Key Takeaways
- For all-iPhone families, Apple Family Sharing is the simplest option: it creates a shared 'Family' calendar automatically. It is capped at 5 people, all needing Apple IDs, so grandparents and childminders often can't be included.
- Google Calendar works across iPhone, Android, and any web browser, and anyone can be added by email, making it more flexible for extended family setups.
- Calendars fail at the human layer: caregivers stop checking the app, and an app-only solution won't reach every grandparent either.
- With around 2.5 million separated families in Great Britain, co-parent coordination often needs its own approach, and when your family network extends beyond one household, a shared calendar may need supplementing with a tool built for multi-caregiver coordination.
The shared calendar is one of those ideas that sounds obvious until you try to make it work. You set it up, send an invite to your partner, and three weeks later you are still fielding texts asking whether tomorrow is an INSET day.
The quick answer: an all-iPhone household gets a shared calendar automatically through Apple Family Sharing. Anyone on Android, or anyone outside your Apple Family group, needs Google Calendar instead, shared by email in a few minutes.
The harder part is what comes after: why shared calendars often stop working in practice, and what to do when your family network includes grandparents, a childminder, or a co-parent in a separate household.
How do you share a family calendar on iPhone?
There are two distinct ways to share a calendar on iPhone. Most guides explain only one of them.
Option 1: Apple Family Sharing (automatic)
If you have Family Sharing set up, Apple automatically creates a calendar called 'Family' in your Calendar app. Every member of your Family Sharing group can view and add events to it without any additional setup.
To check if it is active:
- Go to Settings and tap your name at the top
- Tap Family Sharing
- If Family Sharing is on, open your Calendar app, and a 'Family' calendar should appear in your list
Key limitation: Apple Family Sharing supports a maximum of 5 people, all of whom must have Apple IDs and must be in your Family Sharing group. Your childminder or a grandparent who does the occasional school pick-up cannot be added to this calendar.
Option 2: Share a specific iCloud calendar manually
You can share any individual iCloud calendar with specific people, without them needing to join your Apple Family group:
- Open the Calendar app and tap Calendars at the bottom
- Tap the info icon (the small circle with an 'i') next to the calendar you want to share
- Tap Add Person and enter their iCloud email address
- Choose their access level: 'View only' or 'Can edit'
- Tap Add. They receive an email invitation and must accept it before the calendar appears on their device
This lets you share a specific calendar (a school events calendar, for example) without giving someone access to your full Apple Family group.
Worth knowing: Apple Community forums document persistent real-world problems with shared iCloud calendars: events not syncing after iOS updates, invitations not appearing, and shared calendars disappearing from the list. If sharing stops working, go to Settings > your name > iCloud > Show All, toggle Calendar off and back on, then re-send the invitation.
How do you share a family calendar on Google?
Google Calendar is the more flexible option for most families, particularly if not everyone uses iPhone.
Creating a shared Google family calendar
Step 1: Create a calendar
On a desktop browser at calendar.google.com, click the + next to 'Other calendars' in the left sidebar and choose Create new calendar. Give it a name (such as 'Family') and click Create calendar.
Step 2: Share it
In the calendar's settings, find Share with specific people and groups. Enter each family member's email address and choose their access level: 'See all event details' for view-only access, or 'Make changes to events' if they need to add and edit events too.
Step 3: Everyone must accept
Each person receives an email with a link to add the calendar. They must click to accept it before events will appear in their Google Calendar.
Adding events to the shared calendar
When creating an event in Google Calendar, tap the calendar name (which defaults to your personal calendar) and change it to the shared family calendar. If you regularly forget to do this, consider making the family calendar your default for new events.
What is the best option if your family uses iPhone and Android?
Google Calendar. iCloud calendars only share with other iCloud users, so an iPhone-only setup will not reach anyone on Android, whether that's your partner, a grandparent or a childminder. Google Calendar shared via email works regardless of device.
For a fuller comparison of family calendar apps, see our Best Family Organiser Apps UK (2026): Tried and Tested review.
Why do shared family calendars often stop working in practice?
The technical setup works. What breaks down is the human layer.
One real failure mode: one person adds events to the calendar and nobody else checks it. The partner who agreed to share the calendar still sends the text asking what time football starts. The calendar exists; the habit does not.
A 2024 study by researchers at the University of Bath and the University of Melbourne, published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, found that mothers handle 71% of household tasks that require mental effort, including scheduling and planning. That imbalance does not automatically shift when a shared calendar is introduced. A calendar solves the visibility problem. Changing who does the checking is a different conversation.
In the Maxie Mental Load Survey 2026, which asked UK parents of school-age children how family organisation actually feels day to day, 44% of respondents said the mental load falls mostly on them. Only 30% said it is shared equally.
Two other failure modes to watch for:
- The invitation is never accepted. If your partner did not click the email link, your calendar is not actually shared. It just looks that way from your phone.
