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

No screens at mealtimes - for everyone, adults included. Also modelling healthy screen use and screen breaks helps. Definitely no screens within at least 1 hour of bedtime, it's really noticeable when we relax that rule for special occasions how much difference it makes to the whole "peaceful bedtime" experience.

No screens at the dinner table or an hour before bedtime. Seems to work.

I find this one really tricky cause I'm not so techy - but that's all kids seem to do nowadays - link up playing games online together, be on their phones etc.
We got our DS a phone when he was 11 and going away on a swim training camp so he could stay in touch - he didn't!

I absolutely do not allow it at the dinner table, nor in the bedroom so I can keep a general eye on what he is up to. If only my husband would follow my rules too... 9 yo desperate for one, but I am standing firm on this yet - she's too young.

Absolutely at mealtimes! - In fact everyone expects this as a matter of course and it's never an issue. Also family times - games/quiz evenings and film nights - no-one uses screens.

With our 13 month old, we keep tv off when possible, definitely after 5pm, and we keep our phone use to a minimum, only taking out of pockets for photos generally. Oh, and after morning booby, he gets to look at photos and videos of himself on daddy's iPad to enable mummy to get into the shower without a fuss!

I find this the hardest thing to get the balance right. We don't have a hard and fast system but we don't have technology at meal times, I limit when they can access the ipads but they can have access to the kindle to read a book if they wish. The best way I find to get an equal balance is get them outdoors. Once they are out they don't want ti come back in again and it solves all the technology balance issues, even if its just going for a quick walk it works that they remain in the garden or busy outside playing.

No electronic devices or tv for my son in the mornings. No screen time till after 6.30 on weekdays. It works for us. If there isn't the option of screen time, he finds other ways to entertain himself - like read!

we turn off the wifi.

My son is a very responsible 16 year old and he doesn’t really need rules, he rules himself very strictly.
My 12 and 7 year old daughters are total opposites and have to be monitored.
I have software on their computers, tv and my older daughters phone that monitors everything they do also I it all runs on timers so it’s internet and tv/phone off at 9pm and it comes on at 9am.
If at weekends they won’t come off thei4 devices then it put on limited usage.

I’m quite strict and I have no gaming during the week. They’re allowed to go on screens for homework, keeping in contact with family and friends, newsround or articles relevant to what they’re doing at school is fine too.
We don’t have screens in the morning or at the table either. That’s also in the holidays so they don’t get up and start gaming first thing.

I try to limit screens a bit while still letting my two enjoy TV/tablet time. I think the most successful rule we have is no screens after tea - it's always been this way so they don't argue. They're still only fairly young though so it's going to have to change at some point as bedtimes get later...

I'll be honest and say that we all definitely have too much screen time. Lucas only uses the iPad when we're in the room, so that we can monitor what he's accessing but we need to cut down our hours.

My children are 18, 15 and 6. And they are completely equal in the amount of time they would love to spend on phones and ipads.
It drives me mad.
So weekends is family time, we play board games, we watch festive films (obviously only in December, we aren't crackers) we spend dinner times together.
With no fortnite, no Minecraft and no beauty bloggers...just us!

No screens when out of the house apart from to check something really necessary, no screens at the table, no phones in the bedrooms, and ds(12) has limited screen time. And that gets reduced if he moans about it or doesn't obey the rules. He's just finished a 3 month total screen ban!

No screens at the table is our main rule. Not when out either. Maybe an hour of screens a day is about our limit (either iPad or TV). I still have control as he’s preschool age but we all try to stick to it. He has lots of interests outside/activities.

We have a deal at weekends where tablets aren’t allowed until homework has been done. We try to set limits too - but honestly the best way to get them off tablets is to get out of the house and do other activities, ( swimming, football, going for walks).

No phones at the table, not even mine! At least half an hour with no screens (not even tv) before bedtime. Break up evenings and weekends with baking, crafts, board games and other 'old fashioned' activities. Provide a bedtime story and encourage reading.

No devices used in the car.

No devices used during meals.

I just let DD's ipad run out of battery because she's rubbish at remembering to charge it.

I also find she only uses her ipad when she's got nothing better to do, so try to plan other things in.

We certainly have too much TV time in our house but nothing other than cbeebies.

No computers yet and won't be getting the kids tablets for a good while yet.

No using at dinner table and no using after 9 Simple rules they on the whole follow.

I just try to be mindful about using technology and make a conscious effort to question whether I really need to be using it, or if we would benefit from some time with everything switched off. I do use my phone and computer a lot to get organised and for apps like travel, so it would be counterproductive to introduce blanket bans.

Quite old fashioned in our approach according to some friends!, but no screens or phones at the table, and only one screen at a time when doing something (i.e., you can't watch tv AND scroll on your phone at the same time) - despite DH and I both being guilty of this once the DC have gone to bed!

My DC are only 7 and 9, so no mobile phones yet. I find that if we are out and active for most of our spare time, then I don’t need to police screen time anyway.
I do try and limit the times they see me my own phone though, and I try to be present for them.

No phones at the table, no screens upstairs. DD has just got her first tablet age 10 so we'll see how we get on with that. So far, so good.