Use the child’s Apple Account
Do not share the parent’s Apple Account. On the parent’s iPhone or iPad, open Settings, Screen Time and look for the child below Family.
BASTIONHOST / APPLE SCREEN TIME GUIDE
APPLE SCREEN TIME GUIDE
Turn Screen Time into a routine your child can understand and follow.
Screen Time can schedule quieter periods, limit particular apps, keep essential contacts available and show broad activity patterns. Set it from the parent’s device, protect it with a separate passcode and test what the child actually experiences.
BEFORE YOU SET A LIMIT
Make sure Screen Time is attached to the right child.
The cleanest setup uses Family Sharing, a separate Apple Account for the child and an adult marked as the family organiser or Parent/Guardian.
Update the family devices
Install current software on the parent and child devices. Apple recommends this so Screen Time settings and requests sync correctly.
Decide what you are solving
Start with a specific routine—such as bedtime, homework or a daily games limit—rather than restricting every category at once.
SAFE BASELINE
Set the controls in this order.
These steps use the current iOS 26 wording. Apple can change labels between software versions, devices and countries.
Open the child’s Screen Time settings
On the parent’s device, open Settings, tap Screen Time, scroll to Family and choose the child. This lets an organiser or Parent/Guardian manage the controls remotely.
Turn on App & Website Activity
Enable App & Website Activity. It powers activity reports, Downtime, App Limits and Always Allowed; turning it off disables those features.
Lock the settings
Choose Manage Screen Time, then Lock Screen Time Settings. Create a four-digit code the child does not know and do not reuse a device unlock code. Make sure the family organiser knows how to change or remove it from their device.
Schedule Downtime
Open Downtime, turn on Scheduled and choose Every Day or Customize Days. Set realistic start and finish times, then enable Block at Downtime if restricted apps must need approval.
Add only useful App Limits
Open App Limits, choose Add Limit and select a category or expand it to select individual apps. Use Customize Days when school days and weekends need different allowances.
Keep essential access available
Open Always Allowed and select the apps and contacts that should remain available during Downtime or after a limit. Check that the child can reach an agreed adult when restrictions are active.
Review communication and content
Use Communication Limits for suitable contact boundaries. Then review Content & Privacy Restrictions for app ratings, websites, purchases, downloads, privacy settings and changes the child can make.
Choose how multiple devices behave
Turn on Share Across Devices if schedules, limits and combined activity should follow the child across Apple devices signed into the same Apple Account. Leave it off only when each device needs separate settings.
WHICH CONTROL?
Match the setting to the family problem.
Downtime
Use for a repeatable period such as bedtime, school or homework when most apps should be unavailable.
App Limits
Use for a daily allowance for one app or a category such as Games. A category can contain more apps than expected, so expand it before saving.
Always Allowed
Use for agreed contacts and genuinely useful apps that should remain available when other limits apply.
Communication Limits
Use to manage who the child can contact during normal Screen Time and Downtime. Test Messages and calls after changing it.
Content & Privacy
Use for age ratings, websites, purchases, downloads, built-in features, privacy choices and settings the child may change.
Activity report
Use Day or Week summaries to notice broad habits, pickups and notifications—not to judge every minute or infer the meaning of a conversation.
EXTRA TIME
Make exceptions calm and temporary.
A child can ask for more time after reaching Downtime or an App Limit. The request is a useful moment to apply the family rule without changing the permanent schedule.
Agree what a reasonable request looks like
Examples might include finishing a call with family, submitting schoolwork or completing a creative task. Explain that asking is allowed and that the answer may still be no.
Review the request on the parent’s device
Open Settings, Screen Time and choose the child. Apple may also deliver eligible requests through a notification or Messages.
Choose the shortest useful exception
Current options can include 15 minutes, one hour or the rest of the day. Approving one request does not require you to change the normal limit.
FIVE-MINUTE TEST
Check the child’s screen, not just the parent’s settings.
- The child appears below Family on the parent’s device
- App & Website Activity is switched on
- The Screen Time code differs from all device unlock codes
- Downtime begins on the intended day and time
- Block at Downtime prevents a restricted app opening freely
- An agreed contact and essential app remain available
- An App Limit applies to the intended app—not an accidental category
- The child can send an Ask For More Time request
- Every child iPhone, iPad or Mac behaves as intended
- The organiser can change the passcode from their own device
If Screen Time does not behave as expected
Update both devices, confirm each person is signed into their own Apple Account, check that the child still appears in Family and review Share Across Devices. Then open the child’s device and test the exact app, contact and time period. A school-managed device or an app’s own controls may behave differently.
What Screen Time cannot do
It cannot guarantee that allowed content or conversations are suitable, and it does not let a parent read a child’s private messages. Some apps still need their own safety settings. Keep a calm route for the child to report upsetting content, contact or mistakes.
Official Apple guidanceGet started with Screen Time and activity reports ↗Set Downtime, App Limits and Always Allowed ↗Set and recover a child’s Screen Time passcode ↗Respond to a child’s Screen Time request ↗Review Apple parental controls and restrictions ↗
Last reviewed 15 August 2026. Apple controls, defaults, age rules and menu names can change by country, device and software version. Check Apple’s current instructions while applying this guide. This is practical family guidance, not emergency safeguarding advice. Find UK help and reporting services.
PARENT-WRITTEN GUIDANCE
Start with one routine, test it and adjust together.
Screen Time is most useful when the child understands what the limit is for and can ask for help or a reasonable exception. If a current Apple setting is missing or unclear, you can suggest an improvement.
Suggest an improvement →