Control Kids’ Screen Time on a tablet

MARTYN CASSERLY has some solutions for parents that will help manage how long children are spending on their tablets

While Android smartphones and tablets can be brilliant ways to entertain, educate, and keep your children safe, they do have the downside of being addictive. For a parent, the sight of your little ones mesmerized by glowing rectangles for extended periods of time is not a happy one.

But, there are ways to limit this exposure and ensure that your child gets up off their backside every once in a while. We show you a few easy ways to control the amount of time your children spend with their screens.

Use a dedicated screen time app

There are a few different apps that can automatically limit the time children spend on their devices. These include Screenlimit ( fave.co/2sYVREn), Boomerang ( fave.co/2sZvMoG), Kids Zone Parental Controls ( fave.

co/2t2cOxL), and MM Guardian ( fave.co/2t29x1k). Another example is Screen Time ( fave.co/2FbnGOM), which offers a sensible range of features and control for £2.99 per month.

The app works (like they all do) by installing the Screen Time app on your child’s phone and then

the Parental version on your own device. From this you can set daily time limits for individual apps, ban some entirely, prevent apps from being installed unless you approve them first, have set hours when devices can be used, and a general pause button that freezes everything and allows you can talk with your youngster without their attention being distracted.

It’s not all crushing authoritarianism though, as you’re able to create a list of tasks that the child can accomplish to earn more screen time. So, get the Maths homework out of the way and there’s half an hour of YouTube in it for you.

The main advantage of Screen Time is that it moves the point of conflict away from the parent trying to wrestle a device from their child, and instead aims it towards the app. There’s a 14-day free trial, so you can see if this is the kind of solution for your family.

Use a dedicated tablet or phone

If you’re in the market for a new device, then it might be worth considering one with parental controls built

in. The most popular by far is the Amazon Fire HD 8 and Fire 7, not only because they offer excellent value for money, but mainly due to the Fire for Kids feature. This allows parents to set up profiles for each of their children, and specify how long they can use the device each day. There are also granular controls, so individual apps can be banned or have limited access, while reading apps can be given unlimited time.

True, it’s not an Android tablet and you are limited to the apps available on the Amazon store, which doesn’t include the full Google Play selection (or any Google apps), but there’s a decent variety there. Of course, Prime subscribers have access to free Kindle eBooks, and Amazon Prime Video, so that’s not a bad start.

There are other dedicated devices available, such as the Monqi Kids smartphone and Kurio Tab

Advance tablet we reviewed recently, but Amazon has definitely staked an impressive claim on this area.

Set real-world incentives and restrictions

If you don’t want to abrogate responsibility to software then there are still helpful ways to entice your progeny away from their devices. We’ve seen some success with family device-free days, where everyone surrenders their technology and stares at each other in embarrassed silence for hours on end.

Other methods that have worked for some parents are locking devices away every evening and then returning them once homework and chores have been completed, or creating reward charts that allocate screen time for real-world achievements and tasks such as making their bed or helping with the washing up.

It’s a more hands-on approach and not always easy, but that’s parenting in a nutshell really.