Use Family Sharing to share purchases, not buying the same app on multiple devices.
The Family’s Board Game Closet
Imagine your family has a big closet for board games. When one person buys a new game, they put it in the closet, and now everyone in the family can play it whenever they want. Family Sharing is that digital closet. When you buy an app, a movie, or a game, it goes into the shared space. Now, anyone in your family group can download and enjoy it on their own device for free. It’s a simple, brilliant system that stops you from buying the same “game” five times.
Stop just guessing what your kids are doing on their phones. Do use the Screen Time reports instead for real data.
The Security Camera vs. The Guessing Game
Wondering what your kids are doing on their phones is like trying to guess what happened in your house all day while you were at work. Screen Time is the security camera footage. It provides you with a simple, clear, and data-driven report of exactly where they spent their time—how many hours were on games, how many were on social media, and which specific apps they used most. It’s not about spying; it’s about replacing your worried guesses with factual information so you can have a real conversation.
Stop giving your kids your password. Do use “Ask to Buy” so you can approve their purchases instead.
Giving Your Kid a Credit Card vs. Approving a Purchase
Giving your child your Apple ID password is like handing them your credit card and hoping they only buy what you agreed on. It’s a recipe for disaster. “Ask to Buy” is the smart and modern alternative. It’s like your child is at the store and wants to buy something. Instead of using your card, the cashier sends a notification directly to your phone. You can see what they want to buy and approve or deny the purchase with a single tap. It gives them freedom, but you keep the ultimate control.
The #1 secret for managing your family’s schedule is a shared iCloud Calendar.
The Central Kitchen Calendar, But Magical
A shared iCloud Calendar is the digital version of the big, color-coded family calendar that hangs on the kitchen wall, but it’s magical. When you add your son’s soccer practice from your work computer, it instantly appears on your partner’s phone. When your daughter adds her piano lesson, it appears on yours. It’s a single, central, and always up-to-date source of truth that ends the chaos of conflicting schedules and “did you remember?” texts. It’s the ultimate tool for a family in motion.
I’m just going to say it: Handing your unlocked iPhone to a toddler is a recipe for disaster.
The Toddler in the China Shop
Handing your powerful, expensive, and unlocked iPhone to a toddler is the modern equivalent of letting a small child run wild and unsupervised in a high-end china shop. Their intentions are innocent, but their curious, random taps can lead to catastrophic results. They might accidentally delete your work email, buy something on Amazon, or FaceTime your boss. An unlocked iPhone is a powerful tool for an adult, but in the hands of a toddler, it is a delicate, expensive, and deeply unpredictable chaos machine.
The reason your family data plan is always maxed out is because you haven’t set limits on your kids’ cellular data usage.
The Shared Water Tank with a Leaky Faucet
A shared family data plan is like a big, shared water tank for the month. If one person has a major “leak”—like streaming high-definition video all day—they can drain the entire tank, leaving everyone else high and dry. Through Screen Time or your carrier’s app, you can be the plumber. You can see which “faucet” has the leak and set a reasonable monthly “water allowance” for each child, ensuring that one person’s endless video stream doesn’t leave the whole family without any data.
If you’re still not using “Find My” to locate your family’s devices, you’re losing incredible peace of mind.
The Magical, Live-Updating Family Map
The “Find My” app is like having a magical, live-updating map on your kitchen wall. With your family’s permission, it shows a little, moving dot for each of their devices. It’s not about spying; it’s a powerful tool for peace of mind. You can see that your child has arrived safely at their friend’s house, or that your partner is on their way home from work, all with a single, silent, and reassuring glance at the family map. It replaces a dozen worried “Where are you?” texts.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that parental controls are too complicated to set up.
The Simple ‘House Rules’ for Your Phone
Some people think setting up parental controls is a complex, technical chore, like trying to rewire your house. This is a lie. Apple’s Screen Time is like a simple, elegant set of “house rules” for your child’s digital life. The interface is clean and walks you through setting up common-sense boundaries, like “No screen time after 9 PM,” or “Only one hour of games per day.” It’s designed for normal, busy parents, not for tech experts, and it takes just a few minutes to create a healthier digital environment.
I wish I knew about Guided Access when my kids were younger to lock the iPhone into a single app.
The Digital Playpen
Handing your unlocked iPhone to a child is like letting a toddler run free in a delicate china shop. They can wander into your work emails or rearrange your Home Screen. Guided Access is the digital playpen. Before you hand over your phone, you can triple-click the side button and lock it to a single app, like a specific game or a video. The child is now safely contained within that one app and cannot press the home button to leave and cause chaos elsewhere. It’s an essential, sanity-saving tool for any parent.
99% of parents make this one mistake: not setting up “Communication Limits” for their children’s contacts.
The Bouncer with a Strict Guest List
Giving your child a phone without Communication Limits is like dropping them off at a nightclub with no bouncer. Anyone can get in and talk to them. The “Communication Limits” feature in Screen Time is that bouncer. You can create a pre-approved “guest list” of trusted family and friends that they can communicate with. It’s a powerful safety feature that ensures your child is only talking to the people you know and trust, protecting them from unsolicited messages and calls from strangers.
This one small action of creating a shared “Groceries” list in Reminders will end the “did you get the milk?” texts forever.
The Magical, Self-Updating Shopping List
A shared Reminders list is like a magical, living shopping list that is taped to both of your refrigerators at the same time. When your partner is at the store, you can add “milk” to the list from your office, and it will instantly appear on their phone. When they grab the milk and check it off, it gets checked off on yours. It’s a simple, brilliant, and perfectly synchronized tool that ends the communication chaos of a dozen “don’t forget the…” texts.
Use a shared iCloud Photo Album for family events, not trying to text photos to everyone individually.
The Collaborative Family Photo Album
After a family vacation, everyone starts texting their photos, resulting in a chaotic mess of low-quality images and a dozen different conversations. A shared iCloud Photo Album is like creating a single, beautiful, collaborative family photo album and placing it on a magical coffee table. Everyone can put their best, full-quality photos into this one central album. It creates a single, organized, and permanent home for the memories, accessible to the entire family at any time.
Stop just telling your kids to get off their phones. Do use “Downtime” to schedule screen-free hours instead.
The ‘Closing Time’ Bell vs. The Nagging Parent
Telling your kids to get off their phones is like being the nagging parent who has to constantly remind them to stop playing. The “Downtime” feature in Screen Time is the automatic, impartial “closing time” bell for the digital playground. You can schedule it so that every night at 9 PM, all the apps on their phone (except for the ones you approve, like the phone itself) simply turn off. It’s not you being the bad guy; it’s just the house rules, enforced automatically.
