How to Limit the Time Your Child Spends on their Phone

Set An Example

To start with, look at how you use your phone. Make a diary of phone usage and what you’re doing, and sort out how much time you spend with your phone as a tool versus how much you use it idly, and then focus on cutting down on that. Or consider installing a parental control app and locking off your idle time games and the like for a few days and see how things change. It might surprise you how much time you spend looking at your own phone, and if you stop using your phone, your kids will notice.

Design A Schedule

Another method is to set a family schedule for screen time. This schedule can be flexible and tied to needs. For example, if kids have a phone to use as an assistant at the table while they do homework, that use probably doesn’t need to be that restricted. But set a schedule, for the whole family, and make sure everyone holds each other accountable for sticking to it. If your children have a say, and you abide by the same rules, they’ll follow your example.

Install Parental Control Apps

If usage has gotten out of control, or you simply want to ensure that there’s a method to “ground” kids by shutting down their phones if they break the rules, parental control apps can be a useful method of keeping phones locked off. The phones can be set to be unlocked only during certain times of day, or can be set to only be unlocked when a parent agrees to it. This can also be a good option in cases of shutting down cyberbullying or enforcing other rules, such as discussing what they’re saying on the internet and who they’re talking to.

Disable Their Phones

Another tool, especially if there’s bad behavior, is the “nuclear option” of parenting, namely taking the phone away completely, or simply disabling certain functions physically or with software. For example, if they’ve racked up a large phone bill, you can pull out the SIM card, which will keep them off cellular networks, or you can delete apps that hog data off their phone and block them from being reinstalled. This is a bit drastic, though, and really should only be used when there’s not another solution to the situation. Be sure explain why you’re doing this in the first place, and make it clear which rules were broken and the length of the punishment.

With the right tools, the right conversations, and most importantly, the right attitude, your kids will have a healthier appreciation for screen time, and a respect for when and when not to use screens. The Screen Time app gives you the tools to achieve this – click here to try it for free. Learn how to make your phones work for your family, and not the other way around.