How to Change the Apple ID birthdate of a Child to an Adult
Years ago, as a joke, I made my now-adult son’s birth year associated with his Apple ID younger than his brother's. This meant that in 2024, his Apple ID showed him being 9 when he was a full-grown adult.
However, I could not update it from a Child (under 13) to an Adult because Apple doesn’t let you move a Child's birthday (under 12 and younger) to an Adult, and you can’t move a Child to a Teen account.
But you CAN hack the system! Once the Child (12 and under) turns 13 (a Teen account) in the Apple ID world, your Teen can request to change their birthdate to an adult.
How do you accelerate their aging from a Child to a Teen so you can unlock the ability to become an Adult?
Change your child’s birthdate to so that tomorrow they turn 13.
For example, on February 10, 2024, I set my child’s birthdate to 2/11/2011, meaning that on 2/10/2024, he was 12, but at midnight, he became 13. At 13 (the next day), he went into his Apple ID and requested to change it to his true Adult birthday. I then approved it. Voila!
Apple has an article titled, “Update the birth date associated with your Apple ID” here Update the birth date associated with your Apple ID - Apple Support
Follow its instructions but disregard its inaccurate statement that “you can’t edit it.” You actually CAN edit a birthdate below 13, but you just can’t raise it to above the age of 12. But you CAN raise it to one day before the Apple ID turns 13.
“To change a birth date to any age below 13,* you must be a member of a Family Sharing group, and your family organizer must approve the change. After you change a birth date to any age below 13, you can't edit it.* Learn more about Family Sharing.
- Update the birth date.
- Follow the onscreen steps to send an email request to your family organizer.
- Your family organizer will get an email with instructions to approve the request.
*Age varies by country or region. If you need to change the birth date for a child, contact Apple Support.”