Stop paying for multiple music subscriptions. Do use an Apple Music Family Plan instead.
The Family Car Stereo vs. Individual Walkmans
Paying for a separate music subscription for every member of your family is like everyone in the car buying their own separate, expensive Walkman and a set of CDs. An Apple Music Family Plan is like upgrading to a single, high-end car stereo that everyone can share. For one, discounted monthly price, up to six family members get their own private, unlimited access to the entire music library. Each person gets their own playlists and recommendations, all for a fraction of the cost of going it alone.
The #1 hack for a peaceful road trip is setting up your kid’s iPad or old iPhone with downloaded movies.
The Personal, Portable Movie Theater in the Backseat
A long road trip with a bored child can be a stressful ordeal. The “download” feature in apps like Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video is the secret to a peaceful journey. It’s like being able to pack a personal, portable movie theater, pre-loaded with all their favorite films, into the backseat. Taking the time to download a few hours of entertainment before you leave ensures a quiet and happy child, transforming a potentially nightmarish drive into a pleasant and peaceful trip.
I’m just going to say it: The best parental control is being an engaged parent.
The Fence vs. Teaching Your Kid to Cross the Street Safely
Parental control software is a digital fence. It’s a useful and necessary tool for keeping a young child out of a dangerous “street.” But a fence alone is not enough. The best and most effective long-term strategy is to be an engaged parent. It’s about taking the time to walk with your child, to hold their hand, and to teach them how to look both ways, understand the risks, and navigate the digital “street” safely and responsibly on their own. The technology is the tool; the parent is the teacher.
The reason your kids are tired is because you’re not enforcing screen time limits before bed.
The ‘Blue Sky’ Sun in the Bedroom
Your brain is a simple machine. When it sees bright, blue-toned light, it thinks, “It’s the middle of the day; I should be awake and alert!” Your child’s iPhone screen is a tiny, powerful “blue sky” sun. When they are staring into that bright sun right before they try to sleep, you are sending the strongest possible signal to their brain that it is not, in fact, time for bed. That blue light actively suppresses the melatonin their brain needs to feel sleepy, leading to a restless night.
If you’re still sharing an Apple ID with your family members, you’re creating a mess of contacts, calendars, and messages.
The One Toothbrush for the Whole Family
Sharing a single Apple ID with your family is the digital equivalent of sharing a single toothbrush. It’s a terrible, messy, and deeply unhygienic idea. Your iMessages will get mixed up, your contacts will merge into a chaotic mess, and your private photos will appear on your kid’s phone. Every person in the family needs their own personal, private “toothbrush”—their own Apple ID. Family Sharing is the beautiful, clean “bathroom” that then allows you all to share the important things without sharing your germs.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that you need a third-party app for parental controls.
The Built-in Security System vs. The Hired Guard
Believing you need to buy a separate, third-party parental control app is like thinking you need to hire an expensive, outside security guard to protect your new house. It’s unnecessary because your house already came with a powerful, sophisticated, and perfectly integrated security system built right into the walls. Apple’s Screen Time is that built-in system. It’s free, it’s more secure because it’s part of the core operating system, and it has all the essential tools you need to keep your family safe.
I wish I knew how to set content and privacy restrictions to block inappropriate websites and movies.
The Parental Lock on the TV
The Content & Privacy Restrictions in Screen Time are the powerful, digital version of the “parental lock” on your TV’s cable box. It’s like having a master remote control for your child’s digital world. You can set an age rating for movies and TV shows, you can block explicit music, and you can even limit their web browsing to a list of pre-approved, kid-safe websites. It’s a robust set of tools that allows you to create a safe, age-appropriate digital environment for your child to explore.
99% of parents don’t regularly review the apps on their children’s iPhones.
Checking the Backpack for Notes from School
As a parent, you would periodically check your child’s backpack for important notes from the teacher or to see what projects they’re working on. You should treat their phone the same way. The collection of apps on their Home Screen is a window into their social life and their interests. A regular, respectful, and collaborative review of these apps is not about spying; it’s about staying engaged and informed. It’s the digital version of checking their backpack, a simple act of responsible, modern parenting.
This one small habit of using the “Check In” feature in Messages will give you peace of mind when your teen is out.
The Automated ‘I’m Home Safe’ Text
The “Check In” feature in iMessage is the automated “I’m home safe” text that you’ve always wished for. You can ask your teen to start a “Check In” with you when they get to their friend’s house. Their phone will then automatically and privately notify your phone the moment they arrive safely at their destination. It’s a simple, respectful, and brilliant feature that provides a huge amount of peace of mind without you having to be the nagging parent who is constantly texting “Are you there yet?”
Use location sharing in the Find My app for safety, not for spying on your kids.
The Safety Net vs. The Security Camera
Location sharing should be treated as a safety net, not a security camera. A safety net is a passive, silent tool that is there to catch you if you fall. It’s for emergencies and peace of mind. A security camera is an active tool of surveillance that is used to monitor someone’s every move. The goal of location sharing is not to track your child’s every step in real-time; it’s to have a powerful tool in your pocket for the rare, scary moment when they are lost or you need to confirm they are safe.
Stop just blocking apps. Do set “App Limits” for categories like “Games” or “Social Media.”
Banning the Candy Store vs. Giving a Daily Allowance
Completely blocking an app like a game or a social media platform is like banning your child from ever entering the candy store. It’s a drastic measure that can lead to arguments. A much smarter and more sustainable approach is to set “App Limits.” This is like giving your child a reasonable, one-hour-a-day “allowance” for the candy store. It teaches them moderation and self-control, allowing them to enjoy the things they love without letting them consume their entire day. It’s a tool for balance, not for prohibition.
Stop worrying about your kids getting lost. Do set up location-based notifications in Find My to alert you when they arrive at school.
The Automatic ‘Arrival’ Announcement
Setting up location-based notifications is like having a personal assistant who is dedicated to your peace of mind. You can go into the Find My app and create a rule that says, “Notify me the moment my child arrives at their school.” Then, you can go about your morning. The moment your child, and their phone, crosses the digital “fence” around their school, your phone will give you a quiet, private notification. It’s a beautiful, set-it-and-forget-it feature that replaces a worried text with a calm, automatic confirmation.
The #1 secret for a family game night is using AirPlay to stream games from the iPhone to the Apple TV.
