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The steps are different for every tablet, and that’s the part most generic guides skip past. A Fire Kids tablet, a hand-me-down iPad, and a Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ Kids Edition each route parental controls through a completely different app and menu, so “just turn on parental controls” isn’t actually one instruction — it’s four, depending on what’s in your kid’s hands. Here’s the real setup for each, plus what each one can and can’t actually block. (Still deciding between devices? See our Fire tablet vs. iPad comparison for kids first.)
If it’s a Fire tablet (Fire HD Kids, Fire 7 Kids, or a standard Fire with a kids profile)
Amazon’s system is built around the free Amazon Kids Parent Dashboard, and no Amazon Kids+ subscription is required to use the core controls. On the tablet itself, go to Settings > Profiles & Family Library and add a child profile — Amazon caps this at four child profiles per account. From there, install the Amazon Kids Parent Dashboard app on your own phone (or use the web version at parents.amazon.com) and sign in with your Amazon account to manage that profile remotely.
Inside the dashboard, the controls that matter most: Settings > Daily Screen Time lets you set a different time limit for each day of the week, useful for a shorter weekday allowance and a longer weekend one. Tapping the gear next to your child’s name and choosing Adjust Age Filter resets which books, apps, and videos show up by default — worth doing manually even after entering a birth date, since the default filter can be more permissive than parents expect. The dashboard also supports remote pause: you can freeze the tablet from your phone without walking over and taking it away, which matters more at dinner or bedtime than any content filter does. (About Amazon setup guide, Amazon Parent Dashboard guide)
If it’s an iPad (including a hand-me-down adult iPad)
Apple’s system is Screen Time, and it lives entirely on-device unless you set up Family Sharing. Open Settings > Screen Time and choose This is My Child’s iPad — this single choice is what unlocks the parental (rather than personal) version of the settings. Immediately set a Screen Time Passcode different from the device passcode itself; without it, a kid who knows the lock-screen code can also just turn Screen Time off.
From there, three sub-settings do the real work: Downtime blocks apps and notifications on a schedule (bedtime is the obvious one), App Limits caps daily time per app category rather than the whole device, and Content & Privacy Restrictions (under Screen Time) is where you actually block mature content, in-app purchases, and web browsing outside an allowed list. If your child is under 13 and doesn’t have their own Apple ID, Apple requires setting one up through Family Sharing first — that’s what lets purchases and downloads route through a parent’s approval rather than happening freely. (Apple Support: parental controls, Apple Support: Family Sharing setup)
If it’s an Android tablet without a kids-specific shell (a generic Android tablet, or Samsung without Samsung Kids)
This is Google Family Link, and it’s the fussiest of the four to set up because two devices talk to each other. Install the free Family Link app on your own phone and sign in with your parent Google account. On the child’s tablet, go to Settings > Google > All services > Parental controls, tap Let’s do this, and either link an existing child Google account or create one on the spot — this requires confirming the child’s password to complete the pairing, and you’ll enter your own email and password as the account’s admin.
Once linked, screen time limits, app approval, and content filtering all move to the Family Link app on your phone rather than living on the tablet itself. The one setting worth doing deliberately rather than accepting the default: inside Family Link, set the Google Play content rating ceiling to match your child’s actual age — left on a default, it can allow app categories a parent wouldn’t have picked knowingly. (Google Family Link setup, Android Authority Family Link guide)
If it’s a Samsung Galaxy Tab with Samsung Kids preinstalled (like the Kids Edition)
Samsung’s own layer, Samsung Kids, sits on top of Android and can be used instead of or alongside Family Link. It’s preloaded on the Kids Edition tablets and downloadable free on other Samsung devices. Set it up from the home screen icon or Settings, build a profile per child, and it hands you app restriction, screen-time limits, and activity monitoring in a single kid-facing launcher rather than the full Android home screen. The tradeoff worth knowing: Samsung Kids controls what’s visible and reachable inside its own locked launcher, but it doesn’t replace Family Link’s account-level Google Play restrictions — households that want both content-shell locking and Play Store-level filtering typically run Samsung Kids for the launcher and Family Link for the account layer underneath it. (Samsung: manage family groups and parental controls)
What none of these four actually do
Every one of these systems blocks or times out apps and content on that specific device — none of them stop a determined 10-year-old from seeing something on a friend’s unrestricted phone, and none of them are a substitute for talking to a kid about what to do if they see something upsetting. Screen Time, Family Link, Amazon Kids, and Samsung Kids are all reversible by an adult who knows the passcode, which is a feature (a growing kid can graduate out of restrictions) and a limitation (an older kid who guesses or watches you enter it can too) — treat the passcode itself as the actual security boundary, not the software.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a paid subscription to use any of these? No. Amazon Kids Parent Dashboard, Apple Screen Time, Google Family Link, and Samsung Kids are all free at the level that controls screen time and content filtering. Amazon Kids+, Apple’s optional content bundles, and similar are separate paid add-ons for extra books/videos/apps, not required for the controls themselves.
Which system is hardest to get around? Closed ecosystems (Fire Kids profiles, Samsung Kids’ launcher) are generally harder for a young child to exit than open ones, since there’s no underlying “real” home screen visible to switch to. A standard Android tablet on Family Link or an iPad on Screen Time both still show the full OS underneath the restrictions, so the passcode is doing more of the work.
Can I set different rules for different kids on the same tablet? Yes, on all four — Amazon and Samsung do it through separate child profiles on one device, Family Link and Screen Time (via Family Sharing) do it through separate linked accounts, each with its own limits and filters.
What’s the first setting to change even before handing over the tablet? The Screen Time Passcode (iPad) or your own account password (Fire, Family Link, Samsung Kids) — every other control is meaningless if a child can simply turn it off, and that’s the one step every guide above shares in common.
For more fun trivia bites like this, check out our list of 10 Languages That No Longer Exist!
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