Setting Screen Time Limits on Your Child's Devices

ParentSEE shows you how your child's devices are used. It doesn't set limits or block apps. For that, use the controls built into the device. Here's where to find them.

iPhone and iPad: Apple Screen Time

Apple's Screen Time works through Family Sharing: your child needs their own Child Account in your family group. Then, on your own iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap Family, choose your child, and tap Screen Time. With it you can:

These are the names in Apple's newest software; devices that can't update keep the earlier Screen Time settings. Apple's guide: Use Screen Time to manage your child's iPhone or iPad.

Android and Chromebook: Google Family Link

Google Family Link is an app you install on your own phone, Android or iPhone. With it you can supervise your child's Google Account and their Android phone or Chromebook:

Family Link can't supervise an iPhone or iPad. Google's guide: Manage your child's screen time.

Agree on limits together

The AAP suggests making a family media plan and discussing it with your kids: screen-free times like dinner and before bed, and a plan for every member of the family, parents included. Revisit it often, for example at the start of each school year. Setting up controls together with your child, and explaining the reasons behind them, helps limits feel fair. As your child shows more responsibility, they can earn more independence.

Where ParentSEE fits

ParentSEE's Activity shows which apps and sites your child's devices reach, and when. On a device that reports time, such as an Android phone with the ParentSEE app, it also shows how long. It's a good way to see how a plan is going, and to talk about it together.