The Game Board That Magically Appears on Your TV
Many of the best family games are on the iPhone, but it’s hard for everyone to crowd around a tiny screen. AirPlay is the secret to a high-tech family game night. It’s like a magical projector that can take the “game board” from your small phone and display it on your big-screen television for everyone to see. Games like Heads Up or a shared trivia app are transformed from a small, personal experience into a huge, hilarious, and collaborative living room event.
I’m just going to say it: Your kid is probably more tech-savvy than you and knows the workarounds for Screen Time.
The Kid Who Knows Where You Hide the Spare Key
You’ve set up a complex system of locks and rules (Screen Time) to keep your child out of the digital “cookie jar.” But your child grew up in this digital house. They know all its secret passages and loose floorboards. They have watched a dozen YouTube videos that show them exactly where you “hide the spare key”—the clever workarounds and loopholes that can bypass the limits you’ve set. The technology is a great tool, but it is not a foolproof prison. It’s a constant, evolving chess match.
The reason your kids are making in-app purchases is because you haven’t disabled them in the Screen Time settings.
The Open, Unattended Cash Register at the Toy Store
Allowing in-app purchases on your child’s phone is like leaving the cash register at the toy store wide open and unattended, with your credit card sitting on top. It’s an open invitation for them to spend your money on a mountain of digital “toys,” like new outfits for their character or extra lives in a game. In the Content & Privacy Restrictions, you can lock that cash register. You can completely disable the ability to make in-app purchases, protecting your bank account from a surprise attack of a hundred tiny transactions.
If you’re still using a baby monitor that connects to Wi-Fi, you’re risking a security breach; a dedicated audio monitor is safer.
The Public PA System vs. The Private Walkie-Talkie
A Wi-Fi-connected baby monitor is like a PA system that is broadcasting an intimate, live feed of your child’s room over the internet. If a hacker finds a vulnerability, they can potentially tap into that public broadcast. A simple, old-fashioned, dedicated audio monitor is a private walkie-talkie. It uses a direct, closed-circuit radio signal that is not connected to the wild, unpredictable world of the internet. It is a fundamentally more secure and private technology for a space where privacy is paramount.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that technology is always bad for kids.
The Library vs. The Single Book
Saying that “technology” is bad for kids is like walking into a giant library and declaring that “books” are bad. It’s a meaningless and overly broad statement. A library contains both brilliant works of educational literature and trashy, inappropriate novels. The same is true for the “library” of the App Store. The device is not the problem; the content is the key. When used thoughtfully, the iPhone can be a powerful tool for creativity, learning, and connection, not just a source of distraction.
I wish I knew about educational apps that use augmented reality to make learning fun.
The Textbook That Comes to Life on Your Desk
Traditional learning is like reading about a frog in a flat, two-dimensional textbook. An augmented reality educational app is like having a magical pop-up book where a perfect, three-dimensional, and fully animated frog literally jumps off the page and onto your kitchen table. You can walk around it, look at it from all angles, and even dissect it virtually. It’s a stunning and deeply engaging technology that can transform abstract, boring concepts into tangible, memorable, and exciting experiences.
99% of parents don’t set up a Screen Time passcode that their kids can’t guess.
The Lock on the Cookie Jar
Screen Time is the lock on the digital cookie jar. The passcode is the combination to that lock. Setting a passcode that your child can easily guess—like “1234” or your birth year—is like setting the combination to “0-0-0.” You have created the illusion of security, but you have provided no real barrier. The secret is to set a unique, memorable passcode that only the parents know, ensuring that the rules you have so carefully set are not undone by a simple, clever guess.
This one small action of creating a contact card for your child with their own photo and details will make them feel important.
Their First, Official ID Card
Creating a proper contact card for your child on your phone, complete with a photo you took of them and their own (or your) number, is like giving them their very first, official ID card. It’s a small, simple action, but it can make them feel like a real, important, and recognized member of the family’s digital world. When they call you, their own smiling face will pop up on your screen. It’s a lovely touch that elevates them from just a name in a list to a personalized presence.
Use Family Setup for an Apple Watch for your child, not giving them a full-featured iPhone too early.
The Walkie-Talkie and GPS Tracker vs. The Supercomputer
Family Setup for an Apple Watch is the perfect “first step” device for a child. It’s like giving them a powerful, two-way walkie-talkie and a GPS safety tracker. It allows them to call a pre-approved list of family members and allows you to see their location, all without the overwhelming distraction and responsibility of a full-blown supercomputer in their pocket. It provides the core functions of connection and safety, without opening the door to the entire, wild world of the internet too soon.
Stop just handing over your phone. Do create a custom “Kids” Focus Mode that hides your personal apps and notifications.
The ‘Guest Mode’ for Your Phone
Handing your unlocked phone to your child is like letting a guest wander freely through your entire house, including your private office and your bedroom. A custom “Kids” Focus Mode is like a magical “guest mode” for your phone. When you activate it, you can make your personal and work apps completely disappear from the Home Screen, and all your personal notifications will be silenced. It instantly transforms your personal device into a safe, kid-friendly playground, and then back again with a single tap.
Stop trying to remember everyone’s sizes. Do keep a list in the Notes app for when you’re shopping.
The Family Tailor’s Measurement Book
Trying to remember the correct shoe size for three different kids and your partner while you’re in the middle of a busy store is a recipe for a stress-induced headache. The Notes app is the perfect place to keep a simple, shared “Family Tailor’s Measurement Book.” You can have a single, running note with a list of everyone’s current clothing and shoe sizes. It’s a simple, centralized source of truth that you can pull up in a second, turning a frustrating guessing game into a confident, efficient shopping trip.
The #1 hack for getting your kids to do chores is using a shared Reminders list that they can check off.
The Digital Chore Chart on the Fridge
A shared “Chores” list in the Reminders app is the modern, digital version of the classic chore chart on the refrigerator, but it’s smarter. You can assign specific chores to specific children and even set them to repeat every week. As they complete their tasks, they get the deep, satisfying dopamine hit of checking something off a list. It’s a simple, collaborative, and surprisingly effective tool for bringing a sense of order and accountability to your family’s daily tasks.
I’m just going to say it: Sharing your location with your partner is a good thing for safety and coordination.
The Shared ‘Team Map’ for Your Family
Some people view location sharing as a lack of trust. This is a mistake. In a healthy relationship, it should be seen as a powerful tool for teamwork and safety. It’s the shared “team map.” It replaces a dozen “Where are you?” and “When will you be home?” texts with a single, silent glance. It allows for seamless coordination—”I see you’re near the grocery store, can you grab milk?”—and it provides a profound sense of peace of mind, knowing that your partner is safe and on their way.
