-This is my new iPad.
-iPads and kids go together like macaroni and cheese,
but more like if they ate macaroni
and cheese for breakfast
and they wanted it for lunch and also dinner.
-It's the cheesiest. -Yeah.
-I'm Washington Post Tech columnist Geoff Fowler,
and I have a bit of good news for parents
that are tired of battling with their kids
over spending too much time on the iPad.
Apple is finally adding some proper parental controls
called Screen Time iOS 12 arriving this fall.
If your kid is spending eight hours a day playing
Fortnite on his iPad,
now you'll get a readout on your iPhone
and be able to shut it down.
What took Apple so long?
Good question.
An even better question -- how do you use this stuff?
I wish the answer was more simple, but unfortunately,
Apple didn't actually make a kid-safe mode with iOS 12.
They just added some new controls and monitors.
Some of this stuff is really, really confusing,
and some of Apple's defaults are really, really terrible.
So I'm gonna pop into this iPad to help you get started.
Ah, the magic of computers.
The first thing to know -- this will all work better
if your kid has his own child
iCloud account linked to your parent one.
To do that, you'll need an Apple device
of your own, like an iPhone.
Go under Apple ID, and then Family
Sharing, and then Add a Family
Member to create your kid's account.
This means when they want to buy apps, books, or movies,
you'll have to give approval first,
and the bill will come to you.
Okay, back to your kid's iPad.
Set it up like a normal iPad,
but use your kid's own account and password.
You'll probably want to enable your kid's fingerprint.
Don't worry, you'll have other ways to control access.
And now a bit of bad news if you have more than one kid.
The Screen Time software only works with one owner per device.
Yep, Apple, just like your kids, thinks you're a human ATM
who can buy iPads for everyone in the family.
Towards the end of setup, the iPad will ask
if you want to turn on Screen Time.
Tap "continue," but to really get started,
we need to head over to the iPad settings.
In there, look for Screen Time.
The first time you're in here, it'll introduce itself.
Tell it this is a child's iPad.
Then it will encourage you to set up something
called Downtime.
That's the period during which your kid can't use apps.
They look blacked out.
You have to pick the same range for every day of the week.
There's no weekend hours here.
Next, Screen Time asks
if you want to put a few limits in place.
You could decide to restrict all app use, say,
just one hour per day, or go in by category, say,
only 30 minutes of social networking per day.
Here you can actually set different limits
for specific days of the week.
After your kid hits the limit, he can request an extension.
If you're thinking that constant requests for extensions
is gonna get annoying quick, you're right.
Okay, last step.
You need to set up a parental passcode.
Make this a good one that they can't guess
but you won't forget.
There are two more spots here worth knowing about.
First, mosey on over to Content & Privacy settings.
Believe it or not, even though Apple knows your child's age,
its default for video, books,
and Siri includes explicit material.
You could also limit what websites the child can visit.
Apple has a few suggestions, or you can add your own.
And last but not least, at the top of the Screen
Time readout, you'll see a daily and weekly summary
of what your kid has been doing on the iPad.
Good grief.
The same information is synched over on your own iPhone.
It can provide a starting point for a conversation with your kid
about online habits, which brings me to one last point.
Not all of this happens inside a screen.
You should talk with your kid about these settings
and why you chose them.
Developing good online habits is about learning self-control.
That's something grown-ups could use a lot more of, too.