Managing screen time

[galaxygirl38]

Any tips in managing screen time (mobile - games/you tube) for a 13 year old boy? How much time do you allow weekends & holidays and how do you enforce it? Do you use any apps to restrict time or should these be for younger children? I’m dreading the school holidays and the endless discussions about it!

I try to adopt the opposite approach of encouraging non-screen activities rather than arguing over time spent glued to the playstation - if he's physically doing something else, he can't be playing on a screen!

My 12 yo ds and 13 to dd have their devices for an hour on Wednesday after school, an hour on Friday after school, 2-3 hours split over the weekend - the rest of the time they are off! (Phone/ipads/PlayStation)

We use an app called Quoatodio on his phone with limits on max time per day and restricted times. We have it set to no morning usage on weekday mornings and not after 10am on weekends. Available again after 4pm until 6pm (was 7pm). That’s just his mobile. TV is discouraged after 10/ before 4 but I can’t stop him watching it when he gets in and I’m still at work! He has Xbox but rarely plays it. We are generally out for half a day or more on each weekend day.

I suppose it depends on what the screen time is. DS2 is 13, he will eat breakfast watching YouTube which is usually something to do with physics (minute physics, physics girl, veritasium, V source) so why would I stop that?

Gaming is done with friends as a team, it can be Minecraft or Kerbal Space Program (build/launch spacecraft using physics) or where they are a SWAT team. It is their social interaction rather than hanging around on the local park. They speak to their friends on headsets and both my children have gaming computers downstairs so are not closeted away in their rooms.

My children's grades are high, their effort grades outstanding, but like RedSky they also do other things. Ds1 is 16 and both he and Ds2 do a sporting activity twice a week in the evenings, we swim as a family every week, we eat dinner together and spend time watching TV , listening to podcasts or playing co-op board games/cards mainly poker as they like the gambling aspect. Ds2 is in an after school club too. They read every night before bed, so it is about balance.

They don't have games on their phones and don't even move them around the house with them, why watch a teeny screen when they can be on a bigger one

If they ever moaned about coming off games they know that they get a ban. We can turn off the wifi for individual devices so they know that we can and will do that.

I've never interfered with their screen time. They need to learn themselves.

I’d love to have a regime like @Taswama’s but in reality any screen control sends my 13 y o into meltdown and apart from kicking round with his friends he refuses to do any extra curricular activities either. Phone is basically glued to his side all day except at school. I don’t know what we’ll do in summer!

Thanks for your comments. My ds would spend all day on his mobile if I let him so I definitely need to manage it. Taswama - is that qustodio? I’ve heard mixed reviews and that teens learn to hack it!

Yes that’s right, sorry for the typo!
It’s not perfect, so it doesn’t shut down at the cut off time but won’t let you open a new app. If you cast on to a tv it seems to stop counting total time. I just have the free one (only on one device). It is certainly possible to uninstall it if you want to. It does me daily reports though so when they suddenly stopped we had a conversation which resulted in temporary removal of the phone.

Thanks. Will give it a go but need to convince my son it’s a good idea!

Apple screentime works fairly effectively and is free