If you’re anything like me, managing your kids’ screen time on phones, tablets, computers, game consoles – and even watches – can feel overwhelming.
Today, children have a vast digital universe to play, connect and experience content. Parents, meanwhile, often feel like they are constantly playing catch-up on what their kids are watching and experiencing, and for how long.
While we understand that screens are a fact of our modern lives, it’s also important to recognize the stress and anxiety they can cause parents. One 2023 study found implementing parental controls had a positive effect on parents overall well-being.
That’s why we wanted to provide some basic steps to better understand your child’s screen use, and how you can keep it as healthy as possible.
Here we break down how parents can get on top of screen time for a variety of devices.
Apple devices
It’s best to start with the original screen-time behemoth … the company that changed personal computing in the 1980s and then changed the world in the 2000s with the invention of the smartphone. That would be Apple.
For devices like the iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch, Apple uses two main features for parents to manage screen time and content for their children: Family Sharing and Screen Time.
- To get started, you will need to create an Apple ID for the child account.
- Go to Settings > Family > Tap blue graphic in upper right hand corner of screen.
- Choose "Create Child Account." It will ask for some details like age, password and general preferences.
[Video/Gif— Apple create account 081624]
Downtime: Set time where features or apps are not available and notifications are minimized. Some functionality will be allowed during downtime unless adjusted.
App Limits: Set specific limits for specific apps, or set a limit for all activities on their devices. You can set different limits for different days, and set more stringent limits for certain apps than others.
NOTE: Screen Time can be adjusted anytime by going to Settings> Screen Time> Family and selecting which child profile you want to edit.
Communication Limits & Safety: Manage communication rules for downtime and screen time. You can also adjust what controls the child has over contacts and people they communicate with. Do you want them to be able to add contacts on their own or do you want to oversee that step? Here’s where you get to choose the level of control that works best for you and your child.
Apple Watch
For the Apple Watch specifically, Apple provides a “Schooltime” feature to control when your child can use the device. Schooltime allows you to disable the watch at times during the day when you don’t want your child to be distracted, such as while they are in the classroom.
NOTE: To get the most use out of Apple’s Screen Time, the parent or guardian will need their own Apple device. From there, they can update Screen Time settings, allow for more time, or make adjustments to a child’s screen time use.
To access Schooltime, you need to have the Watch app installed on your iPhone or iPad.
If the parent or guardian doesn’t have their own Apple device, all screen time management will need to be done on the device itself. And you’ll need your own iCloud account to manage your child’s profile.
Google devices
The Google version of Family Sharing and Screen Time is called "Family Link." This is what you’ll use on all Android or ChromeOS devices.
- Install Family Link from the Google or iOS app store.
- Both you and your child will need to have your own Google accounts.
- Next, you need to enable controls on your child’s device.
→ For Android devices, go to Google > "Parental Controls."
→ For ChromeOS devices, go to "People" > Parental Controls. - In Family Link app, go to "Controls" to set restrictions on content and apps.
- Location: Here parents can set up more robust location settings to get information on where your child is, or when they arrive home from school, for example.
NOTE: Even if you have an iPhone, you can still use Google Family Link. The app is available on Android and iOS in the Apple App store.
Google Kids Space
Google also provides a kid-friendly preset on many of its devices called "Google Kids Space." This is meant to highlight age-appropriate and often educational content.
The Kids Space setting limits content it identifies as not being age appropriate for the age of your child. It can be frustrating for parents who want to access specific content for your child while using Kids Space.
Amazon Fire tablets
Amazon Fire tablets are inexpensive and popular with families, especially the Amazon Fire Tablet for Kids. Though they are also Android devices, parental controls for Amazon Fire devices work differently than the Google controls.
To create a child’s profile:
- Go to "Settings" and "Profiles & Family Library."
- Select "Add a Child Profile."
To set up parental controls on an Amazon Fire tablet:
1. Go to Settings and go to "Parental Controls." (It may also be called "Profiles & parental controls.")
2. Go to "Household Profiles."
3. Select "Daily Screen Time" to set daily screen limits.
4. Select "Manage Content" to add or remove apps or content for your child.
Amazon also has an app available for both Apple and Android devices called "Amazon Kids+ Parent Dashboard." Here you can set screen time limits, see what apps your kids are playing and watching and prioritize more educational content. Some features here are tied to Amazon’s separate subscription service called Amazon Kids+.
Routers
When looking for solutions to manage family screen time, the emphasis often goes to the devices being used the most, our tablets, gaming consoles and smartphones. But adding in safeguards at the root level of internet access is an option for parents, too.
Internet routers are what connects the internet to the devices we use and the most common routers provide parental controls, though they may be a bit more difficult to find than those on our personal devices.
The exact options and steps vary by manufacturer, but they generally allow parents to set internet access schedules, as well as prevent access of certain websites and content.
Here are some of the most common routers with links to the parental controls each provide:
Other screen management options
If Apple Screen Time and Google’s Family Link don’t cover your family’s screen management needs, other options are out there that provide more all-encompassing solutions.
Rather than focusing on a particular device or platform, services such as Aura, Bark and Qustodio allow for greater control over your family’s use of screens and connectivity online. They provide screen time management and also designed to identify problematic content across the board, from video games to text messages, social media to web browsing (even in Incognito mode).
Setting up some of these solutions may take extra time and make you feel like a cyber sleuth, but they may be welcome for parents with concerns over content across devices and platforms. For example, for families that use pcs, mobile devices, even school computers.
Additionally, parents can also explore parental controls on internet routers.
And, if these solutions are not what parents are looking for, many internet routers have parental control options where time limits and controls can be set up.
