iOS 12

See how your child spends time on iPad

Use Screen Time to gain insight into the time your kids spend on their devices. You can receive weekly activity reports, set app allowances, and schedule device downtime to help your child find the right screen time balance.

Screen Time is selected in Settings. On the right side of the screen is a Screen Time activity report. The top of the report shows the option to select Today and Last 7 Days; Last 7 Days is selected. At the top of the report is a chart that shows how much time was spent using games, entertainment, and social networking for each day of the week. Below the chart is the Limits section, where you can set time limits for games, apps, and social networking. Below that, the most-used apps are listed. At the bottom of the report, the total number of times the device was picked up is shown.

Find out what’s happening

With Screen Time, you can access real-time and weekly activity reports that detail how your child uses iPad. You can see how much time is spent using certain apps, when those apps are used, how often your child picks up iPad during the day, and more.

The App Limits screen in Screen Time with a list of app categories. The categories, listed from top to bottom, are: All Apps and Categories, Social Networking, Games, Entertainment, Creativity, Productivity, Education, and Reading and Reference. Next to each category is a circle to select the category and set a time limit.

Set app limits

Based on your child’s activity report, you can set daily time limits for specific apps or app categories like games or social media. When the allotted time is almost up, your child receives a notification and can ask you to approve more time.

The Content Restrictions screen of Screen Time. The setting options are listed from top to bottom of the screen and show that the ratings are set for the United States. Music, Podcasts and News is set to clean, Movies is set to PG, TV Shows is set to TV-G, Books is set to Clean, and Apps is set to twelve plus.

Block inappropriate content

Adjust the content and privacy restrictions in Screen Time to limit what your child can view and download on iPad. You can change the settings to ensure content is age appropriate, allow or disable in-app purchases, and more.

The iPad Lock screen showing a Downtime notification that Screen Time is limited until 10:00 a.m.

Help them unplug

Schedule Downtime to help your child take a break from certain apps in order to focus on homework or ease into bedtime. You can customize Downtime for each day of the week depending on your child’s schedule.

A setup screen of Screen Time showing the option to select This is My iPad or This is My Child’s iPad.

Set up from your device—or theirs

To manage your child’s screen time from your own device, set up a Family Sharing account in Settings > [your name] > Set Up Family Sharing, then add your child to it. Open Screen Time on your device, then tap your child’s name.

You can also manage your child’s screen time settings from their iPad. Go to Settings > Screen Time, then tap “This is My Child’s iPad.”

Want to learn more about the Screen Time features that you can use to customize iPad for your child? Check out Set screen time, allowances, and limits on iPad.

Helpful?

iPad User Guide