8 Things Parents Need to Know About the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus, and iOS 8

Perhaps the best new feature on iOS 8 for families is the Family Sharing functionality. Up to six people can be part of your "family" and share purchases from iTunes, iBook, and the App Store — without sharing an account! That means if Mom downloads the latest Katy Perry song on her iPhone and her son (who has his own iTunes account) wants the same song for his iPad, it's done — no trading passwords, no paying twice for the same song. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy, as my kids would say.

There's also a shared calendar function that gives parents the ability to put events on everyone in the family's calendars, see where everyone is, send reminders, and assign who is going to take them where.

Family members' photos can be congregated into a family photo album (if they want them there), so there's less texting and emailing photos.

Family Sharing's "Ask to Buy" feature can be turned on, so kids must ask permission (it pops up on Mom's screen) before they download apps, music, movies, or books. With the new feature, kids under 13 can have their own Apple IDs hooked up to their parents' credit cards, but parents don't have to worry about finding strange charges on their bills, because they'll be approving all the purchases.

Great for getting a playdate together, but something that parents of teens and tweens may want to start monitoring, is the new Group Messaging feature. It is available on iOS 8 and comes preinstalled on both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. Aside from the chatter that will occur between friends, the feature offers options to share the location of the texter for one hour, until the end of the day, or forever. This location-sharing option can be turned off in the Restrictions area.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have cameras that are better than any previous versions, meaning parents can be even more snap-happy than ever before. The phones come with an 8MP iSight camera and an all-new sensor to take better photos. There's also a time-lapse photo option, so you can take some fun videos of your tots.

You know that great shot you just took of the sunset that your kids then instantly deleted when you handed them your phone? Now you can easily get it back thanks to iOS 8. There's now a preview icon at the bottom of the screen when the camera is turned on. If you tap it, there's an option to recover photos.

One of the scarier new features that parents need to be aware of is that a Snapchat-like function is now the default for incoming audio and video messages. These messages will self-destruct two minutes after they arrive. The feature can be turned off under Settings > Messages.

Parents will immediately want to turn off the "Send My Current Location" function. The feature allows the user to send a map of his location to the person he is texting — something that sounds great for a safety feature but, in this world of online predators, is something you'll want to turn off. The feature can be disabled in the Restrictions area and probably should be for tweens and younger teens.

The new iOS 8 features a truly life-saving feature that you should fill out as soon as you purchase the phone. Emergency Card is basically a medical ID card that includes any medical conditions the device's owners may have — allergies, heart conditions, etc. There's also space for including your blood type, your emergency contacts, and more. The feature is especially great for kids who travel to and from school on their own, as it can be viewed from the phone's locked position.

If you've ever started to read something on your iPad only to have your child ask if she could use the device at that very second, you don't have to worry about looking it up again on your computer or iPhone. With iOS 8's Continuity function, devices can easily be handed off, and apps like Mail, Safari, Maps, Messages, and Calendar pick up right where you left off on the previous device.