Apple has partnered with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on a guide for families around healthy digital habits, covering screen time, safety settings for websites and apps, and communication safety.
“We are proud to partner with Apple to expand access to the Family Media Plan, helping parents create routines that promote balance, safety, and healthy development,” said AAP CEO Mark Del Monte. “We know that navigating screens and social media is something every parent wants to get right, and this partnership will further support families with those efforts.”
According to Apple, the guide is built around six steps, encouraging parents to start a conversation with their children about screen time and expectations, to create a child account for their children to take advantage of age-based safeguards and parental controls, and to create a schedule for device use with time allowances.
Sumbul Desai, vice president of Apple’s health and fitness arm, spoke of the value of combining AAP’s trusted guidance with the tools built into Apple’s products. These are designed to adapt to different stages of a child’s development, and to offer a “useful starting point” for patients on discussions of digital health and safety, Desai noted. Adding that: “Our hope is that this guide helps facilitate easier discussions and gives families the resources they need to put this guidance into practice, adjust their approach as their child grows, and help them develop healthy digital habits they can carry into everyday life.”
In July, Apple shared upcoming product features and functionality including “next generation” Apple Intelligence, menopause cycle tracking for Health app users, and updates to parental controls and new tools around healthier screen time habits. At that time, the company highlighted a daily time allowance recommendation based on guidance from “leading clinical and child development experts”.
Wider trend: Digital and children’s health
NHS England has published a preliminary market engagement notice with a total value of up to £110 million, hoping to inform the future of children’s digital health services. The engagement aims to determine whether the market can meet the needs and requirements of the programme, to understand an appropriate budget range for any potential solution sought, and to gather information on potential routes to market.
Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has reflected on achievements from 2025/26, highlighting work on quality, access, and innovation, and “significant, evidenced improvements” to services for families. Efforts to improve clinical record keeping are delivering safer care, higher-quality documentation, and better efficiency, the trust states, with a “high engagement approach” taken to embedding changes, involving site walkarounds led by the deputy medical director, CNIO, and associate director for health records.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has implemented a digital baby diary in women’s and children’s services, introduced a digital system for children and young people with diabetes, and plans to replace its imaging systems in Autumn. The board highlighted the implementation of the BadgerDiaries digital baby diary in women’s and children’s services, aligned with the ambition to create a single, consistent digital offer for families. The platform works by promoting secure communication and access to information about a baby’s care, hoped to support greater involvement and reassurance “during often complex and sensitive care pathways”.