- Notifications are off. A calendar event that generates no reminder functions like a calendar event that was never added.
If the mental load conversation is the one you need to have first, our post on how to explain the mental load to your partner covers that directly.
How do you keep grandparents and childminders in the loop?
It depends on their situation. Grandparents and childminders with a smartphone and internet access just need adding to a Google Calendar by email; the ones without reliable internet, or a co-parent in a separate household, need a different approach.
According to the Department for Education's Childcare and Early Years Survey 2024, 26% of children aged 0-4 and 22% of children aged 5-7 receive childcare from grandparents. Add roughly 2.5 million separated families in Great Britain, and the people who need to know about the school play, the early finish, and the changed pick-up time are very often not in anyone's Apple Family group.
For grandparents with smartphones and internet access: Add them to a Google Calendar via email. They can view it in a browser or the Google Calendar app on any device, without needing an Apple account or to be in your Family group.
For grandparents without reliable internet: Ofcom (2025) found 21% of adults 65 and over have no home internet access, so an app-based calendar will not reach them. Practical options include a printed monthly summary, a regular weekly call to talk through changes, or a tablet at their home showing a calendar you update remotely.
For a childminder: A childminder typically needs a narrow slice of your schedule, pick-up times, days off, holiday dates. Share a dedicated 'view only' calendar rather than your full family one.
For a co-parent: A shared Google Calendar is a starting point. If you need a record of schedule communication or want to avoid direct contact, a dedicated co-parenting app such as OurFamilyWizard offers communication logs a standard calendar doesn't.
For guidance on managing and sharing school-specific dates (usually the key thing grandparents and childminders need to know about), see our guide to managing a school calendar.
When does a dedicated family coordination app make more sense?
It's when your family network goes beyond two adults in one household. A shared Google or Apple calendar gives two people in the same home a shared view of what's happening, but it wasn't designed for multiple caregivers across multiple households with different devices and different levels of tech confidence. Coordinate routinely with grandparents, a childminder and a co-parent, and you end up maintaining several separate sharing arrangements, and still being the single point of contact whenever someone needs an update.
Maxie is built for this layer. It gives your whole family network (partner, grandparents, childminder, co-parents) one shared place for the dates and reminders that matter, so the people around you can check what is happening themselves rather than texting you to ask. The 'is today a late finish?' question goes away because everyone who needs to know already knows.
Related Resources:
Frequently asked questions
Does Google have a family calendar?
Google Calendar does not have a product called 'Google Family Calendar', but you can create a shared calendar and invite anyone via their email address, regardless of whether they use iPhone or Android. It works on any device and any web browser, which makes it a practical choice for families with mixed devices or extended family members to include.
Can I share an iPhone calendar with someone on Android?
Not directly through Apple Calendar. iCloud calendars can only be shared with other iCloud users. If your family uses a mix of iPhone and Android, Google Calendar is the better choice: it works on any device with a Google account and does not require anyone to have an Apple ID.
Why is my Apple Family Sharing calendar not showing up on my partner's phone?
The most common causes are: the invitation has not been accepted, or iCloud Calendar sync has been turned off on their device. Ask your partner to go to Settings, tap their name, tap iCloud, then Show All, and check that Calendar is toggled on. If events still do not appear, try turning it off and back on, then re-send the invitation from your phone.
Should I use Apple Calendar or Google Calendar for sharing family events?
If everyone in your household uses iPhone and has an Apple ID, Apple Family Sharing is the simplest option: the Family calendar is created automatically with no setup required. If anyone uses Android, or you want to share with grandparents or a childminder who is not in your Apple Family group, Google Calendar is more flexible.
How do I share a calendar with grandparents who don't have a smartphone?
If grandparents do not have a smartphone or reliable internet access, an app-based calendar will not reach them reliably. Practical alternatives include printing a monthly summary and posting or emailing it, setting up a tablet at their home that displays a digital wall calendar you can update remotely, or using an app that sends reminders by text message rather than requiring them to check an app.
Is there a free shared family calendar?
Yes. Both Apple Family Sharing and Google Calendar are free. Many third-party family calendar apps (including Cozi, TimeTree and FamilyWall) also have free tiers. The free versions work well for sharing within a household. Coordinating with multiple caregivers across different households often needs a more dedicated tool.
How do I share just school events without sharing my whole calendar?
Create a separate calendar specifically for school events and share that one rather than your main personal calendar. In Google Calendar, create a 'School' calendar, then share it with your partner, childminder or grandparents. They will see school events only, not your personal appointments. The same approach works in Apple Calendar using a dedicated iCloud calendar.
Does Alexa have a family calendar?
Alexa does not have its own calendar. It can connect to Google Calendar or Apple Calendar and read out upcoming events when asked. If you have a shared family calendar set up in Google or Apple and your Alexa device is linked to it, any events added by family members will appear in Alexa's voice briefing.