How to let a toddler use Apple Music without your library
By James Harrell · November 9, 2026
Apple Music has no kids mode. If you hand a toddler your phone with the Music app open, they can reach your whole library, every playlist, and the full catalog. There are three ways around that, and each one suits a different family.
1. Lock the phone to one app with Guided Access
Guided Access is built into iPhone and iPad. Turn it on in Settings, under Accessibility. Start a playlist in Music, then triple-click the side button (or the Home button) to lock the screen to that app. You can draw over parts of the screen to turn off touch there.
This works well for a short car ride with one playlist. The controls stay small, though, and a little one who wants a different song has to ask you to unlock the phone.
2. Give your child their own Apple Music account
With an Apple Music Family plan, a child account in Family Sharing gets its own library on its own device. Screen Time's content restrictions can then limit music to clean songs.
This suits older children with an iPad of their own. They can still browse the whole catalog, and the Music app expects a child who can read.
3. Use a kids music player that works with Apple Music
A kids player sits on top of your existing subscription. You choose the songs, and the child gets a simple screen with only those songs. This is what Jukebug does. Full disclosure: I make it.
- Install Jukebug and give it Apple Music permission.
- Pass the grown-up check, then search Apple Music and add songs, albums or whole playlists.
- Make a profile for each child, with their own playlists and theme.
- Hand over the phone or iPad. Your little one sees big artwork tiles and a Play button, and nothing you didn't add.
I built it for toddlers and preschoolers on a shared family phone or iPad, and it works on CarPlay too. It needs an Apple Music subscription, and it only runs on iPhone and iPad.
Whichever you pick, download their songs in Apple Music before a trip. Downloaded songs keep playing without internet, which saves a lot of tears on a plane.
Want a side-by-side view? See how Jukebug compares, or read the FAQ.