How do I manage my children's screen-time?
Managing your children’s screen-time is a matter of deciding which content they will be allowed to see - whether websites, apps, games or social media - and which will be blocked.
But screen-time management also refers to the time children spend on their devices. When you manage their screen-time, you can set study, play and sleep-times. This means you can ‘curate’ their online experience in a way that keeps them balanced, healthy and aligned with your own family values.
The problem
Children struggle to self-regulate when it comes to games, social media and messaging.
Parents can’t see what their kids are up to online in order to impose sensible boundaries.
Too often, mum and dad leave the kids to their own devices and screen-time spirals out of control.
Why healthy limits are so important
Excessive screen-time has been linked to increases in children’s risk of:
- Depression and anxiety
- Sleep disturbance
- Myopia (short-sightedness)
- Back and neck pain
- Being overweight
- Loneliness
- Cyberbullying and online harassment
- Exposure to pornography and violence
Screen-time also displaces many healthy activities that children need to thrive, including:
- Physical play
- Sport
- Spending time in nature
- Face-to-face social interaction with peers
- Maintaining close family relationships
- “Down time” - aka daydreaming and imagining
Is your child’s screen-time out of control?
If your child is grumpy and out-of-sorts when not connected to a device … if they object strongly or even tantrum when limits are suggested … if they have been ‘sneaking’ screen-time when they think you’re not looking … if play-dates and sleepovers revolve exclusively around phones or games … if you frequently find yourself trying to control behaviour by using screen-time as a reward or punishment … if devices are being brought to family meal times and used at night in bedrooms ... These are all red flags.
The solution: Family Zone
Family Zone’s strong, flexible parental controls allow you to set boundaries around screen-time - and end the arguments, debates and endless negotiations.
Set study time, play time and sleep time
Block social media and games while they do their homework. Allow more access during play time. Disable the internet entirely when it’s time for sleep. Simply set it - and forget it.
Manage social media
Set boundaries around your child’s use of Instagram, Snapchat and other social apps - or simply block access entirely. The choice is yours.
Manage apps & games
Worried about Instagram? Fortnite? Family Zone offers individual controls to let you fine-tune your children’s access to these and many other apps and games - or block them entirely.
Get advice, reports & alerts
Choose a cyber expert to get practical advice and insight tailored to your family’s needs. Plus weekly reports of your child’s activity delivered straight to your inbox, and enriched content to keep you up-to-date with the latest online trends.
