What SteadyBounds adds to Apple Screen Time
SteadyBounds is a parental control app for iPhone and iPad where kids earn extra screen time through learning lessons and chores their parents approve.
It’s built on Apple’s Screen Time, so you keep what you already have. Then it adds the things some parents wish Screen Time did: no “One More Minute”, requests that reach you, and extra time your child earns.
1. Built on Screen Time, not instead of it
Apple Screen Time is part of every iPhone and iPad. SteadyBounds uses it to put your limits in place, so you don’t have to choose one or the other. Apple’s own settings keep working alongside SteadyBounds.
Your child needs their own Apple Account in your Family Sharing group, on iOS or iPadOS 17.4 or later. During setup, you approve Apple’s Screen Time permission on your child’s device. No computer, profile or VPN is needed. Please keep Screen Time turned on: SteadyBounds needs it to keep your limits in place.
2. What parents say about Apple Screen Time
Screen Time is a good base. But on Apple Community, Apple’s own help forum, some parents report the same few frustrations. Here are three, in their own words, with how SteadyBounds handles each one. These posts are from 2022 to 2024. Apple updates Screen Time often, so some of this may have changed.
Kids keep tapping “One More Minute”
“We have a running battle with the kids who abuse the 1 more minute ability of screen time.”
“what’s the use of screen time limits if they can continuously use one more minute?”
More than 2,600 people marked that second post “Me too.” Apple’s current guide still says a child who hits a Time Allowance “can tap One More Minute or send a request for more time.”
How SteadyBounds handles it: The SteadyBounds lock screen has no “One More Minute” or “Ignore Limit” button. Only a parent can add time. The lock screen names the rule holding the app, so your child knows why it’s locked and how to ask.
Requests for more time that never arrive
“I’m not receiving notifications when my children request more screen time.”
“My daughters ask for more time and click the send request to parent, but I never get notified.”
How SteadyBounds handles it: Your child asks inside SteadyBounds, even when their apps are locked. No iMessage is needed. You get an alert on your phone, and the request waits in your parent app until you answer. Both parents can approve.
Settings that reset on their own
“all their screen time settings keep resetting and turn off almost daily.”
How SteadyBounds handles it: When you change a rule, you see “Applied” only after your child’s device confirms it. If SteadyBounds notices that protection on a device has stopped working, your parent app shows that the device needs attention. It can’t catch every problem, so check your child’s device from time to time.
3. What SteadyBounds adds
These are things SteadyBounds does that we didn’t find in Apple’s Screen Time guides, or that Apple’s guides describe differently.
| Feature | SteadyBounds | Apple Screen Time |
|---|---|---|
| Kids earn extra time with learning lessons | Yes. Starter lessons, the daily challenge and Fresh Math are free | Not in Apple’s Screen Time guides |
| Chores that earn time, approved by you | Yes, free | Not in Apple’s Screen Time guides |
| Time Bank: save earned minutes for another day | Yes, free | Not in Apple’s Screen Time guides |
| Learn first: a lesson before games and videos | Yes, with Premium | Not in Apple’s Screen Time guides |
| A lock screen with no “One More Minute” button | Yes, free | No. Apple’s guide says kids can tap One More Minute |
| Kids ask for more time inside the app, without iMessage | Yes, free | No. Apple sends requests to you in Messages |
The Apple Screen Time column comes from Apple Support pages, checked October 19, 2026.
4. Price
Apple Screen Time is built into iPhone and iPad. Every SteadyBounds Screen Time control is free too: limits, bedtimes, school hours, breaks, app and website rules, pausing apps, time requests, extra time, Time Bank and reports. Starter lessons, the daily challenge, Fresh Math and one-off chores are free as well. So using both together can cost nothing, for every child and every device.
Premium is optional: $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with a 14-day free trial on the yearly plan for eligible new subscribers. It adds the full lesson library, Learn first, family chat and groups, chore routines, bedtime activity alerts, places and arrival alerts, widgets, animated scenes and learning progress reports. If Premium ends, your Screen Time controls keep working. SteadyBounds is sold on the U.S. App Store.
5. Get started free
Keep Screen Time on and add SteadyBounds in a few short steps. Install it on your iPhone and on your child’s iPhone or iPad, connect them with a code, and approve Apple’s Screen Time permission. Your Screen Time controls are free from day one.
Get SteadyBounds on the App Store
Comparing other apps too? See all our comparisons, or read Support for setup help.
6. Questions parents ask
Do I still need Apple Screen Time if I use SteadyBounds?
Yes. SteadyBounds runs on Apple’s Screen Time, so keep it turned on. Your child needs their own Apple Account in your Family Sharing group, and you approve Apple’s Screen Time permission on their device during setup. Apple’s own settings keep working alongside SteadyBounds.
What does SteadyBounds add to Apple Screen Time?
Ways for kids to earn extra time: short learning lessons, a daily challenge, Fresh Math and chores you approve. Earned minutes can be saved in a Time Bank for another day. The SteadyBounds lock screen has no One More Minute button, and kids ask for more time inside the app, without iMessage. We didn’t find learning or chores that earn time in Apple’s Screen Time guides.
Is SteadyBounds free like Apple Screen Time?
Every SteadyBounds Screen Time control is free, for every child and device. Premium is optional at $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year, and adds the full lesson library, family chat, place alerts, widgets and more. Apple Screen Time is built into iPhone and iPad at no cost, so using both together can cost nothing.
7. Sources
What we say about Apple Screen Time comes from Apple Support pages and public posts on Apple Community. If something has changed, please tell us at hello@steadybounds.com and we will fix it.
- Apple Support, “Family Sharing and parental controls overview for kids and teens” (One More Minute, requests in Messages)
- Apple Support, “Approve your child’s purchases, downloads, and Screen Time requests”
- Apple Support, “Use Screen Time to manage your child’s iPhone or iPad”
- Apple Community, “How to disable ‘one more minute’ on Screen Time?” (May 2024)
- Apple Community, “How to Disable ‘one more minute’ screen time limit on iPhone?” (February 2022)
- Apple Community, “Not getting family screen time notifications” (October 2023)
- Apple Community, “Not receiving Ask to buy Alerts or Screen Time requests” (January 2022)
- Apple Community, “Screen time keeps turning off” (November 2022)
Quotes are short excerpts from public Apple Community posts, shown as written. Names are left out. Apple and Screen Time are trademarks of Apple Inc. SteadyBounds is not made or endorsed by Apple.