Before you start
Two things you need in place first, or the rest of the guide will fight you:
- Your own iPhone, signed into your own Apple Account, updated to the latest iOS you are comfortable running.
- The child's iPhone, charged, near a Wi-Fi network.
One warning up front, because it matters more every year: do not put this off because the settings are long. Forty-five minutes of configuration now saves you the argument later. If a particular step does not match what you see on your screen, your iOS version differs — check the compatibility notes in step 10.
Step 1: Create the Child Account
On your iPhone, open Settings > Family (older iOS: Settings > [your name] > Family Sharing), then tap the add button and choose Create a Child Account. Follow the prompts: name, birth date (use the real one — Apple enables age-appropriate defaults from it), and a password you both remember.
For children under 13 this account stays managed by you. Ask to Buy, Communication Safety, and web filtering all default on based on that birth date, which is why the real one matters.
Step 2: Set up Screen Time
On your iPhone: Settings > Family > [child's name] > Screen Time. This is the iOS 27 path. On older iOS, open Settings > Screen Time on the child's device instead, scroll to Set Up Screen Time for a Family, and pick the child.
The first thing the system asks for is a Screen Time passcode. Four digits, not the child's unlock code, not their birthday, not your usual code. Write it down somewhere safe — you will need it to change limits, and recovering it requires erasing the device.
Step 3: Time Allowances
Still under the child's Screen Time settings, open Time Allowances (iOS 27). You set a daily budget per category: Games, Social Media, and Entertainment. Apple shows age-based guidance from child development research right in the setup screen — a useful starting point if you have no idea what number to pick.
On older iOS the equivalent is App Limits: tap Add Limit, choose categories or specific apps, set the daily time. Zero minutes blocks a category entirely.
Step 4: Screen Time Schedules
Screen Time Schedules (iOS 27) let you decide which apps are available in which windows: a Before School routine, a School routine with only the apps school requires, an After School window with everything allowed. Weekdays and weekends get separate schedules. On older iOS, the single equivalent is Downtime — during downtime only apps you allow and phone calls work.
Start with something simple: school hours restricted, evenings open, overnight blocked. You can refine later; nobody gets schedules right on the first pass.
Step 5: Website filtering
Open Apps & Websites under the child's Screen Time settings (iOS 27) or Content and Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions > Web Content (older iOS). Three levels:
- Allowed Websites Only — the child browses a list you approve, and nothing else. Best for under-10s.
- Limit Adult Websites — automatic filtering of adult content, plus your own always-allow and never-allow lists. The default for under-18 Child Accounts.
- Unrestricted — no filtering. Not recommended for children, and I would not recommend it for most adults either.
With iOS 27, when the child hits a site outside the allowed set they can send an Ask to Browse request; you approve it from Messages on your phone.
Step 6: Ask to Buy
Settings > Family > [child's name], then Ask to Buy, and turn it on. Every app download and purchase, free or paid, now stops for your approval. Approvals arrive on your device as notifications; you can approve from anywhere with a signal.
One subtlety: Ask to Buy does not cover in-app purchases inside already-approved apps. That is what the stored payment method policy is for — keep no card on the child's account, or none at all.
Step 7: Content and Privacy Restrictions
This is the master switch section. Open Content and Privacy Restrictions under the child's Screen Time settings and make sure the top toggle is on. Then walk the list once:
- App Store purchases: installing apps off, deleting apps off, in-app purchases off.
- Allowed Apps: disable anything you do not want present at all — Safari, FaceTime, the camera, whatever fits your family.
- Content restrictions: music, podcasts, movies, and TV shows can each be capped by rating. The age rating fields take their defaults from the birth date in step 1.
- Siri and Accessibility (iOS 27): new sections covering voice assistant and visual intelligence features. For young children, disable Siri entirely here; for older kids, restrict the riskier features and keep the classic experience.
Step 8: Communication Safety
Under Communication Safety, confirm the feature is on. It blurs nudity in shared photos and videos before your child sees them and offers a gentle path to get help. iOS 27 extends it to blurring gore and violent content as well, and it defaults on for under-18 accounts — but never trust a default you have not personally verified.
Step 9: Allowed Contacts
Still under the child's Screen Time settings, find Allowed Contacts (iOS 27) or Communication Limits (older iOS). Choose who can call, message, and FaceTime your child — everyone, contacts only, or a specific list. During downtime you can allow only designated contacts, which is how you make sure the phone is reachable for family and nothing else overnight.
Step 10: Verify the configuration
The last step is pretending to be your child for ten minutes, with their phone in hand:
- Open the App Store and try to install something. Your phone should ask for approval.
- Open Safari and try a site you did not allow. The block or request screen should appear.
- Open Settings on the child's phone and try to change Screen Time. It should demand your passcode.
- Check the time limit actually enforces itself at the top of the hour.
iOS 27 versus older versions, in one paragraph. iOS 27 redesigned parental controls around the Family hub in Settings, with quick actions, category-based Time Allowances, full daily Schedules, Ask to Browse, and new Siri and Accessibility restriction sections. The classic interface — everything under Settings > Screen Time on the child's device — still works on older versions and covers the same ground with per-app limits and Downtime. Every family device needs iOS 27 for the new features to appear, and after any major update, re-run the verification above, because updates occasionally shuffle or reset these settings.
For the complete reference on what each control can and cannot do — including the technical limits of Screen Time — the full iPhone parental controls guide goes deeper on every section touched here.
