Setup & Manage your Daughter's iPhone to Reduce Distractions

Assuming that your daughter has an iPhone and that you also have an iPhone or iPad, you will be able to benefit from Apple’s incredibly powerful and effective parental controls features.

These features depend on the correct setup of the Apple ID:

• You will need your own Apple ID (do not share this Apple ID with anyone else)

• Once you are signed into your Apple ID – you can invite family members (such as your husband/wife/partner, or existing child apple IDs) and you can create Child Accounts

Benefits of the Apple Family:

• Share iCloud storage, Apple Music, Apple TV+ subscriptions

• Share media, books and apps that you have already purchased

• Family purchases will be charged to your payment method and you can approve all purchases.

• Location sharing is simple

  
  

Although you can do most things with a free Apple account, you will get the best experience if you pay for an Apple iCloud subscription. The $4.49 subscription tier should be adequate.

We recommend that families leverage Apple’s built-in parental controls and management tools to provide a safe, managed, and restricted experience on a student’s iPhone.

Parental control benefits include:

• Screen Time Management

  • Set daily time limits for apps or categories.

  • Schedule downtime when only essential apps (such as calls or messages) are available.

• Content & Privacy Restrictions

  • Block explicit content in music, TV shows, movies, and books.

  • Restrict web browsing to approved sites only.

  • Limit app downloads, in-app purchases, and account changes.

• Family Sharing & App Store Controls

  • Use “Ask to Buy” so students require parent approval before purchasing or downloading apps.

  • Share only the apps, subscriptions, and media you choose.

• Location & Safety

  • Enable “Find My” for location tracking.

  • Share location with family members for safety and accountability.

• Centralised Oversight

  • Parents can configure and manage restrictions remotely using their own Apple device.

  • All settings are protected with a passcode only parents know.

Getting started:

Open the Settings app and check that you are correctly signed into your own Apple ID. You should see your own name at the top of the settings. Apple have provided an excellent resource to assist you to get Apple Family Sharing setup here.

To get the most from Family Sharing I recommend that you apply the following simple steps to each child in your family:

1. Enable Ask To Buy – This will ensure that Apps cannot be added to the iPhone without your approval.

2. Activate Screen Time and enable:

   1. Downtime – disables non-essential apps at a schedule that suits you.

   2. Content & Privacy Restrictions/Allowed Apps & Features – consider disabling Safari. This will remove the internet browser from the phone and will greatly reduce risk. This is the biggest step to making the iPhone a ‘dumb phone’. You may also want to disable the iTunes Store and Mail.

   3. Allow Changes to: ‘Don’t Allow’ access to Account.

Explore the remainder of these settings and see if you can apply age appropriate options to your daughter’s iPhone.

These links will provide detailed instructions to assist:

• Get started with Screen Time on iPhone

• Use parental controls to manage your child’s iPhone or iPad

Creating a ‘dumb phone’ experience:

Below is a table with recommended steps to ensure that the iPhone becomes a distraction free device.

Step	What to do	Why it's important
1. Create or use a Child Apple ID and join a Family Sharing group	On your Apple device, create an account for your child, then add that account into your Family Sharing group with the role of “Child.”	This allows you, as organiser / guardian, to manage settings for the child’s device. (Apple Support)
2. Turn on Screen Time for the child’s account	Settings → iCloud → Family on your device. Then follow prompts to turn on Screen Time.	This is the central hub for managing app limits, content restrictions, etc. (Apple Support)
3. Schedule Downtime	In Screen Time: Downtime → choose start / end times when only certain apps (calls, messaging, etc.) are permitted.	Helps establish offline or rest periods (e.g. during school/work vs evening). (Apple Support)
4. Set App Limits	Screen Time → App Limits → add categories (games, social media, entertainment, etc.) or individual apps → set daily time limits.	Ensures balanced usage; prevents overuse of distracting apps. (Apple Support)
5. Turn on Ask To Buy	Family → daughter’s name → Ask To Buy	This will enforce your permission to required before any apps are added to the phone. Great for restricting social media apps and the first step to creating a ‘dumb phone’ experience.
6. Disable Safari	Family → daughter’s name → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → Allowed Apps & Features	Removing the internet browser is really important. This is the second step to ensuring the iPhone is distraction free.
7. Review Location settings	Family → daughter’s name → Location Sharing	Locate your daughter’s device at any time.