dvd player?

Hi...we have a Skywood brand DVD player..the remote seems to be not working (yes bought new batteries !) but even though the player itself has buttons on they won't work !! We press play and just get a circle with a line through it. How come ?? Are we missing something ? Surely you wouldn't only operate with remote...someone mentioned it may be childproof. Never heard that before..can you advise what to look for or what to do ??