To ban iPads on school mornings?

[ChaoticCuppa]

DS11 has got into the habit of sneaking his iPad in the mornings before school, and it’s making everything a nightmare. I swear he used to be able to get dressed and ready in 15 mins, but now I’m reminding him 100 times to put his socks on because he’s too busy watching some YouTuber shouting about Minecraft.

I’ve tried taking it off him at bedtime so he can’t grab it first thing, but he somehow finds it in the morning anyway?? I caught him under his duvet with it today when he was supposed to be brushing his teeth! Meanwhile, DD5 is watching all this and now SHE wants her tablet too, and I just know DS18mo will be at it next.

DH thinks I’m overreacting and that I should just ‘give him a warning’ and take it away if he doesn’t listen, but I’m at the point where I just want to ban them completely before school. The whole morning routine is stressful enough without arguing over screen time.

So, WIBU to just take them away Mon-Fri and deal with the inevitable tantrum? Or is this one of those ‘pick your battles’ things? How do other people handle this??

(Posting for traffic!)

Take it at night, set a passcode that he cannot change so no usage without you. Set screen time up via a tool such as Qustodio as Apple screen time is abysmal.

My 2 get the ipads for 20 minutes each morning. If they don't turn off and get dressed when I say so then they don't get it the next morning.

You are the parent set the rules!
Set the rules that make the morning run smoothly for everyone.

Absolutely this. We do a cheat and lose everything for 3 days. Do it again and lose it for a week. No TV, phone, iPad. Works a treat.

Kids don't need screens in the morning at all. In fact they don't need screens every day.

My kids (similar age to yours) aren’t allowed iPads from 9pm on Sunday evening until after school on Friday, for precisely the reason you mention OP. And all electronic devices (in theory, mine included) get put into a locked box overnight, every night. The box is locked with a timer padlock - there’s no code and no key, so no-one can override it (although I once found a child unsuccessfully trying to cut it open with a bread knife). They just have to wait until the timer ticks down to zero, and it opens. https://amzn.eu/d/hASDPiq

Get a TechSafe and lock it away for the times you don’t want them to have it. My 12yo DS is also a sneaky shit with this stuff (if I forget to lock it up) - he has no impulse control.

Why is this even a thread?! Of course a child shouldn't be using the ipad on a school morning.

Yes ban it and lock it away. I stopped my kids watching tv on school mornings as it just made us late. And yes deal with the tantrum. Or just explain the new rule the night before.