Protect your child

Assess how and where they use devices

• Based on their routine, think about when and where they are using their device to establish when it would be better for them to unplug and focus on other activities. Generally, it is best not to be on devices right before bed or keep them in bedrooms as night.

Examine what they are doing online

• Not all online activities are created equal – take the time to assess how particular activities that your child is doing can help or hinder their development as they grow.
  • Ask yourself – Is this activity helping my child achieve a goal, improve their development in a certain area, promote their sense of self, or build-up skills that will help them make smart choices as they grow?

  Look at your relationship with screens

  • Review your own relationship with screens to address how this may be affecting your digital use.
    • Is there anything that you can do in your interactions that will give them the confidence to build a healthier relationship with tech?

Influence a change in how they use screens

• Be aware of what they do online and specifically why they enjoy it to build up your awareness of the risks and rewards these activities can offer.
• Model the behaviour that you’d like to see in them – children tend to do what you do, not necessarily what you say.
• Actively engage with them on some of the activities they do online; whether it’s playing a game online together, watching their favourite vlogger or asking them about what their recent post.
• Take time to unplug from tech as a family to encourage them to have a balanced view of using tech. Apps like Forest which build beautiful forests the longer you stay off devices are a great help.
• Together find apps, site, and games that will help give kids a way to explore their passions, enhance their skills and discover their identity in a safe way.
• Establish a family agreement together to manage expectations of how screens and online platforms should be used and why.
• For younger children find ways to combine touchscreen use with creative or active play
• Children’s screen time does not have to be passive, look for apps that encourage and complement physical activity.

Set some simple tools to manage screen time

• Make use of parental control tools on their devices and the platforms they use to set digital boundaries together to ensure they get the best out of their screen time
• Use night settings –  some phones have blue light filters to help reduce the amount of blue light given off by the screen during night-time hours which may help children sleep.
• Switch off notifications on their phone to limit the distraction this can cause when they are doing other activities
• Turn off autoplay on the platforms they use to help them self-regulate how long they spend on certain apps.
• If your child is an Android user, you’ll be able to use the ‘Digital Wellbeing’ feature to review the time they spend on different apps on their phone.

Managing screen time on social media and video streaming apps

• Review and manage the amount of time they spend on YouTube and YouTube Kids with these tools on the platforms ‘Take a break reminder‘,’Time watched profile‘ and Set a Timer.
• Help children be purpose-driven about what they watch, see this article to learn how to help them pick great age-appropriate content.
• Make your child aware of the ‘Your Activity ‘ feature on Instagram to see how much time they spend on the app and set a time limit on how much time they’d like to spend on the app.
• Encourage teens to use ‘Your Time’ feature on Facebook to see how much time they’ve spent on the app and set a daily reminder to alert them when they’ve reached the amount of time they want to spend on the app.