To tell my 15 yo he can't have his phone in his bedrrom

[deliverdaniel]

Over Christmas we did a partial "digital detox" with the kids. My 15 yo DS had been becoming addicted to his phone, scrolling for hours in his bedroom (we put on various screentime limits but he found ways around it.). Mainly youtube, tiktok etc. Nothing bad or violent just endless dumb short videos that were rotting his brain. It was destroying his attention span, his ability to read, concentrate, enjoy other things etc. (He has ADHD and mild autism for reference so pretty susceptible anyway.). The digital detox went well. He was allowed the phone mostly locked down to the basics when he went out, to do schoolwork and could use it to text friends in another room but just not in his bedroom. He was enjoying other activities, getting out more, starting to read a bit. Now the DD is over and he wants it back in his room. I say no, he is furious. Says we betrayed him by saying it was temporary and then taking it away forever etc etc. What do otheres think/ do with teens with phones? is it U to say it's not allowed in the bedroom? (Unreasonable- let him have it in his bedroom. Reasonable- you are good to hold this boundary and say no)

Same here, phones on charge downstairs overnight. They never take them upstairs. However the problem comes when they have friends over for a sleepover. I tried to apply the same rule, but it wasn't taken well by those who are used to having phones upstairs. And I didn't want to cause upset for my daughter's sleepover.

I am glad there are other parents do the same as us, as it makes it easier to enforce. And we did start the 'no devices upstairs' from day one.

I can see by messages coming in though, in the middle of the night, that others do have theirs overnight. That makes me even more sure we're doing the right thing!

It us refreshing to teas that some parents do actually take responsibility for what happens in their own homes!
I get fed up of hearing parents talking to journalists,about how, if only everybody else (gvt, tech companies, schools etc) had done their job properly, their children would still be with them. I am very sorry for anyone who has lost a child but parents are responsible for parenting, which includes setting sensible boundaries around mobile phones and other devices. Parents should be monitoring how much time their children are spending and what they are looking at o their devices. The parents bought the phone they pay the bills, they have the right and the responsibility to say how the phone should be used, for the sake of their children's safety.

I wish that someone would campaign, not for the gvt to restrict social media access for teens but for parents to do so.