What tactics do you use to get your family to look away from technology in favour of real quality time? – £150 voucher prize draw NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

DTAC have asked us to find out how Mumsnetters encourage their family to look up from technological devices to spend more quality time with each other.

You can view their TV ad .

So, do you ever find that you can’t drag your children (or DP?) out of their room away from their gadgets? What tactics do you use to get your family to put away their technology away and spend more quality time together? Perhaps you always make sure that mealtimes are screen free? Maybe you bribe encourage your children to spend more time together by letting them choose fun days out to go on together as a family? Or do you resort to switching off the wifi at home when you want to get your DC (or DP!) away from their computer? Whatever it is we’d love to hear it!

Everyone who comments on the thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £150 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Packing a picnic and going out for the day, every couple of weeks have a technology amnesty! All gadgets go in a basket for 1 evening and board games and books come out!

I get them to choose a recipe, then we walk to the shops and buy the ingredients, then cook and eat.

It's knowing what they particularly enjoy really.

No batteries in Wii, DH is only one with password to PC. They get bored with TV after an hour or so and go to play either in house/doing crafts or out in street with neighbouring kids.

I take the ipad off DD or DP, send them out to get some fresh air and then come on Mumsnet

In reality I just say, right thats it, lets go do XYZ. DD gets bored of screen time anyway so I dont really have to limit it. DP is always happier to be out and about so he doesnt take much convincing.

Can see in a few years time when DD is older Ill be turning off the router or changing the wifi name to 'tidyyourroomthenyoucanhavethepassword' or something simular :)

we have screen times. So in the holidays, they come downstairs and watch tv/play on laptop/tablet etc.

Then at 9 (well, sometimes 10) they all go off and are then off all day.

Then at 5 pm they go on again while I cook dinner.

Because it is the same every day, it works, they know that when I say screens off, they have to go off.

It does mean that the world stops at 5 pm for a mad rush to the tv.

(dcs are 11, 9 and 6)

No wifi.

Still have an old fashioned windy-uppy (almost) modem. And laptop is in an uncomfortable spot in the house.

We just had a 2 week language study holiday where there was no wifi and the school computers had all social networking blocked. It was bloody marvellous and the kids themselves commented on how nice it had been to just talk to people and lie round on the grass instead of bloody messaging all the time.

At home I have a rule that only one thing is done at a time, so if dd is watching TV, she's not also playing a game on the kindle fire or whatever.

Tablet time for the eldest is time limited- we set an egg timer and he knows if he doesn't come off when it goes off, the answer will be no the next time he asks.

I need to learn how to drag myself away from my gadgets!

We have 'No tech at the table' rule and also impose a 2 hour tech limit during school holidays. i don't find it too much of a problem during term time as kids are busy with school, scouts, activities and bedtimes are earlier. I am prepared to be flexible though,and allow tech that is assistive, say DS using an app on his phone to tune his guitar, or looking up guitar tab on the internet.

i ask them if they want to go to the park answer is no, offer them a ice of their choice and i can usually get them to go. sometimes i offer them to watch a new movie on wauki tv and that usually does the trick plus a pizza or some popcorn.

We have a no tech zone in our house for when the children come after school when their mum is at work,they get changed and then out for rides on their bikes or off to the sports centre for an hour or so,youngest is happiest with his football stuck to his foot all good excercise for them and no square eyes from looking at TV or Computers/x-box's,these are monitored by DD and used mainly for homework & wet days sometimes,we make good use of the free activities advertised by our local Council in Parks & Sports centres so we have no tantrums really as they get the best of both worlds,they do object that they don't get as much time on techie stuff as their friends but they have plenty of time when older on how to divide their time but with luck they will be sensible.

Mine are 2, 5 and 7.

We are a mostly low tech household really. We have a small TV, a laptop I use for my uni work and I have a smart phone. The dcs play out a lot, have a lot of freedom, books and lego.

On the TV we tend to watch things on catch up, much easier to turn it off at the end of the episode if it doesn't run straight in to something else.

I am actually more aware of the fact that the dcs have so little interaction with technology that their computer skills are well behind their peers so I need to set some time aside this summer to clean up the computer and sort parental controls and what not so that they can go in it.

We have a wii which I got for them last Christmas. Ds1 in particular was bugging me for an ipad or a DS like all his friends have but I really don't want to go down the road of them having handheld devices they can take to their rooms so we got a wii. They can have half an hour a day at weekends and in school holidays. If they want they can bank the time for a maximum of 3 days to be able to spend time getting a bit further on in things like Lego games. It can be fun playing together too and we have tennis matches and race on mario cart together.

Ds1 (7) enjoys it but dd (5) can take it or leave it. She likes watching her brother but she hardly ever plays herself.

I suppose because they have never been used to having unlimited time then they don't expect it.

I turn the technology off

We have two 'computer' nights a week (Monday and Friday, 4-7 pm) outside these times the kids have learnt that they are not allowed to go on any electronic devices to play games / watch You Tube videos etc.
Meals are eaten at the table with no screen in the room.
We have also introduced them to games from our childhood like Cluedo and Monopoly and to be honest they actually LOVE playing these with me or my husband or both.

I think making sure you take the dc out of the house everyday even if it's just for a walk to the local shop or to the nearest park is really good for getting them off gadgets. They get some fresh air and burn off some energy and then when they do go back on their tablets or pc later you don't feel quite such an awful parent as they have been out and about for at least some of the day!

When I think my kids have spent too long on tablets / DS etc I sit down with a cuppa and a book. You can guarantee that as soon as I sit down and look comfortable they will be straight over asking me to do something with them!

No phones / gadgets at the dinner table. Adults, teens and children alike.

Enforced distraction if I feel that they have been used too long. The simple (and cheap) things are often best; swings, library, blackberry picking, baking, den building (yesterday DD and I built a teepee in the garden with some bamboo canes and old curtains) the trampoline, swimming, seeing friends and family and the sandpit, to name a few.

I would also add that I do sometimes use technology positively to buy time too, and this in turn allows the quality time. I am not ashamed to negotiate with my youngest DD aged 5 that I will take her to the park, if she watches TV / plays with the iPad / plays alone while I complete a job first. Result I get to do what I need and we get quality time together

We have rules such as no screens after a particular time and I don't let my baby anywhere near my phone or tablet. She's interested but I don't use it to entertain her. I'm sure that will change over time, but at the moment it works for us. I also rarely watch the TV when at home with my daughter - though she's fascinated by the remote!

We limit time spent with screens but it's easier as my children are small. We don't have tv on. The background either just put it on to watch something specific.

mine have just discovered minecraft, am tbh I'm fascinated by how fast they are learning, they work together and cooperate and it's brill. I am strict about time on though, and they understand and negotiate with me in a polite way, they always ask permission to use xbox/phone/pc etc and would still much rather bomb round the park
they are part of the tech generation so I want them to feel confident with it; they are 6 + 8

i hide all the chargers.... simples. lol

My young children have to earn minutes to play Skylanders on the wii, eg by reading a book, oing chores, brushing teeth etc. once they have used up their time it goes off.

Only other thing they will put the ipad down for is a trip to grandmas house, or the petrol stations (either one = sweets)

My 8 year old would spend hours playing Minecraft if there were no limits.
We discuss what a fair amount of time would be and he usually sticks to the limit with no problem. He's got far better at telling the time on our big clock as a result.
It's understood that he has to do jobs around the house or homework first.

We don't quite have an issue with this..YET. However, story books and baking cakes always get my daughter away from any screen :)

Only have little kids, so easy to just not have a TV/games consoles