How to set up an Apple Watch for your child

Get the family accounts ready

You and your child need separate Apple Accounts. Enable two-factor authentication on yours and include your child in Family Sharing. The adult doing setup must be the organiser or a parent/guardian. Check Apple’s current device requirements before you start.

• Apple: setting up a family member’s watch

Choose the family-member setup

On the adult’s iPhone, open Watch, then All Watches and Add Watch. Choose Set Up for a Family Member and follow Apple’s pairing instructions. Select your child, set a passcode and review the offered connectivity and family settings. If you postpone cellular activation, arrange it with a supported provider later.

• Apple: setting up a family member’s watch

Make the watch feel familiar

Do the first practice session sitting together, not during the rush to leave home. Let your child wear the watch and find the controls themselves. A successful small task is more useful than showing every feature at once.

• Choose a comfortable fit and readable text size together.
• Practise waking the screen and returning to the watch face.
• Agree who to contact first and who the backup adult is.
• Try a short call with an adult in the next room.
• Explain when the watch should stay quiet and when to ask for help.

Then check the OkayTu beta separately

A working Apple setup is not the same as an approved OkayTu installation. Family-managed Watch installation through TestFlight has not yet been verified for the beta. Contact the OkayTu team with your watch model, software version and country before making changes for testing.

Please do not send your child’s Apple Account password, pairing codes or personal location. We can start with device details. Keep the watch’s existing calling options available while testing; OkayTu is not an emergency service.