To limit my 16 year old DS's screen time and remove his phone leading up to GCSE's ..?!

[josben]

I am at my wits end too is how to get my DS to knuckle down And revise for his GCSE's...?!

He always seems to find something else more pressing to do ... Like Playing his guitar, or playing on his phone / computer ...

I tell him it's only a relatively short time that he has to put the hard work in but it doesn't seem to be making much difference ...

I think I need to take drastic action from Tuesday - AIBU to remove his phone / computer ,,,!? 😫

If you've not set boundaries before now you might find it difficult to suddenly start.

Dd is 15 & has restrictions on when she can use her devices but she's never known any different.

It depends - did he utterly bomb his mocks so far? If yes, then taking a stand would be fine. If not, not so much.

A colleague of mine would change the WiFi key and bring her sons game controllers to work. It was always hilarious listening to the phone conversation between her and her grumpy teenage ds. She would stay so calm whilst he ranted and it always ended in the same way. She'd say ' I will be home at 5. If you have two hours worth of decent work ready to show me you can have your controllers back and I will leave you to do as you please for the rest of the night. If not, no controllers until it is done.' One time, he thought he was being really clever by hiding the controllers so she couldn't take them. That time, she took the console . Having taught the young man in question, I can testify that he was bright but very lazy. However, thanks to his mum he is now at a very good university. The woman is my parenting idol.

Discuss it with him. Tell him what you propose doing, he might surprise you and agree it is what he needs but even if not then you can negotiate in what situation you would do what and set clear and defined expectations.

A total ban might be counter productive. Why should he work hard if you remove them completely? Restricted times might work better.