My 12-year-old keeps finding ways around the basic restrictions I’ve set, and I’m not super tech-savvy. Are there any reliable built-in tools or simple third-party apps that actually prevent internet access at certain times or block specific sites? I just want something that’s not too complicated to manage.
Oh, I totally remember that stage — they’re so resourceful at figuring out workarounds! What worked for us was switching to mSpy, which lets you block specific websites and set internet schedules right from a parent dashboard that’s actually easy to navigate even if you’re not super tech-savvy. It’s been way more reliable than the built-in restrictions because it works at a deeper level that’s harder for kids to get around. 
Honestly, the built-in Screen Time on iPhone works decently if you dig into the content restrictions, though kids are pretty crafty at finding workarounds. I’ve been looking into some of the monitoring apps myself lately and mSpy seems to have solid blocking features from what I’ve read.