Restricting PC use - teens

[Cloudbaser]

We need something! DD (13) just can't self regulate. We've tried timers but think we need something that cuts her off.

I'm looking for recommendations for time limiters that work with a pc that are easy enough to set up and manage.

Thank you!!

I think you telling her to turn it off, and her making a positive choice to turn it off, is a step towards self regulation.
Letting tech do it for you is the opposite of self regulation.

For me it depends what she is doing on it. Mine could spend hours doing homework so a bit of gaming or researching a subject of interest after that would be acceptable.

@trumpisagit I think at 13 this is child dependent. My DD just doesn’t have those skills
OP I use quostodio for the phone

Sorry that's not helpful in terms of your actual 'time limiter' question. What I really mean is you need to be able to 'manually' oversee this. She may need more time than she is set for some tasks. Rather than a gadget I would set a consequence for her not doing as she was told but each time on the PC is individual dependent on use.

Gadgets won't work because at that age she's likely doing homework on it and will often need the internet for research. Some days she'll need it more than others.

Something which automatically cuts her off mid task will be infuriating for her, and. may not allow her to save progress she has made. It also will make her regulation worse as she has no control.

You say 'we' need something in the OP; is this something that she agrees too? Have you talked to her about screen time, why you want her to have limits, how she feels about that, and how much time does she think is reasonable. She's more likely to stick with something that she suggested than something imposed upon her that she doesn't want. She might think that her time on the computer is worthwhile if she's writing something, or creating art or practising coding.

Also might be worth considering how much time you and your partner (if applicable) spend on screens around her. If your default way to pass time is to scroll on your phone, then she'll be learning from that.