The reason you can’t control your kid’s device is because you haven’t set yourself as the “Organizer” in Family Sharing.
The Captain of the Family’s Digital Ship
In every Family Sharing group, there is one person who is the “Family Organizer.” This person is the captain of the family’s digital ship. They are the one who sets up the shared payment method, who approves the “Ask to Buy” requests, and who has the authority to manage the Screen Time settings for the children. If you are trying to manage your child’s device and it’s not working, the most likely reason is that you are just a “crew member,” and you need to be the “captain” to steer the ship.
If you’re still not using a shared family calendar, you’re losing the battle against scheduling chaos.
The Master Schedule vs. a Dozen Conflicting Notes
Trying to manage a busy family’s schedule without a shared calendar is like a sports team trying to play a season with every player keeping their own, separate, and secret schedule. It is a guaranteed recipe for chaos, missed appointments, and constant conflict. A shared iCloud Calendar is the master schedule in the locker room. It is the one single, undisputed source of truth for the entire team. It is the fundamental tool for transforming a chaotic group of individuals into a coordinated and successful family unit.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that setting up a new iPhone for a child is difficult.
The Simple, Guided Tour vs. Building from Scratch
The idea that setting up a new iPhone for a child is a complex, technical nightmare is a complete lie. Apple has designed the process to be a simple, step-by-step, guided tour. It holds your hand through creating a child’s Apple ID, setting up Screen Time, and choosing the initial restrictions. You are not being asked to build the house from scratch; you are being led through a simple, well-lit series of rooms and asked to flip a few switches. It’s a process designed for parents, not programmers.
I wish I knew how to use “Driving Focus” to prevent my new teenage driver from texting and driving.
The Phone That Automatically Goes Silent in the Car
The “Driving Focus” is the single most important feature for the parent of a new teenage driver. It’s a powerful safety net. When the iPhone senses that it is in a moving car, it can automatically silence all incoming notifications and even send an auto-reply to texts. It removes the powerful, almost irresistible temptation for a new driver to look at their phone. It’s a brilliant piece of technology that can help to enforce safe habits and can be a literal lifesaver.
99% of parents don’t teach their kids about phishing and online scams.
‘Don’t Take Candy from Strangers’ 2.0
We spend years teaching our children the crucial lesson of not taking candy from a stranger in a white van. Yet, we often fail to teach them the 21st-century equivalent of this lesson: don’t click on strange links from a stranger in an email. A phishing scam is the digital white van. It looks enticing, it promises a free prize, but its only goal is to lure you in and steal your valuable information. It is one of the most important and most overlooked safety lessons of modern parenting.
This one small habit of having a “no phones at the dinner table” rule will change your family’s connection.
The Daily, ‘Unplugged’ Family Meeting
The dinner table can be one of the last sacred, unplugged spaces for a family. A strict “no phones” rule is not about punishment; it’s about creating a small, daily oasis of real, human connection. It’s like a mandatory, daily, 20-minute meeting where the only agenda is to look at each other, to listen to each other, and to share a piece of your day. This small, consistent habit of choosing presence over pixels can have a more profound and positive impact on your family’s bond than almost any other rule.
Use the “white noise” feature on your iPhone to help your baby sleep, not a separate sound machine.
The Built-in Sound Machine
Many parents buy expensive, dedicated sound machines to help their baby sleep. But a professional-grade, high-quality sound machine is secretly built right into your iPhone’s accessibility settings. The “Background Sounds” feature can play a continuous, looping track of calming noises like rain, a stream, or simple white noise. It’s a fantastic, free, and minimalist solution that can soothe a fussy baby and mask distracting household noises, all from the device that is already in your pocket.
Stop just giving your old iPhone to your kid. Do completely erase it and set it up as a new device with their own Apple ID.
The Tailored Hand-Me-Down vs. Your Old Work Suit
Just handing your old iPhone to your child is like giving them your old work suit. It doesn’t fit them, it’s full of your personal “stuff” in the pockets, and it gives them access to things they shouldn’t have. The proper way is to first perform a “factory reset,” which is like professionally cleaning and emptying the suit. You then set it up as a brand new device, with their own child Apple ID. This is like having the suit perfectly tailored to their size, creating a safe and personalized fit.
Stop trying to be the “cool” parent. Do check your kid’s privacy settings in their social media apps.
Checking the Locks on Their Digital Bedroom Window
Being the “cool” parent who allows your child complete, unchecked freedom online is not cool; it’s neglectful. A crucial part of modern parenting is to be the responsible landlord of your child’s digital life. This means sitting down with them and regularly checking the “locks” on their digital bedroom window—the privacy settings within their social media apps. It’s about ensuring that their posts are not public, that strangers can’t contact them, and that their location is not being broadcast to the entire world.
The #1 secret for a secure family is enabling two-factor authentication on every Apple ID.
The Two-Key System for the Family’s Digital Vault
Every Apple ID is a key to a private, personal room in your family’s digital “house.” Two-factor authentication is like upgrading every single one of those doors to a high-security bank vault door that requires two separate keys to be turned at the same time. Even if a thief manages to steal a person’s password (the first key), they will be completely unable to open the door because they do not have the second, physical key (the six-digit code that is sent to a trusted device).
I’m just going to say it: It’s okay to not respond to the family group chat immediately.
The Town Hall Meeting That Never Ends
A family group chat is like a town hall meeting that is in session 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is not your job to be a full-time, active participant in that meeting. You are not a bad family member if you do not have an immediate opinion on a funny cat photo or a minor logistical question. It is perfectly acceptable to treat the group chat as an asynchronous bulletin board—a place to catch up on information when you have the time, not a constant, real-time demand on your attention.
The reason your kids are seeing inappropriate ads is because you haven’t enabled “Limit Ad Tracking.”
The ‘No Soliciting’ Sign for Your Kid’s Digital Life
Allowing ad tracking on your child’s phone is like sending them out into the world with a sign on their back that says, “Please follow me and show me ads for whatever you think I’m interested in.” This can lead them down some strange and inappropriate rabbit holes. Enabling the “Limit Ad Tracking” (or its modern equivalent) and the content restrictions is like putting a big, clear “NO SOLICITING” sign on their digital front door. It’s a powerful tool for reducing the amount of creepy, targeted advertising they are exposed to.
If you’re still texting your spouse to see if they’ve left work, you’re losing the convenience of location-based notifications.
