How to limit screen time on iPhone for a child

When you limit screen time on iPhone for your child, you minimize the risk of sleep disruption and ensure they don’t encounter problems focusing at school. Fortunately, iPhones have built-in parental controls that let you adjust iPhone screen time settings.

For this article, the Cybernews expert team and I determined the best way to set iPhone screen time limits for your child. Keep reading below to find my detailed instructions.

Why limiting screen time is important

Phones and tablets can be used as teaching tools and sources of entertainment. However, too much screen time can have a negative impact on your children’s health, behavior, and learning.

A 2019 study showed that 24-month-old and 36-month-old children who spent more time on screens scored lower on tests that measured behavior, thinking skills, and social development. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also lists the following as possible negative screen time effects:

• Sleep problems
• Lower grades in school
• Reading fewer books
• Less time with family and friends
• Not enough outdoor activity
• Weight problems
• Mood problems
• Poor self-image

Children younger than 2 years old should only be allowed to access educational programs, according to the AAP. For children 2 to 5 years old, it recommends a limit of only 1 hour of screen time per weekday and 3 hours on weekends. The AAP also advises parents to monitor their children’s screen use to ensure they avoid violent, sexual, misleading, and inaccurate content.

But how do you enforce screen time limits? Parental control tools can help curb dangerous screen time habits before they start. While third-party apps exist, built-in settings like Apple’s Screen Time feature can make management easier for parents. iPhone parental controls allow you to set screen time limits, track usage, and restrict dangerous content.

How to set up screen time on iPhone (step-by-step guide)

For in-depth instructions on how to set up screen time from start to finish, follow the guide below. Note that you’ll need an iOS device for yourself to use most of the iPhone screen time settings below, as they rely on Apple’s Family Sharing feature.

Step 1: Set up Family Sharing

Setting up Family Sharing is a straightforward process, though steps will vary based on your child’s age.

If your child is below 13 years old, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Tap on your Apple ID.
3. Select Family Sharing.
4. Click the add icon on the top right hand of the screen.
5. Select Create Child Account.
6. Enter your child’s name and birthday.
7. Agree to the privacy disclosure.
8. Create your child’s Apple ID. This also doubles as an email address.
9. Set your child’s Apple ID password.

If your child is 13 or above, here’s what you need to do:

1. Set up their own Apple ID on their own device.
2. Open the Settings app on your phone.
3. Tap on your Apple ID.
4. Select Family Sharing.
5. Click the add icon on the top right-hand side of the screen.
6. Select Invite Others and input their existing Apple ID.
7. On your child’s device, accept the Family Sharing invitation.

During the setup process, you can choose to enable Apple Screen Time or to skip it for now.

Step 2: Enable Apple Screen Time

If you’re setting up parental controls on iPhone for the first time, follow the steps I outline below to enable Apple Screen Time:

1. On your device, navigate to Settings > Screen Time.
2. Under Family, choose your child’s name.
3. Choose Turn On Screen Time.

From here, you can configure various settings that will help you monitor and manage your child’s phone or tablet use.

Step 2: Set Screen Time Passcode

To prevent your child from changing the settings you’ll be configuring, you can use the functionality called Screen Time Passcode. This passcode will only be known to you and the child’s other guardians.

Here’s how you can set Screen Time Passcode:

1. On your device, go to Settings > Screen Time > Family > Your child’s name.
2. Select Change Screen Time Passcode.

Make sure to choose a passcode you can easily remember.

Step 3: Set up Downtime

To limit access to apps during specific hours, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Family > Your child’s name.
2. Click Downtime.
3. Toggle Scheduled on.
4. Choose between Every Day and Customize Days.
5. Set the time range during which you want to limit phone access.

Using these settings, you can set an earlier downtime for school days and a later downtime for weekends.

Step 4: Use App Limits

You can restrict the time spent on certain apps by using this guide:

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Family > Your child’s name.
2. Choose App Limits.
3. Select Add Limit.
4. Select one or more app categories.
5. Click Next.
6. Set the amount of time allowed.
7. Select Customize Days to set limits for specific days (e.g., weekdays).
8. When you’re done, click Add.

You can also set limits for individual apps instead of the whole category. To do so, simply click on the category name in step 5 so you can see all the apps in that category.

Step 5: Configure Communication Limits

The Communication Limits feature allows you to control who can contact your child. I adjusted the Communication Limits function by using the following steps:

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Family > Your child’s name.
2. Go to Communication Limits.
3. You can set different options for Screen Time and Downtime.

I recommend choosing Contacts Only for both options to prevent strangers from reaching your child.

If an unknown number calls your child, they will see a message saying “[Number] is not in your contacts. Your screen time settings only allow you to communicate with contacts.”

