What are your top tips for maintaining a healthy balance when it comes to technology use in your family? Share with BT

[EllieMumsnet]

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With technology making up a big part of many peoples’ lives, including childrens’, there is a lot of conversation around how to ensure technology doesn’t completely take over family life. Technology can be a great source of education, entertainment, downtime and for some an essential part of work. BT and Internet Matters have teamed up to create their own list of tips for making sure your family has a healthy balance with technology, please click here to read them, but they would also really love to know your top tips.

Here’s what Bruce Cuthbert, Director of BT Devices has to say: “There are so many benefits for our children online, and an equal number of distractions. With kids back in school and autumn upon us, we’re spending more time indoors and the temptation is for kids to spend more time online. With Whole Home Wi-Fi, parents can pause the wi-fi and schedule wi-fi access device by device, to help children focus during study time and make bedtimes that bit easier, finding the right balance of online and offline time for the whole family. To find out more about Whole Home Wi-Fi, please click here.”

Do you have a time when you’ve agreed that you and your family will be off your devices, such as by dinner time? Perhaps you ensure that you have family days out and don’t take any technology with you? Maybe you go old-school and play board games on an evening with the family instead of watching tv? What if you were able to group your kids devices and then pause their wi-fi access at certain times; would this be useful to you?

Whatever your top tips are for maintaining a healthy balance when it comes to technology use in your family, post them on the thread below and everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

All meals tech free, not the hour before bed and not on family trips out.
Would be quite interested in the Wi-fi facility to turn devices off!

This is what I am trying introduce in our home now - balanced access to technology devices. We had tantrums and cries because they had been using tablets and phones during mealtimes. This stopped now and we can enjoy family meals together. My children have restricted time when to use their tablets and a meal or sleep times is not one of them.The best time to use is during weekends when they have more spare time. I prefer when they help around the home with a few simple things or play board games but at the same time I understand that technology is great helping their development. I would say, everything is good but you need to strike a right balance for you,family and your children.

We have tablet free time at meal times, also I don’t let them play on the tablet before 9am the morning and not after 6pm at night. Just to make sure they are not on them for too long there’s a half hour cap in one sitting. I have had to be strict because otherwise it just takes over completely. It’s a tricky balance to get right.

I don’t really limit it as my boys are quite young (2 and 5) so dont really use it much. I’m not against it at all I feel like it’s just how things are now. But I try to encourage more creative play. When they’re older and have homework etc it will definitely be limited to ensure school work is prioritised.

I have iPads for my young children.
But they only get limited time to use it on the weekends and during holidays.
I encourage more social and active games that involves everyone.
No TV during meal times so we can all interact as a family.

Whole home Wi-fi sounds really clever! What a good idea.
My kids are too young really for using the internet - my 4 year old plays on her fire tablet most days. It has a time limit for games etc and she loves it. She can spend a long time on the tablet but equally can be brought away from it by being encouraged to go outside or do messy play or play board games.
Wi-fi time is not a big issue in our house currently but I'm sure as my children grow up it will become more of a concern.

No devices in the kitchen or at mealtimes, all homework to be completed before screens and no screens in the bedroom. Other than that I think some screen time can be healthy and educational. DD has homework set online, which she loves and sees as part of her screen time.

Kids are at school 8-5.30. As long as they have had fresh air and have done their homework I’m less bothered about screen time. Most homework involves screen time.
No iPads in bed or TVs.
I believe it’s educational, it’s the future and people worry too much

Our kids don't own tablets. They go on DH's iPad for abour an hour every weekend or every other weekend. Simples. Don't know if it will get trickier when they are older as they are quite young now.

DC are 6 and 8. They each have a kindle fire but my phone is out of bounds. No screens in bedrooms and no screens at the table. They prefer watching TV to playing on their devices but to be honest, I lead my poor example and am constantly on my phone

For our family it's all about using the settings available.

I've found telling LO that the time is up on the internet led to many tantrums, but if the tablet switches off, or doesn't let DS play a game till he reads then it's not just Dad and Daddy saying it.

We bought our LO a fire kids tablet and it seems to have the most extensive range of control and parental features on it.

No screens whilst eating. TV isn’t on for back ground noise. DD & DS play much nicer when the TV isn’t on. DS is 4 & has a kids kindle, he’s allowed an hour on it a day and an hours tv in the evening.
Encourage reading and playing. They would rather be outside

We have simple rules, no screen time when guests are visiting, or when we are visiting other people.
No screen time before school.
No screen time after school until ho,eWorld and chores are done.

I make him set an alarm on his iPad so he knows when he has had 45 minutes, I find he loses track of time to easily otherwise.

No screen size in the bedroom either, no TV or anything

We are a BT customer and currently have very patchy wifi (despite booster) so am very interested in your new mesh provision. I am also very interested in being able to control limits on each device - at the moment family controls feel a bit blunt.
Screen time control is really hard. I have two DDs who are moderate users of screens and have a healthy balance (and one 15 year old who must be the only child her age who almost never switches her phone on). However, I also have a DD who is never off her phone, it is her 'recreation' of choice, and seems genuinely addicted to it. We have screen limits - not at meal times, not at HW times, and I use the parental controls to block social media and downloading post-9pm, but other than that she would I think rather lose a limb than her phone. Without wishing to sound a Luddite, there are times when I really wish the mobile phone had not been invented. I am not sure we have improved dramatically as a result of all having them, and I certainly waste more time than I'd like to admit browsing stuff on mine.

No screens at meal times

WiFi off at ten

For t little ones no more than half an hour of TV a day

All passwords for devices given if asked

No WiFi between 4pm and 6pm for teens so they can focus on homework and revision.

It is a hard battle for everyone I think as internet and playing games are so addictive. Our dc are 12 and 15 so friends are very important at this age and the need to be in contact.

We have a few rules which are an effort to instill at times but we try to keep it going as worth it for us as well as dc.

1. No devices in bedrooms overnight. They are left in the kitchen.
2. I know the passwords to their iPads and phones and do check randomly. One condition of them getting them was that we would check them occasionally. My friend works in child protection in police and always says parents should check regularly.
3. Family film nights at the weekend when phones are not allowed
4. We play board and card games regularly.
5. We always have breakfast and dinner together and always no phones at the table.

We really only allow tablets for long journeys (30 mins plus). Mine don't really bug me for them but I know that will change in time. They like them but don't think to ask for them. When this happens I will definitely limit screen time and agree re earning it etc.

We try to get them involved in lots of activities and sports - which limits the amount of time for gaming (especially when homework also in the mix)!

We have a device free day each weekend - including adults. Phones are used for phoning and texting, nothing else. And on the other day we try to do things to cut the screen time down. We do stuff in and out of the house.

She hated the idea at first but I told her a few weeks before and by the time we started had come to accept it and she now does it without whining or complaining.

My top tip is to introduce the idea of a reduction, don't storm in and just yank the tablet off them. Mention that you need to reduce the time, get them to accept the idea and then do it. It's more successful for us.

And commit to going device free too. We all spend too much time on phones etc, reduce your own use as well as the children's. Walk the walk...

I don’t have a problem with screen time for my toddler - all things in moderation after all. My 2 rules are no excessive use and only age appropriate stuff installed on the tablet (no free roaming YouTube in other words). We only use it in the evenings for a while or if we have something boring and important to do as it keeps her in one place!