The Automatic ‘On My Way!’ Text
Setting up a location-based notification in the Find My app is like giving your partner a magical, automatic “On My Way!” text. You can create a simple rule that says, “Notify my spouse the moment I leave my office.” Then, you can just pack up and go. The moment your phone crosses the digital “fence” around your workplace, your partner will get a quiet, automatic notification. It’s a seamless and brilliant piece of automation that ends the daily “Have you left yet?” text forever.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that kids need the latest iPhone model.
The Learner Driver Who ‘Needs’ a Ferrari
Believing that your child needs a brand new, top-of-the-line iPhone is like believing that a new, 16-year-old driver needs a brand new Ferrari to learn how to drive. It is a ridiculous, unnecessary, and financially irresponsible idea. A child needs a simple, reliable, and affordable “used Honda”—an older, hand-me-down, or refurbished iPhone SE. It can do all the essential “driving”—calling, texting, and using educational apps—perfectly well, without the huge cost and risk of the high-performance supercar.
I wish I knew about the “Memories” feature in Photos to create beautiful family videos automatically.
The Family’s Personal, Automatic Filmmaker
You have thousands of beautiful photos and video clips of your family, but they are all just sitting in a digital shoebox. The “Memories” feature in the Photos app is like having a talented, personal filmmaker living in your phone. It will automatically and intelligently sift through your library, find your best shots from a recent vacation or a birthday party, and then edit them together into a beautiful, poignant, and shareable short film, complete with music and titles. It’s a brilliant feature that brings your family’s story to life.
99% of families don’t have an emergency plan that includes how to communicate if cell service is down.
The Family Fire Drill Plan
Every family has a fire drill plan for their house—”meet at the big tree across the street.” But very few families have a “digital fire drill” plan. In a major natural disaster, the cell towers can go down, and your primary method of communication will be gone. A good plan includes having a designated, out-of-state friend who can act as a central “check-in” point, and knowing how to use text messages, which often work when calls don’t. It’s a crucial piece of modern family preparedness.
This one small action of setting up Medical ID for everyone in the family will prepare you for emergencies.
The ‘Emergency Bracelet’ for Every Family Member
A Medical ID on an iPhone is the digital equivalent of an emergency medical bracelet. It is the single most important safety feature on the entire device. Taking the time to sit down and set one up for every single member of your family—your kids, your partner, and yourself—is like fitting everyone with their own personalized, life-saving bracelet. It’s a simple, 15-minute action that ensures that in a worst-case scenario, first responders will have the critical information they need to help each and every one of you.
Use Apple Cash Family to send allowance to your kids, not just handing them cash.
The Digital Piggy Bank and Debit Card
Apple Cash Family is the modern, digital piggy bank. You can send your child their weekly allowance instantly and digitally, with no need for cash. It then acts like a secure, pre-paid “debit card” that they can use with Apple Pay to buy things in stores or online. You get a notification every time they spend money, and you can even lock their account if you need to. It’s a fantastic, controlled, and educational tool for teaching your children about digital money and responsible spending.
Stop just saying “no” to a game. Do use the App Store’s age ratings and reviews to make an informed decision.
The Movie Rating System for Apps
Just saying “no” to a game without a good reason is a recipe for an argument. The App Store is not a lawless jungle; it has a clear, easy-to-understand movie rating system. Every single app and game has an age rating, like “4+” or “12+,” and a detailed description of its content, such as “Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence.” Using these tools is like checking the movie rating before you take your child to the theater. It allows you to make a calm, consistent, and informed decision, not an arbitrary one.
Stop worrying about what your kids are watching on YouTube. Do use the YouTube Kids app with its enhanced parental controls.
The Walled Garden vs. The Entire, Wild Jungle
The main YouTube app is the entire, wild, and unpredictable jungle of the internet. You never know what your child might stumble upon. The YouTube Kids app is a beautiful, safe, and carefully curated walled garden within that jungle. The content is filtered, the comments are turned off, and you, the parent, have a powerful set of controls to choose the specific channels or types of videos your child can see. It provides all the fun and educational content of YouTube, but within a much safer and more controlled environment.
The #1 hack for a clean house is taking a photo of your kids’ artwork and then recycling the physical copy.
The Digital Art Gallery vs. The Cluttered Refrigerator
Your child’s artistic output can be overwhelming, quickly turning your refrigerator into a cluttered, multi-layered mess of paper. The secret to a clean house is to become the curator of a digital art gallery. When a new piece of art comes home, you treat it with respect. You take a beautiful, well-lit, high-quality photograph of it. You then save this perfect, digital copy to a special “Art Gallery” shared album. You have now preserved the memory forever, and you are free to recycle the physical paper, guilt-free.
I’m just going to say it: A family group chat with more than 5 people is pure chaos.
The Quiet Dinner Party vs. The Chaotic Town Hall Meeting
A group chat with a few people is a pleasant, manageable dinner party conversation. A family group chat with a dozen aunts, uncles, and cousins is a loud, chaotic, and completely overwhelming town hall meeting. There are five different conversations happening at once, a constant stream of notifications, and it’s impossible to follow any single thread. For large groups, these chats are a deeply inefficient and stressful form of communication. They are a necessary evil, but they are not a pleasant place to be.
The reason you can’t find the family photos is because you’re not using a shared family album.
The Central, Official Family Photo Album
After a family gathering, everyone has a few photos on their own, separate phones. They are scattered across a dozen different “shoeboxes.” A shared iCloud Photo Album is the central, official, and collaborative family photo album on the coffee table. Everyone in the family can be invited to add their best shots to this one single, beautiful location. It creates a permanent, organized, and high-quality home for your shared memories, ending the chaos of trying to track down photos from a dozen different people.
If you’re still using different messaging apps to talk to different family members, you’re losing the simplicity of iMessage.
The Private Family Intercom System vs. a Dozen Different Phones
Using a mix of iMessage, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger to talk to your own family is like having a dozen different, incompatible telephone systems in your own house. It’s a confusing and inefficient mess. If your family is all on iPhones, iMessage is the clean, simple, and perfectly integrated private intercom system for your house. It keeps all your family communication in one single, secure, and feature-rich place. It is the simple, elegant solution to a problem that many people create for themselves.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that Screen Time is about spying; it’s about teaching healthy habits.
The Training Wheels on a Bicycle
Screen Time is not a tool for spying. It is the digital equivalent of putting training wheels on your child’s first bicycle. The training wheels are not there because you don’t trust your child; they are there to provide a safe and stable environment while they learn the crucial life skills of balance and control. Screen Time provides the same safe “balance” for the digital world, helping your child to develop the healthy habits and the self-control they will need to one day ride safely on their own.
I wish I knew how to set app-specific time limits for my kids sooner.
