We've all lost track of time when using our phones. So many parents, myself included, want to make sure the screen time limits we've set are being followed by ourselves and our children. And we'd like the limits to be respected without saying "time's up" all the time. Luckily for us, there are several apps out there designed to manage screen time limits so we don't always have to.
I've used OurPact with Tessa in the past. I could set the app to make all of the other apps disappear from her phone every night at 9 pm. OurPact would then repopulate the apps onto her phone at whatever time I programmed it to bring them back. This was especially helpful to help Tessa get in the habit of putting her phone away at bedtime.
It can be hard to have open conversations with our kids about the importance of setting and enforcing these time limits, but success comes from involving them in the discussion. I encourage you to talk with your family about what limits you should all set for yourselves and how much control you should each have.
Remember Andrew from the film. He was the teenager who struggled with video game addiction. He recently told me that his Dad would install blockers and time limits without telling him or talking to him about it. He says he wished his father would have been more open about his concerns and reasons for setting limits. Andrew says if he was included in the time-limit discussion and truly understood his father's reasons, he probably wouldn't have tried so hard to get around the limits or disable the blockers.
We have compiled a list of some popular apps that manage and set screen time limits for yourself and your family. All of the apps have at least a three-star review and have been reviewed by 50 or more users.
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
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We've all lost track of time when using our phones. So many parents, myself included, want to make sure the screen time limits we've set are being followed by ourselves and our children. And we'd like the limits to be respected without saying "time's up" all the time. Luckily for us, there are several apps out there designed to manage screen time limits so we don't always have to.
I've used OurPact with Tessa in the past. I could set the app to make all of the other apps disappear from her phone every night at 9 pm. OurPact would then repopulate the apps onto her phone at whatever time I programmed it to bring them back. This was especially helpful to help Tessa get in the habit of putting her phone away at bedtime.
It can be hard to have open conversations with our kids about the importance of setting and enforcing these time limits, but success comes from involving them in the discussion. I encourage you to talk with your family about what limits you should all set for yourselves and how much control you should each have.
Remember Andrew from the film. He was the teenager who struggled with video game addiction. He recently told me that his Dad would install blockers and time limits without telling him or talking to him about it. He says he wished his father would have been more open about his concerns and reasons for setting limits. Andrew says if he was included in the time-limit discussion and truly understood his father's reasons, he probably wouldn't have tried so hard to get around the limits or disable the blockers.
We have compiled a list of some popular apps that manage and set screen time limits for yourself and your family. All of the apps have at least a three-star review and have been reviewed by 50 or more users.
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We've all lost track of time when using our phones. So many parents, myself included, want to make sure the screen time limits we've set are being followed by ourselves and our children. And we'd like the limits to be respected without saying "time's up" all the time. Luckily for us, there are several apps out there designed to manage screen time limits so we don't always have to.
I've used OurPact with Tessa in the past. I could set the app to make all of the other apps disappear from her phone every night at 9 pm. OurPact would then repopulate the apps onto her phone at whatever time I programmed it to bring them back. This was especially helpful to help Tessa get in the habit of putting her phone away at bedtime.
It can be hard to have open conversations with our kids about the importance of setting and enforcing these time limits, but success comes from involving them in the discussion. I encourage you to talk with your family about what limits you should all set for yourselves and how much control you should each have.
Remember Andrew from the film. He was the teenager who struggled with video game addiction. He recently told me that his Dad would install blockers and time limits without telling him or talking to him about it. He says he wished his father would have been more open about his concerns and reasons for setting limits. Andrew says if he was included in the time-limit discussion and truly understood his father's reasons, he probably wouldn't have tried so hard to get around the limits or disable the blockers.
We have compiled a list of some popular apps that manage and set screen time limits for yourself and your family. All of the apps have at least a three-star review and have been reviewed by 50 or more users.
Thoughtful family tech rules help protect kids’ wellbeing, learning, and sleep while strengthening connection at home. Using the fresh start of a new year, this post shares eight practical tech habits families can discuss and adapt together, including shared social media check-ins, screen time inventories, device-free meals, regular gaming breaks, and keeping phones out of bedrooms at night.
READ MORE >
Psychologist Jean Twenge explains how parental controls can support healthier tech use by protecting sleep, limiting late night device access, and reducing kids’ exposure to content they are not developmentally ready to handle. She discusses why third party parental control tools are often more effective and easier to use than built in options, while acknowledging that no system is perfect. Clear boundaries, combined with technology based limits, can reduce ongoing conflict and make screen time rules easier to enforce.
READ MORE >
for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
