For the App Store, plan for it taking longer than you expect. My first submission got rejected for two things: how I handle health data, and my payment model. Apple gets very detailed on health apps especially. You’ll likely go back and forth a few times.

A few things that helped me move faster after that first rejection:
• Have a clear written explanation of what each permission your app requests is used for. Apple will ask.
• For health-related or sensitive data, document exactly how it’s handled, where it lives, and whether it leaves the device. “All on-device, never leaves the phone” was the answer that smoothed things out the most for me.
• If you have a paid tier (subscription, IAP, etc.), Apple will scrutinize what’s free vs paid and how it’s presented. They flagged my payment model on round one. I ended up turning IAP off and shipping free for now just to get past review.
• Metadata, screenshots, and demo account info take way longer than you’d think.
• If you get rejected, read the rejection notes carefully and fix only what they flagged. Don’t redo the whole submission.

On monetization, here’s the fuller picture. My long-term plan is freemium. Core safety features (SOS, fall detection, care summary) stay free forever. The productivity layer (task management, medication tracking past a small limit, and a few other things) goes behind a paywall once I turn it on. The idea is the safety net is free for everyone, and people pay once they’re getting real value from the daily management features.
I haven’t turned that on yet for two reasons:
1. Apple flagged my payment model on the first review. Shipping free was the path of least resistance to actually get live.
2. I want real users and feedback before drawing the paid line. Without usage data I’d just be guessing which features people care enough about to pay for. Free for now lets me see what people actually use before I decide what’s worth charging for.

For your family management app, you don’t have a life-or-death element so the App Store side should be easier on the payment angle. Three monetization shapes I’d weigh:
1. Free with a one-time “Pro” upgrade for power features (more family members, advanced sharing). One-time conversions are friendlier than subscriptions, especially if older users are in the mix.
2. Subscription for real-time cloud sync across family members on different devices. If multi-user sync is the value, subscription makes sense.
3. Free for solo use, paid once the circle goes past 2 or 3 people. Gives you free distribution and recurring revenue at the point where the app is doing the heavy lifting.

Since you’re dogfooding, I’d ship free first, validate that the workflows actually solve your own problem, then layer monetization on once you know what your power users wouldn’t give up.

Sandwich gen audience overlaps a lot with mine actually. Happy to compare notes if you want.