The Timer on the Video Game Console
Setting a general, overall screen time limit is a good start. But setting app-specific limits is the next level of smart parenting. It’s like putting a specific, one-hour timer on the video game console, while leaving the “digital library” (their educational apps) open all day. This allows you to set reasonable boundaries around the “junk food” of the digital world—the games and the social media—without restricting your child’s access to the healthy, “educational” content that can help them learn and grow.
99% of parents don’t realize they can restrict their kids from changing their passcode or account settings.
The Master Key to the House Rules
In Screen Time, you can set up a powerful set of house rules for your child’s device. But a clever child might try to find a way to change those rules. Deep in the Content & Privacy Restrictions is the master lock. It’s like having the one, single master key to the rule book. You can restrict your child’s ability to change their own passcode, to change their account settings, or even to change the volume limit. It’s the powerful, final step that ensures that the house rules you’ve set cannot be secretly undone.
This one small habit of reviewing your Family Sharing subscriptions will save you money on services you don’t use.
Checking the Family’s Monthly Bills
Family Sharing makes it easy to share subscriptions, but it also makes it easy to forget what you’re paying for. A quick, monthly review of your shared subscriptions is like sitting down at the kitchen table to go over the family’s monthly bills. You might discover that you are still paying for a service that no one has used in six months, or that two different family members have accidentally subscribed to the same thing. It’s a simple, five-minute financial check-up that can save you a surprising amount of money.
Use the Intercom feature on HomePods to call everyone to dinner, not yelling through the house.
The PA System for Your House
The HomePod’s Intercom feature is like having a professional PA system built into the walls of your entire house. Instead of having to shout up the stairs that dinner is ready, you can simply say, “Hey Siri, intercom everyone dinner is ready!” and your voice will play on the HomePod in the living room and in your kids’ bedrooms upstairs. It’s a powerful and fun feature that turns your separate smart speakers into a single, unified communication system for your family, and it saves your vocal cords.
Stop letting your kids use your phone for photos. Do get them an old iPod touch or iPhone to use as their own camera.
Their Own ‘Kiddie’ Camera vs. Your Expensive Professional One
Letting your child use your brand new iPhone as their personal camera is like letting a budding artist use your expensive, professional-grade DSLR. It’s a risky proposition. A much better solution is to give them an old, hand-me-down iPod touch or an old iPhone that is no longer activated. It’s the perfect, durable “kiddie” camera. It allows them to explore their creativity, take as many blurry photos as they want, and feel a sense of ownership, all without putting your thousand-dollar lifeline at risk.
Stop just hoping your kids are safe online. Do have open conversations about cyberbullying and online privacy.
Teaching Them to Drive vs. Just Handing Them the Keys
Giving your child a smartphone without talking to them about the dangers of the internet is like handing a 16-year-old the keys to a powerful car without a single driving lesson. You are handing them a tool with a huge potential for both freedom and for danger. The technology of parental controls is the “seatbelt.” But the open, honest, and ongoing conversations about cyberbullying, about privacy, and about being a good digital citizen are the actual “driving lessons.” They are not optional.
The #1 secret for a successful family vacation is a shared packing list in the Notes app.
The Collaborative Family Suitcase Plan
A shared note is the ultimate tool for a stress-free family packing experience. It’s like having a single, magical, and collaborative master plan for the family’s suitcases. Anyone can add an item to the list, from “sunscreen” to “Teddy bear.” You can add checklists so that people can satisfyingly check things off as they are packed. It’s a simple, centralized, and perfectly synchronized tool that ensures that no essential item, or beloved stuffed animal, is ever left behind in the chaotic rush to the airport.
I’m just going to say it: You should have your older parents share their location with you for their safety.
The ‘Peace of Mind’ Safety Net
For an aging parent, sharing their location is not about a loss of independence; it is a powerful, proactive safety net. It is a quiet, background feature that provides a huge amount of peace of mind for their adult children. It replaces a dozen worried, “Are you okay, I haven’t heard from you?” phone calls with a single, silent, and reassuring glance at a map. And with powerful features like Fall Detection on the Apple Watch, it is a crucial part of a modern, technological safety plan for the people you love most.
The reason your Wi-Fi is slow is because every family member is streaming video on their own device at the same time.
The Traffic Jam on the Home’s Internet Highway
Your home’s Wi-Fi connection is like a multi-lane highway with a fixed speed limit. If there is one car on the highway, it can go very fast. But when every single member of your family is in their own “car” on that same highway at the same time, and they are all trying to stream their own, separate, high-definition “movie,” the result is an inevitable, frustrating, and bumper-to-bumper traffic jam. The highway is not broken; it is simply overwhelmed by the massive amount of data traffic.
If you’re still not using a password manager for family accounts, you’re risking a security nightmare.
The Shared, Secure Lockbox for All the Family’s Keys
Your family has dozens of shared online accounts—Netflix, Amazon, the electricity bill. Keeping all those passwords on a sticky note is a security nightmare. A shared vault in a password manager is like a single, incredibly secure, and fireproof lockbox where you can store all the shared “keys” for the family’s digital life. Everyone in the family can be given the combination to the one lockbox, giving them secure and easy access to all the shared accounts, without ever having to text a password again.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that your kids will hate you for setting screen time limits.
The Kid Who Hates Bedtime
Kids will almost certainly complain about screen time limits. They will protest, they will negotiate, and they will tell you it’s unfair. This is the exact same behavior they exhibit when you tell them it’s bedtime. They hate bedtime, too. But you enforce a bedtime because you know, as the parent, that it is essential for their health, their mood, and their development. Screen time limits are the “bedtime” for the digital world. They might not like the rule, but it is a necessary and loving boundary.
I wish I knew that I could use my iPhone to set up an Apple Watch for a family member who doesn’t have an iPhone.
The Powerful Remote Control for Their Health
Family Setup is a brilliant and underrated feature. It allows you to use your iPhone to set up and manage an Apple Watch for a family member—like a child or an older parent—who doesn’t have their own iPhone. It’s like giving them a powerful, stand-alone “remote control” for their health and safety. The watch will get its own phone number, and you can manage their contacts and their settings, giving them the core benefits of connection and safety features like Fall Detection, without the complexity of a full-blown smartphone.
99% of parents don’t use “Content & Privacy Restrictions” to prevent explicit language and music.
The ‘PG’ Filter for Your Kid’s Digital World
The “Content & Privacy Restrictions” are the powerful, system-wide “PG” filter for your child’s iPhone. It’s not just about blocking websites. It’s a set of master controls that can prevent them from hearing explicit language in songs and podcasts, can block movies and TV shows that are above a certain age rating, and can even prevent Siri from searching the web for inappropriate words. It’s a robust and granular set of tools for creating an age-appropriate media environment that goes far beyond just the web browser.
