PapaTime app iconPapaTimeGet app

How to Set Time Restrictions on iPad

By Slava Nikitin · Updated May 17, 2026

The 30-second answer

To set time restrictions on an iPad from your own device, set up Family Sharing with your child as a family member, then go to Settings > Family > [child's name] > Screen Time on your iPhone. From there you can configure Downtime, App Limits, Communication Limits, and Content & Privacy Restrictions, all of which sync to the child's iPad. Setup takes about 10 minutes per child.

Why use Family Sharing (instead of setting it up on the iPad directly)

You can set time restrictions directly on the iPad. Family Sharing adds two things:

  1. Remote management — change rules from your phone without touching the iPad.
  2. Ask to Buy — purchases require your approval.

If you want to set rules once and never touch the kid's iPad again, Family Sharing is the right path.

Step 1 — Set up Family Sharing

  1. On your iPhone, open Settings > [Your Name] > Family.
  2. Tap Set Up Your Family if you haven't already, or Add Member if your family exists.
  3. Choose Create Child Account if your child doesn't have an Apple ID, or Invite Person to add an existing one.
  4. Follow the prompts to enter their name and date of birth.
  5. Accept the Family Sharing Disclosure for child accounts.

Your child needs to be under 13 (or your region's age threshold) for the Create Child Account flow.

Step 2 — Open the child's Screen Time settings

  1. On your iPhone, open Settings > Family.
  2. Tap your child's name.
  3. Tap Screen Time.
  4. Tap Turn on Screen Time if it isn't already on.

Step 3 — Set Downtime

  1. Tap Downtime > toggle Scheduled on.
  2. Set start and end times (common pattern: 9pm-7am).
  3. Toggle Block at Downtime on for a hard stop.
  4. Tap Customize Days if you want different schedules weekdays vs. weekends.

Step 4 — Set App Limits

  1. Tap App Limits > Add Limit.
  2. Select a category (Games, Social) or specific apps.
  3. Set the daily allowance.
  4. Toggle Block at End of Limit on.
  5. Tap Add.

Step 5 — Configure Content & Privacy Restrictions

  1. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions > toggle on.
  2. Set iTunes & App Store Purchases restrictions — most parents block in-app purchases and require approval for installs.
  3. Set Content Restrictions — Music to Clean, Movies and TV to age-appropriate ratings, Web Content to Limit Adult Websites.
  4. Lock Privacy settings if you want to prevent the child from changing app permissions.

Step 6 — Enable Ask to Buy

This is the parental approval layer for purchases.

  1. Back in the child's Family settings, tap Ask to Buy > toggle on.
  2. Every time the child tries to download a paid app or make an in-app purchase, you'll get a notification to approve or deny.

This is separate from time restrictions — it routes every purchase request to you.

Step 7 — Set the Screen Time passcode

  1. Back in Screen Time for the child, tap Use Screen Time Passcode.
  2. Set a four-digit code that your child does not know.
  3. Tap Forgot Passcode? to register an Apple ID for recovery (use yours, not theirs).

Without this passcode, your child can change every setting you just configured.

What you've set up — and what it still requires from you

You now have time restrictions on the iPad that you control from your iPhone. The daily caps run on autopilot. Content is filtered. Purchases need your approval.

What still requires your attention: every "Ask for More Time" request. When the App Limit hits, your child can tap Ask for More Time, and your phone will buzz with a request to approve a 15-minute extension. Most parents start approving these in the moment, then realize three weeks later that they're approving 8-10 extensions a day, usually while distracted, usually with no real thought.

The configuration didn't fail. The pattern of you being the on-demand approver is what wears you down.

The other path — pre-approve a budget

Some parents flip the pattern. Instead of approving individual extensions, they pre-approve a daily ceiling — the total amount they would have approved if they'd been awake during every request — and let the kid manage when and how to spend it. The iPad still locks. The kid still has the same total time. The difference is the parent isn't the bottleneck for individual decisions.

PapaTime uses Apple's same FamilyControls APIs for the block itself. The setup is the same flavor as Family Sharing — set up once, manage from your phone — but it removes the "Ask for More Time" loop entirely. You configure rules in a Telegram chat, not a second iOS app.

See how the budget alternative works →

FAQ

Can I set time restrictions on an iPad without Family Sharing? Yes — configure Screen Time directly on the iPad. You lose remote management and Ask to Buy.

Does my child need their own Apple ID for Family Sharing? Yes — either create one through the Family Sharing flow or use one they already have.

Can my child leave the family group themselves? No — only the family organizer can remove members. Children under 13 cannot leave without the organizer's approval.

What if my child has a school-managed iPad? School-managed iPads use Apple School Manager or MDM and override personal Screen Time. Coordinate with their school IT.

Related