Hello!

Help mums! My kids are starting to get addicted to their iPads. They’re 7 and 9 and are starting to get grumpy when we tell them to shut down. I feel we need to start implementing some rules around screen time and would love to know what other rules mums have around TV/iPad/game time on weekdays and weekend?


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  • Good luck. I think with screen time its best to “start as you mean to go on”….think about the rules before you even allow them to have screens. Its hard to suddenly bring in rules where there have been none.


  • Keeping children busy with other activities might help.


  • We do no screens in the morning until ready for school. After school we unpack school bags, have a snack and read library book before screens. On weekends I encourage outdoor play wherever possible, or indoor toys/drawing/reading before screens. I also do “brain breaks” every half hour or so, usually with a GoNoodle or Cosmic Kids Yoga video to get up and moving. I also try to limit tablet apps to educational ones such as Reading Eggs/Mathseeds, jigsaw puzzles, etc


  • Check if you can lock them in some way so they don’t work at all at certain times. I know you can definitely do that with a laptop.


  • This is a problem I feel we have under control for now. Our little one can watch her favourite show for one episode before she needs to go play with her toys. At this stage it is working but who knows when she gets older


  • In our household there is to be no screen time unless their bedrooms are tidy and homework done, then they are allowed an hour. I would prefer them to be playing outside or playing with toys together than stuck looking at a screen :)


  • Oh gosh mines young and already into it. Give them warnings or a timetable schedule so its not a shock when they have to get off


  • I have a nine year old and a thirteen year old. We are pretty easy going with screen time. When it comes to after school, if they have done all their homework and all their chores, we allow them to use their electronics. That being said, they train in after school sports four nights a week and some weekends as well. Bottom line is as long as they are doing lots of exercise (sports) and keep up with their chores and homework we are free giving with screen time.


  • My son will watch 15 minutes most days, usually just the wiggles. Unless he is sick we will watch a movie together.


  • We had a similar issue with my 8 year old. We sat down and talked about and tried to include him in the process so he felt he had input with the decision. I got him to come up with a schedule that he thought was fair and we worked on it from there and then made rules that other chores have to be finished before screen time was allowed and it had to be broken up by active play. So far so good and although he thinks he made it up, we got it down to what we thought was a fair amount of time.


  • I guess it’s whatever will work with your household and family. My kids only use the ipad as a reward for doing other things. The reward is only for 10 mins and we set an alarm – when the alarm goes off they must turn it off. If they argue and backchat us then they don’t get the ipad again – it’s a privilege not a necessity.


  • For starters, we have a “NO ELECTRONICS” if bedroom is not clean and if they have a clean bedroom we limit it to a couple of hours but has to have done jobs and homework first.


  • its actually quite minimal. you need to be comfortable with your decision though whatever you decide.


  • Set a time limit and be strict about it.


  • My kids are only allowed on the computer during the week to do homework such as mathletics or reading eggs.
    Other tech games like Wii or PlayStation are for weekends only. I much prefer my kids to be outside running around.


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