Helping kids to engage with the news in a healthy, productive way can be a struggle.

Kids and adults alike can be easily distracted from their responsibilities by their phones. But it’s one thing if a chore is half-done, and quite another when grades start to slip.

Families should agree on how phones are used.

Everyone is easily distracted by their phone. We’ve all seen the driver yelling at their phone while blowing a red light, or a pedestrian so wrapped up in texting they step into a busy street. Kids in particular, unfortunately, can be susceptible to the lure of the phone while walking to and from the bus stop. How do we encourage kids to keep their phones in their pockets?

Thanksgiving, in an ideal world, is a valuable time to be with our families. To laugh, to embrace one another, to joyfully reminisce about the good old days. To make new memories and enjoy a day full of meaningful conversations with loved ones.

This scenario is of course completely fictional for most. Anyone with children who claims their Thanksgiving was in any way straightforward or dreamlike, is probably bending the truth quite significantly. Especially if they were the ones hosting the festivities.

Kids want smartphones younger and younger these days, but when a parent finally makes the decision, the next question is how often they should use it and for how long. It’s a key part of the rules, and parental control apps for cell phones can enforce it, but when it comes to formulating those rules, that’s a tougher discussion. Here’s what we know about kids, screens, and time limits.