter) would be known for having to store not just the date of birth but some other verification of the age of a child, you now have a known location to try to get all sorts of PII (Personal Identifiable Information). So, by doing this "for our children" you have in effect made them LESS SECURE.

Also, the argument of "parents can't be bothered or ill-informed" is making other entities or people responsible for your kids instead of the parents. It is a nonsense argument at best; and a dangerous one at the worst.