Parental Controls · Guide

Setting up your child's device — start to finish

By Ray & Renie Robinson, Aunty Bea  ·  Updated September 2026

About 30 minutes, including the backup. A couple of coffees. Worth it.

We'll walk through this together. Five steps, no surprises.

If something doesn't look right, pause — don't push through. Tap the Ask Aunty Bea button in your dashboard and Bea will help. If it's bigger than that, email support@auntybea.app and a real human will come back to you.

Before you start — what iOS 27 changes

iOS 27 arrived in September 2026 and it moves child accounts to the centre of how Apple handles kids' devices. Three things are worth knowing before you begin, because they change what you'll see on screen:

Step 1 of 5 — Create a Child Apple Account under your Family Sharing

What this does: Gives your child their own Apple Account, linked to your family. This is what makes everything else work.

If you already have one for them, skip to Step 2.

  1. On your own iPhone or iPad, open Settings → Family.
  2. Tap Add Member → Create Child Account, then tap Continue.
  3. Enter your child's name and birth date, and follow the onscreen instructions.
  4. Choose whether to ask for permission before purchases (we recommend yes).

What you'll see: Your child's name now appears in your Family list with a little child icon next to it.

Common stumble: If your child is over 13 (Australia) and already has their own Apple Account, you can invite it into your family instead of creating a new one — Settings → Family → Add Member → Invite Others.

On an older iPhone or iPad, Family Sharing sits one level deeper: Settings → your name → Family Sharing. Same buttons from there.

Take your time here — this is the foundation.

Step 2 of 5 — Back up the current device

What this does: Saves everything worth keeping so the reset doesn't feel like a loss.

Before you reset, make a backup so nothing important is lost.

We've written a simple guide: Before you reset — backup guide — covering what iOS saves automatically, what needs a manual hand, and the five-minute pre-reset checklist. Come back to this page when you're done.

Most people finish this in 5–10 minutes. Once this is done, the scary-sounding part is over.

Step 3 of 5 — Factory reset the iPad (or iPhone)

What this does: Wipes the device clean so you can set it up fresh as a child's device.

  1. On the device you're about to wipe: Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone/iPad.
  2. Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
  3. You'll be asked for the device passcode, and if an Apple Account is signed in, its password.
  4. Confirm. Then wait.

What you'll see: The device will restart into a black screen, then the Apple logo, then the "Hello" welcome screen you saw the day you first opened it. The black screen is normal — it takes about 5–10 minutes.

Common stumble: If the device asks for an Apple Account password you've forgotten, that's Activation Lock — you'll need to sign in with the account that's currently on the device before it'll reset. If you can't, account.apple.com has a "forgot password" flow.

You're nearly halfway through. This matters more than you think.

Step 4 of 5 — Quick Start: Set Up for a Child

This is the step that matters most — don't rush it.

What this does: Choosing "Set Up for a Child" tells iOS this device belongs to your child — and unlocks the protections Aunty Bea relies on.

  1. On the freshly-wiped device, you'll see the "Hello" screen. Tap to start.
  2. Choose your language and country.
  3. You'll be offered Quick Start — bring your own iPhone or iPad close to it.
  4. Your own device will prompt: "Set Up New iPad" — tap "Set Up for a Child in Your Family."
  5. Choose your child from your Family list.
  6. Follow the prompts. The two devices will talk to each other and transfer settings. You'll set up Screen Time during this flow — choose age-appropriate limits, you can adjust them later.
  7. When asked about iCloud, sign in with your child's Apple Account (the one you created in Step 1 or already had).

What you'll see: The setup will take about 10–15 minutes. When it's done, your child's iPad home screen appears — but now it's signed in as them, under your family.

Common stumble: If "Set Up for a Child in Your Family" doesn't appear as an option, the most common cause is that Family Sharing isn't fully set up on your own device, or your child's Apple Account hasn't been added to the family yet. Go back to Step 1.

On iOS 27, this is also where Apple offers Time Allowances — daily limits across categories like Entertainment, Games and Social Media, with suggested amounts based on your child's age. You can set them now or leave them and come back. They're separate from what Aunty Bea does, and the two work happily side by side.

Once you've selected your child in this step, you're on track. The rest is just finishing up.

Step 5 of 5 — Install Aunty Bea

What this does: Adds Aunty Bea's protection to the now-properly-set-up child device.

  1. On your child's device, open the App Store.
  2. Search for "Aunty Bea."
  3. Tap Install. On a Child Account this will send an approval request to you rather than installing straight away — on iOS 27 that applies to free apps as well as paid ones. Approve it from your own phone, or enter the Apple Account password on the device.
  4. Open Aunty Bea and follow the onboarding. Grant the Content Filter permission when asked — this is what lets Aunty Bea protect the device.

What you'll see: Aunty Bea's welcome flow, then a green "Protected" status once onboarding is complete. On your parent dashboard at auntybea.app, the device appears with a green dot.

That's it — you're done.

Renie's note

I won't pretend this part is fun. But I will tell you: once you've done it once, you won't second-guess it again. And the next time someone hands a second-hand iPad to a kid in your circle, you'll be the one who knows how to set it up properly. That's not nothing.

And from here on, you don't have to carry it all in your head anymore.

Where to go next

If you're still deciding what to put on the device, our guide on screen time limits vs content filtering explains why the two solve different problems. If you're weighing platforms, iPhone vs Android parental controls compares what each one gives you out of the box.

Frequently asked questions

It isn't about Screen Time — it's about whose Apple Account the iPad is signed into. If it's a grown-up's, iOS treats the whole device as an adult's, and the protections Aunty Bea relies on aren't available. Apple applies child status under Family Sharing at the moment of setup.
About 30 minutes all up, including the backup. The backup is usually 5–10 minutes, the reset another 5–10, and Apple's Set Up for a Child flow around 10–15.
Anything synced to iCloud comes back when they sign in on the fresh setup — photos, notes, reminders, contacts, Safari bookmarks and Messages. Things that only live on the device, like some game saves and Procreate drawings, need saving by hand first. Our backup guide walks through both.
A Child Account is required for under-13s and available up to 18. Ask to Buy now covers free app downloads as well as paid ones, so installing any app sends an approval request to you. The redesigned Screen Time, with Time Allowances and Schedules, needs every device in your family group on iOS 27.
Yes — their own Apple Account, inside your Family Sharing group. You create it from your own device: Settings → Family → Add Member → Create Child Account. If they're over 13 in Australia and already have one, you can invite it into the family instead.
No. You'll never scroll your child's messages in Aunty Bea. You get a plain-English summary of what looked risky, and how to talk about it.

Once the device is set up properly, Aunty Bea does the watching so you don't have to. You'll never scroll your child's messages. You get a plain-English summary of what looked risky, and how to talk about it.

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