14 DAY TRIAL // Family Sharing is one of the most interesting features of iOS 8 and something that comes naturally. If you like an app and your father wants it too, there's no need for him to purchase it on his account. Just share it using the new iOS 8 capability and he is not going to pay something extra.
Family Sharing works for music, videos and all other content from iTunes, iBooks and the AppStore. Until now, you had to lend your Apple ID, wait until your family member has downloaded a certain app and then go ahead and disconnect it to put their Apple ID Back for iCloud backups and other important apps.
The new way
Everything is much easier now. Up to six members of the same family can share purchases and you can pay with the same credit card or approve kids' spending rights.
The head of the family is called the Family Organizer. In fact, anyone can be the organizer as soon as they understand how this works and they are able to manage the credit card purchases and pay for the others.
Family Sharing works both in iOS and OS X Yosemite and it can be as granular as a TV Show episode on Apple TV. As soon as you are signed in with an account that is shared with the family plan, you can see that purchased episode in your queue. In App Store, you can just go to the Purchases list and see what your family members have bought and just download the stuff you like.
The fine print
There are some things that you cannot share. For example, in-app purchases are only active on your account. Also, the developers have the liberty of choosing whether their apps can be shared or not. So if one decides to charge you for each copy of a game, you are out of luck.
Another interesting point is that if you leave the family sharing plan you can still keep the apps, songs and movies. The family organizer and members can also hide certain apps or movies.
If your kid wants to buy something, he can just ask for it. The family organizer can approve if an app is OK to be downloaded. He will get a notification and has the option to decline it if something is inappropriate.
Family Sharing can also help you with Shared photos, calendars, reminders, Find my iPhone and Find my Friends. Apple has put up a guide for the rare situations where you are not able to see your family's shared content.
The main point is that this works only on an iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad running iOS 8 (so iPhone 4 is out of the question), and if you have a Mac, you need to run OS X Yosemite when it comes out.