Step 6: Turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions

To filter inappropriate content, I turned on Content & Privacy Restrictions. This is how I did this:

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Family > Your child’s name.
2. Select Content & Privacy Restrictions.
3. Manage which apps you want to allow.

For example, you can prevent accidental purchases by navigating to iTunes & App Store Purchases and selecting Don’t Allow.

Best practices for enforcing screen time limits

Setting clear rules and enforcing them consistently will help children develop healthy screen time habits, ensuring that phone use doesn’t interfere with other important activities like sleeping, exercising, and spending time with family.

Below are some helpful tips to effectively enforce screen time limits:

• Use Family Sharing. Apple’s built-in child screen time management features allow you to remotely manage settings across multiple devices, ensuring you can use your time efficiently instead of devoting hours to manual screen limit setup.
• Encourage screen-free activities. Engage in family activities that don’t require screens, such as reading, solving puzzles, playing board games, or exercising outdoors. These activities help develop creativity, social skills, motor skills, and physical health.
• Set a good example. Children mimic the behaviors of their parents, meaning if they see you on your phone the whole day, they’ll want to do the same thing. Whenever you’re together, focus on spending quality time with each other instead of using your devices. This will help the whole family develop healthy screen habits.
• Balance educational and entertainment screen time. Phone and tablet use can be fun and educational, not just destructive. When you allow them to use their devices, try to have a balance of both educational and entertainment content. Look into educational iOS games or YouTube videos that you can engage in together.
• Designate tech-free zones. Set areas in your house as “tech-free zones” where neither kids nor parents are allowed to use their devices. The dining room and your bedrooms are good places to enforce this rule.
• Involve your child in the process. Consider being in the same room as your child and explaining your thought process to them as you configure Screen Time settings. Be open to their concerns and suggestions, as well. For example, if they feel left out because all their friends are online until 6 PM, you may want to consider setting their downtime to 6 PM instead of 5 PM.

Alternative parental control apps for iPhone

If you find that screen time features aren’t enough for your family, consider using a third-party limit screen time app for iPhone. These dedicated apps can monitor your child’s social media use, browsing history, GPS location, and more. They also have detailed screen time reports that let you analyze how your child has been using their devices.

Here are some of my suggestions for the best parental control apps:

• For families with gamers: If your teen loves video games, go with Aura parental control. Its Safe Gaming feature allows you to monitor your child’s in-game voice and text chats and lets you know if they’re being targeted by predators or cyberbullies.
• For families that also use Android: If someone in the family isn’t on iOS, opt for Qustodio, my favorite cross-platform parental control app. It works with Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Kindle.
• For families that love social media: If your kids love staying connected with their friends, I recommend Bark. Bark can monitor over 30 apps, including Facebook, Instagram, Discord, Reddit, and even entertainment apps like Spotify and Steam.

For a quick comparison of these apps vs. Apple Screen Time, check the table below.

Service	Starting price	Free trial	Screen time management	App blocking and management	Location tracking	Social media monitoring	Call and SMS monitoring
Apple Screen Time	Free	-	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No
Aura	$10/month	14 days	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Qustodio	$4.58/month	3 days	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Bark	$5/month	7 days	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes

Troubleshooting common screen time issues

Is Apple Screen Time not working for you? Refer to our parental controls troubleshooting guide below.

Issue 1: Child bypassing screen time

Clever children can find ways to bypass screen time on iPhones, such as by guessing your passcode or finding workarounds. Here are some ways you can solve this problem:

• Set stronger passcodes. Use complex passcodes to prevent your children from easily guessing them. Avoid birthdays, anniversaries, or other easy-to-guess combinations.
• Enable Downtime. Set up the Downtime feature in your settings to restrict all apps except for the ones you allow.

Issue 2: Screen time settings not syncing

Your screen time settings might not sync across devices when using Family Sharing. To fix this, check that both devices are properly configured. Both your device and your child’s device should be connected to the same Apple ID family group.

Issue 3: Apps not following limits

If time limits aren’t applying properly to certain apps, check if both parent and child devices have up-to-date software. Also, double-check that app limits and content restrictions are enabled and set up correctly. In some cases, reinstalling an app can help resolve sync issues.

Conclusion

Managing device use for your kids is essential for them to develop healthy screen time habits. Remember to set clear limits and enforce them consistently. Doing so reduces the risk of sleep disruption, social isolation, mood problems, and more. Whenever possible, opt for offline activities, such as reading or playing outdoors, to balance screen time with physical and social development.

To further limit screen time, make the most of iPhone parental settings. Enable Family Sharing and other functionalities using our guide above so you can manage your child’s screen time efficiently and effectively. You can also opt for a third-party app like Aura for more cohesive monitoring.

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