New resource pairs advice on screen time with Apple’s parental controls, helping families make room for sleep, schoolwork and time together
THUNDER BAY — Families looking for help managing children’s screen time have a new resource from Apple and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Released September 29, “Building Healthy Digital Habits: A Guide for Families” combines the academy’s advice with Apple’s parental controls. It walks parents through creating a family technology plan and adjusting it as children grow.
The guide encourages families to balance device use with sleep, exercise, schoolwork and relationships. Its starting point is a conversation: explain expectations and involve children before changing settings or introducing restrictions. Apple Support (AU)
“Every family approaches technology in their own way,” said Dr. Sumbul Desai, Apple’s vice president of Health and Fitness.
Desai said the partnership gives parents a starting point that can be adapted to their family and their child’s stage of development.
The guide outlines six steps:
- Talk about screen time. Discuss expectations with children and help them understand why the family is setting boundaries.
- Create a Child Account. Enable age-based safeguards and give parents access to controls for managing their child’s experience.
- Review apps and websites. Use tools such as Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse to decide what children can download or access.
- Set a device-use schedule. Use Time Allowances and Schedules to protect time for sleep, schoolwork, physical activity and family activities.
- Manage communication. Decide who children can communicate with and use Communication Safety to help protect them from sensitive content.
- Keep the conversation going. Review the plan regularly and adjust expectations as children become older and more independent.
The resource also includes the academy’s guidance for different age groups, from infants to teenagers.
Mark Del Monte, the academy’s chief executive officer, said the partnership expands access to its Family Media Plan and helps parents create routines that support balance, safety and healthy development.
For families using Apple devices, the guide connects that advice to specific settings. Ask to Browse, for example, allows parents to require approval before a child visits a new website in Safari. Time Allowances help parents manage time spent in categories such as games, entertainment and social media.
The updated features are available through Screen Time in iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27. Apple says all devices within a Family Sharing group must run the corresponding version 27 software—including watchOS and visionOS where applicable—to use the updated system.
Feature availability can vary by region, language and device model.
Parents can read the free Building Healthy Digital Habits guide online and use it to begin a discussion about their family’s technology routines.
