Apple today shared a guide to help parents use child safety tools in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS Golden Gate. Apple says “Building Healthy Digital Habits: A Guide for Families” was developed in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
The six-step guide covers balancing screen time, sleep, exercise, homework, and time with friends and family. It contains tips for integrating children with screen time limits and using different parental control features. Excerpt from Apple’s announcement:
- Start a conversation about screen time, with tips for parents on how to approach the topic and set expectations in a way that helps kids feel included in the plan.
- Create a child account, which allows age-based protections and allows parents to access parental controls to manage their child’s experience.
- Set security settings for websites and apps, including Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse, so families can check out new apps and websites together.
- Establish a schedule for device use, using time allotments and schedules to balance time spent online with sleep, homework, physical activity, and time with family and friends.
- Manage communications, with parents deciding who their child can communicate with and communications security enabled by default for all users under 18, helping to prevent children from viewing or sharing sensitive content.
- Continue the conversation as the children grow, giving them tips for adjusting the family plan over time.
The guide includes the AAP’s recommendations for screen time by age group, from infants to adolescents, as well as strategies to help children develop healthy screen time habits.
Apple added new parental control options and an overhauled version of Screen Time in iOS 27. Parents can choose which apps kids can access, monitor and control access to websites, keep tabs on approved contacts, and set different screen schedules based on the time of day. Using the new version of Screen Time requires all devices in a Family Sharing group to be running iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27.
The guidance comes as Apple faces regulatory pressure over child safety in countries including the UK, US and Australia.
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