This one small action of creating a shared “Family” focus mode will allow urgent calls from family members to come through.
The Velvet Rope with a Family VIP List
When you turn on your “Work” or “Sleep” Focus Mode, it’s like putting a big “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door. But what if there’s a real family emergency? A shared “Family” Focus Mode is like giving the bouncer at your velvet rope a special, “always let these people in” VIP list. You can set it so that even when you are in your most focused, locked-down state, a call or a message from your partner or your children will still break through the barrier, ensuring that your most important people can always reach you.
Use the “Markup” tool to have your kids draw on photos, not using a messy third-party app.
The Digital Coloring Book You Always Have With You
The built-in Markup tool is a fantastic and simple digital coloring book that is hiding in your Photos app. You can open any photo, tap “Edit,” and then tap the Markup icon. This gives you a simple set of colored pencils, markers, and crayons that your child can use to draw silly mustaches on your face or to add a rainbow to a landscape. It’s a quick, easy, and free way to have a moment of creative fun, without having to download a separate, ad-filled, third-party app.
Stop letting your kids have their iPhones in their bedrooms at night. Do create a central charging station in the living room.
The ‘Phone Hotel’ Where All Devices Sleep
The bedroom should be a sanctuary for sleep, not a 24/7 portal to the internet. A central family charging station—a simple power strip in the living room or the kitchen—is like a mandatory, shared “hotel” where every single device in the family (including the parents’) must “sleep” at night. This one simple, physical house rule is the single most effective way to prevent late-night scrolling, to improve your family’s sleep hygiene, and to reclaim the bedroom as a screen-free space.
Stop trying to remember every school event. Do subscribe to the school’s calendar on your iPhone.
The School’s Schedule, Magically Appearing on Your Wall
Most schools now have a public, online calendar for all their events. You can “subscribe” to this calendar. It’s like giving your magical kitchen wall calendar permission to talk to the school’s main office. Now, every single school event—the parent-teacher conferences, the bake sales, the holidays—will automatically and magically appear on your personal calendar, complete with all the correct times and details. It’s a brilliant and simple way to ensure that you are always in sync with the school’s schedule, no manual entry required.
The #1 hack for helping older relatives with their iPhone is using the Screen Sharing feature in FaceTime.
The ‘Let Me Drive’ Button for Their Phone
Trying to troubleshoot a tech problem with a parent or grandparent over the phone is a special kind of nightmare. Screen Sharing on FaceTime is the ultimate “peace-keeping” tool. While on a FaceTime call, they can tap a button that lets you see their screen, live, on your phone. You can then guide them, “Okay, now tap on the green button in the top corner,” because you can see exactly what they are seeing. It’s an incredibly useful feature that can turn a frustrating, hour-long ordeal into a simple, two-minute fix.
I’m just going to say it: Giving a child an iPhone is a huge responsibility that most parents are not prepared for.
The Keys to a High-Performance Car
Giving a child their first iPhone is not like giving them a new toy. It is the modern equivalent of handing a 13-year-old the keys to a high-performance sports car. You are giving them a tool with a massive potential for freedom, for connection, and for learning. But you are also giving them a tool with an equally massive potential for danger, for distraction, and for making serious, life-altering mistakes. It is a profound responsibility that requires a “driver’s education” of rules, conversations, and boundaries before they ever get behind the wheel.
The reason your iCloud storage is full is because of the thousands of photos and videos your family has taken.
The Family’s Digital Attic Is Overflowing
Your shared iCloud storage plan is the digital attic for your entire family. Every single photo, video, and backup from every single person is being stored in this one, central space. The reason it’s full is not a mystery. It is the natural and predictable result of four or five different people all constantly adding their own “boxes” of memories to the same room. It’s a sign that it might be time to either do some “spring cleaning” or to simply upgrade to a bigger attic.
If you’re still yelling at your kids to pause their game, you’re losing the ability to turn off the Wi-Fi from your phone.
The Master ‘Lights Out’ Switch for the Digital World
Many modern Wi-Fi systems have an app that acts as the master control panel for your home’s internet. It’s the digital equivalent of the master fuse box for your house. Yelling at your kids to get off their game is a battle you will often lose. But from your own phone, you can be the master electrician. With a single tap, you can “cut the power” to a specific device, or even pause the internet for the entire house. It is the ultimate, non-negotiable “lights out” switch for a digital argument.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that you need to be a tech expert to keep your kids safe online.
You Don’t Need to Be a Mechanic to Teach Your Kid to Drive Safely
You do not need to be a certified automotive mechanic to teach your teenager how to be a safe and responsible driver. You just need to understand the basic rules of the road, the importance of a seatbelt, and the dangers of speeding. The same is true for the digital world. You don’t need to be a computer programmer. You just need to use the simple, built-in “seatbelts” (the parental controls) and to have open, honest conversations about the “rules of the road” (online safety and privacy).
I wish I knew about the “Clean Up” suggestions in photos to delete all the blurry pictures my kids took.
The Assistant Who Throws Out the Bad Takes
When your child gets ahold of your phone, they often take a hundred photos of the same, blurry subject. The “Clean Up” suggestions in the Photos app are like having a smart, efficient photo assistant. The app will automatically find these bursts of similar or blurry photos and group them together for you. It will then intelligently suggest the one “best” shot and offer to delete all the other bad “takes” in a single tap. It’s a brilliant, time-saving tool for cleaning up the joyful chaos of a child’s impromptu photoshoot.
99% of parents don’t use the “Downtime” feature on their own phones to model good behavior.
Practicing What You Preach
Setting “Downtime” for your children’s phones is an act of responsible parenting. Setting “Downtime” for your own phone is an act of leadership. It is the digital equivalent of “practice what you preach.” By having your own phone automatically lock you out of distracting apps after 9 PM, you are not only improving your own sleep and well-being, but you are also modeling the healthy, balanced behavior that you are trying to instill in your children. It shows that the rules are not a punishment; they are a family value.
This one small habit of putting your phone away when your kids are talking to you will change your relationship with them.
Closing Your Laptop When Your Child Enters Your Office
When your child walks into your office to ask you a question, the most powerful and respectful thing you can do is to close your laptop, turn, and give them your full, undivided attention. When you are at home, your phone is your “laptop.” When your child starts to talk to you, the simple, physical act of putting your phone down, face down, on the table sends a clear and powerful message: “You are more important to me than anything that is happening on this screen.”
