A young child with an iPad needs three things from it: only the apps you chose, no way to buy things by accident, and a clear point where playing stops. iPadOS has free, built-in tools for all three.
The steps are for iPadOS 27 and its new parental controls. On iPadOS 26 or earlier, the limits are called Downtime and App Limits, under Settings › Screen Time. Apple’s Screen Time guide links to those older steps too.
First, whose iPad is it?
Two setups are common:
- A shared iPad, signed in to a grown-up’s Apple Account. Settings on the iPad itself do the work.
- Your child’s own iPad, signed in to their own Child Account in your Family Sharing group. Apple suggests managing it from your own iPhone or iPad.
Guided Access: keep the iPad in one app
Guided Access keeps the iPad in one app until you end it, and it can stop after a set time.
Set it up once:
- Open Settings › Accessibility › Guided Access, and turn on Guided Access.
- Tap Passcode Settings and set a Guided Access passcode your child doesn’t know. You can also let Face ID or Touch ID end a session.
Then, each time you hand the iPad over:
- Open the app your child will use.
- Triple-click the top button (or the Home button, on an iPad that has one).
- To switch off part of the screen, circle it with your finger. In Safari, circling the address bar keeps your child on the page you opened.
- Tap Session Settings (or Options) to block the buttons or set a Time Limit, then tap Start.
When time runs out, a “Time Expired” message fills the screen until you enter your passcode. To end a session early, triple-click again (double-click on iPadOS 18 or earlier), enter your passcode and tap End.
Screen Time: when, how long and what
Screen Time limits hold when you’re not in the room. For your child’s own iPad, open Settings › Family on your device and tap your child’s name. On a shared iPad, the same ideas are under Settings › Screen Time.
The main settings:
- Screen Time Schedules choose which apps can be used at which times of day, with separate weekday and weekend routines. You can also pause the device.
- Time Allowances set how long your child can use kinds of apps each day, such as games and entertainment, and a total for the whole device.
- Apps & Websites blocks or allows single apps and filters websites. For a Child Account under 13, Safari starts on Approved Websites Only, so you approve each new site (ages vary by country or region).
- Content & Privacy Restrictions set age ratings for music, films, TV and books, and can stop changes to settings such as Share My Location.
Then lock it: choose Lock Screen Time Settings in Settings › Screen Time and pick a four-digit passcode your child doesn’t know. For a Child Account, set it on your own device, not your child’s.
The new controls need your family’s devices on version 27 first (Apple’s update steps). On a shared iPad, check Share Across Devices in Settings › Screen Time › Manage Screen Time: while it’s on, limits set on the iPad also apply to your iPhone and Mac.
For how much time is right, and how to end it without tears, see our screen time plan.
Purchases: Ask to Buy, or block them
Many free apps sell things inside them. Two settings stop surprise purchases.
On your child’s own iPad, use Ask to Buy. Each new purchase or download, in-app purchases included, sends you a request. Approve it with your Apple Account or Face ID, or decline it and nothing is bought. To turn it on, open Settings › Family › your child’s name › Apps & Websites › Restrictions › Ask to Buy, then turn on Require Purchase Approval. Depending on where you live, it may already be on.
On a shared iPad, turn off in-app purchases. With Screen Time on, open Settings › Screen Time › Apps & Websites › App Store, tap In-app Purchases and choose Blocked (Apple’s steps). You can also ask for your password on every purchase in Settings › your name › Media & Purchases › Password Settings (Apple’s steps).
A home screen your child can find their way around
A tidy first page helps a child find their apps. Apple’s iPad User Guide covers moving apps, hiding pages and locking an app:
- Make one page for your child. Touch and hold the home screen background until the icons jiggle, then drag their apps onto one page. Tap Done.
- Put it first. While the icons jiggle, tap the dots at the bottom of the screen and drag your child’s page to the front.
- Hide the other pages. In the same view, remove the checkmark under each page to hide. The apps stay in App Library, so this tidies the screen but doesn’t lock anything.
- Lock grown-up apps. On a shared iPad, touch and hold an app such as Mail or Photos, then tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode).
What Little Paper does on its own
Little Paper, our drawing and puzzle app for iPhone and iPad, is coming soon to the App Store. It adds a few safeguards of its own:
- A grown-up check. Settings, sharing and purchases sit behind a math question, and anything that can buy asks a times-table question. It locks again when you leave the app or after 90 seconds without a touch.
- A break reminder. In Grown-ups › Play you can choose a reminder after 10, 20 or 30 minutes; it’s off until you pick one. A “Stretch time!” note then waits on the home shelf. It never locks the iPad.
- Ask to Buy. With Ask to Buy on, buying Little Paper Pro sends you a request.
- No ads, no accounts, no internet needed. Only buying or restoring Pro needs a connection.
A calm first game in Safari
Mazes and dot to dot on this site are calm first picks: no clock, no way to fail, no ads, and sound off until you turn it on. Open one in Safari, start Guided Access and circle the address bar. On a Child Account, your child may need to ask you to approve the site first.
The setup on one page
- Quick hand-over: Guided Access, with a time limit.
- Their own iPad: a Child Account, managed from your device.
- Limits: Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances, locked with a passcode.
- Spending: Ask to Buy, or In-app Purchases set to Blocked.
- Home screen: one page of their apps, first, with the others hidden.
