Guide · iPhone setup
Using Apple Screen Time with Family Sharing: a parent's walkthrough
Updated · For parents
The short answer
To manage a child's iPhone, add them to your Apple Family Sharing group with a child account, then on your iPhone go to Settings > Family > your child's name > Screen Time and follow the prompts to set time allowances, schedules, content restrictions and a Screen Time passcode. Exact menu names vary slightly by iOS version.
Apple's built-in Screen Time is free, reliable and the foundation that parental-control apps on iPhone are built on. Here's how to set it up. Menu names below follow Apple's current support documentation and can differ slightly on older versions of iOS; check Apple's guide for your version.
Step 1: set up Family Sharing
Family Sharing links your Apple Account with your child's. As the organizer, you invite family members — or create an account for a child who doesn't have one yet (Apple Support). When you create a child account, you enter your child's birth date; Apple uses it to suggest age-appropriate content settings (Apple Support).
Tip: Set up the child account through Family Sharing rather than signing your child's phone into your own Apple Account. That's what lets you manage their device from yours and approve requests.
Step 2: open Screen Time for your child
On your own iPhone, open Settings, tap Family, tap your child's name, then tap Screen Time and follow the onscreen instructions (Apple Support).
Step 3: choose the controls
Apple groups the controls into a few areas (Apple Support):
- Apps & Websites — allow or block specific apps and websites, and turn on Ask to Buy so downloads and purchases need your approval.
- Allowed Contacts — choose who your child can communicate with in Phone, FaceTime and Messages.
- Time Allowances and Screen Time Schedules — daily time budgets by app category, and different routines for school days and weekends. (On older iOS versions these appear as Downtime and App Limits.)
- Content & Privacy Restrictions — age ratings for apps, movies and music, plus settings like location sharing.
- Communication Safety — helps protect your child from viewing sensitive images.
Step 4: set a Screen Time passcode
The Screen Time passcode lets you change settings and approve extra time. Use one your child doesn't know and that's different from your device passcode.
Step 5: test it on your child's device
Before you rely on it, pick up your child's iPhone and try opening a limited app during a scheduled off-time. Make sure the settings took effect and that apps you want always available — like Phone or a school app — still open.
Common gotchas
- Settings not applying? Check that your child's device is signed in to their own child account in your Family Sharing group, and that both devices are up to date.
- Time requests piling up? Agree in advance how extra time is earned, so requests aren't the only way to get more.
- Kids ask "why?" Built-in limits tell your child that time is up, not how to earn more. That's the part a family agreement — or an earn-based app — fills in.
How Sprigtime helps
Sprigtime works on top of Apple's Screen Time technology (Family Controls, Managed Settings and Device Activity). Once Family Sharing is set up:
- Grant Screen Time permission to Sprigtime with a parent's approval. When set up through Family Sharing, removing that permission requires a parent too.
- Pick the apps that count with Apple's private app picker — Sprigtime never sees the names of the apps your child uses.
- Add tasks and minute values, and your child's time bank takes over from there.
Apple's own Screen Time limits keep working alongside Sprigtime.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I set up Screen Time for my child's iPhone?
Add your child to your Family Sharing group with a child account. Then on your iPhone go to Settings > Family > your child's name > Screen Time and follow the onscreen instructions to set allowances, schedules, content restrictions and a passcode.
Can my child turn off Screen Time?
When Screen Time is managed through Family Sharing and protected by a Screen Time passcode your child doesn't know, changes require that passcode. No parental control is perfectly tamper-proof, so keep your devices updated and check settings occasionally.
Do I need Family Sharing to use Screen Time for a child?
To manage a child's device from your own iPhone, yes. Apple's parental controls for a child's device are designed around a child account in a Family Sharing group.
Sources
- Apple Support — “Use Screen Time to manage your child’s iPhone or iPad.”
- Apple Support — “Set up parental controls to manage your child’s iPhone or iPad.”
- Apple Support — “How to set up Family Sharing on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.”
This page is general information for parents, not medical advice. Talk with your child’s pediatrician about your family’s situation.