Use the “Bedtime” stories in the Calm or Headspace app to help your kids fall asleep, not just another cartoon.
The High-Tech, Soothing Storybook
A stimulating, brightly-colored cartoon is the opposite of what a child’s brain needs before bed. A “sleep story” from an app like Calm or Headspace is the modern, high-tech version of a classic, soothing bedtime story. They feature calming voices, gentle music, and simple, relaxing narratives that are specifically designed to help a child’s mind wind down and drift off to sleep. It’s a healthy, screen-based alternative that uses technology to encourage sleep, not to fight it.
Stop letting the App Store be a free-for-all. Do curate a list of approved apps for your kids.
The Librarian Who Helps Your Child Pick Good Books
Letting your child download any app they want is like letting them run wild in a giant library and check out any book they see, from a picture book to a graphic horror novel. A much better approach is to be the family librarian. By using “Ask to Buy” and by researching apps together, you can help your child to build a curated, high-quality “library” of age-appropriate, educational, and creative apps. You are not just a gatekeeper; you are a trusted guide to the good “books.”
Stop letting your toddler watch YouTube on your phone. Do use the guided access feature to lock them into an educational app.
The Digital Playpen vs. The Wild Jungle
Handing your toddler your unlocked phone to watch YouTube is like placing them at the edge of a vast, wild, and unpredictable jungle. The algorithm can lead them from a happy cartoon to a strange and inappropriate video in just a few taps. Using Guided Access to lock them into a single, trusted, educational app—like a puzzle game or a digital coloring book—is like placing them in a safe, beautiful, and completely enclosed digital playpen. They can explore and have fun, but they cannot wander off into the dangerous jungle.
The #1 secret for a happy family is using your iPhones to connect, not to isolate.
The Tool for Building Bridges, Not Walls
An iPhone is a powerful, dual-use tool. It can be a brick that you use to build a wall around yourself, isolating you from the people in the same room. Or, it can be a trowel that you use to build a bridge. By using it for a shared game on the TV, for a collaborative playlist in the car, or for a shared family photo album, you can use the exact same device to create moments of connection, laughter, and shared experience. The secret is in the intention, not the technology itself.
I’m just going to say it: The family photo is never going to be perfect, so just take the picture.
The ‘Perfect’ Painting vs. The Candid Snapshot
The quest for the “perfect” family photo—where everyone is looking at the camera, everyone is smiling, and no one is blinking—is a stressful and often fruitless pursuit of an imaginary ideal. It’s like trying to paint a perfect, formal portrait. The real, beautiful, and authentic memories are often in the messy, candid snapshots in between. Don’t let the pursuit of the imaginary, perfect portrait stop you from capturing the beautiful, chaotic, and wonderfully imperfect reality of your family’s life. Just take the picture.
The reason you’re always late is because you’re not using the “Time to Leave” alerts in the Calendar app.
The Personal Assistant Who Watches the Traffic
When you have an appointment in your calendar, you often just guess when you need to leave. A “Time to Leave” alert is like having a brilliant, personal assistant who is constantly watching the live traffic conditions for you. Based on your destination and the real-time traffic, the assistant will give you a proactive tap on the shoulder and say, “Sir, if you wish to arrive on time for your 3 PM meeting, you should probably leave now.” It’s a brilliant, stress-reducing feature that takes all the guesswork out of your departure.
If you’re still paying for extra iCloud storage for every family member, you’re losing money by not using the 2TB family plan.
Renting Four Small Storage Units vs. One Big One
Paying for a separate, small iCloud storage plan for every member of your family is like renting four separate, small, and overpriced storage units. A much smarter and more cost-effective solution is to rent the single, huge, and much cheaper “family-sized” storage unit—the 2TB iCloud+ plan. It provides a massive amount of shared space for a fraction of the total cost, and everyone still gets their own private, locked-off section within that one big unit. It’s a simple switch that can save you a surprising amount of money.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that your kids know what’s best for them when it comes to technology.
The Child Who Thinks Candy is a Balanced Diet
Asking your child how much screen time they think they should have is like asking them to design their own nutritional plan. They will, with the best of intentions, create a diet that consists of 90% candy and 10% ice cream. A child’s brain is not yet fully equipped to handle the powerful, dopamine-driven allure of modern technology. They do not know what is best for them. It is the parent’s job, and their responsibility, to be the loving, and sometimes unpopular, “nutritionist” who ensures they get a balanced digital diet.
I wish I knew about the importance of setting expectations and rules before I gave my child their first iPhone.
The ‘Driver’s Ed’ Course Before You Get the Keys
Giving your child their first iPhone without a pre-negotiated set of rules is like handing a 16-year-old the keys to a brand new car without ever making them go to a single “driver’s ed” class. It is an act of profound and risky optimism. The “driver’s ed” for a first phone is a clear, written contract that outlines the rules and the consequences: where the phone can be used, when it has to be turned off, and what is considered responsible digital citizenship.
99% of parents don’t realize their kids can bypass Screen Time restrictions with a simple trick.
The Kid Who Knows the Code to the Cookie Jar Lock
Screen Time is the lock on the digital cookie jar. But clever kids are like tiny, persistent safecrackers. They will share secrets and watch YouTube videos to find the one, simple trick—like changing the time zone on their device—that can fool the lock and give them unlimited access to the cookies. It is a constant, evolving chess match. The lock is a powerful deterrent, but it is not a foolproof prison. It requires regular check-ins and open conversations to stay one step ahead of the safecracker.
This one small action of subscribing to a family-friendly news app will help your kids become more informed citizens.
The ‘Kid’s Edition’ of the Newspaper
The adult news can be a scary, complex, and overwhelming place for a child. A family-friendly news app is like subscribing to the “kid’s edition” of a major newspaper. It presents real, current events in an age-appropriate, engaging, and easy-to-understand format. It can help to spark curiosity, to build media literacy, and to start important conversations about the world around them. It’s a fantastic tool for raising a generation of informed, curious, and engaged global citizens, without exposing them to the harsh realities of the adult news cycle.
Use your iPhone to create memories with your family, not just to document them.
Being the Director of the Movie, Not Just the Cameraman
It is easy to get so caught up in being the family’s official “cameraman” that you forget to be a character in the movie. Your job as a parent is not just to perfectly document every single moment of your child’s life from behind a screen. Your job is to be present, to be in the moment, and to be the “director” who is creating the fun, loving, and engaging experiences that are worth documenting in the first place. Put the camera down and be a part of the scene.