Reasonable Screen rules for teens
If you are someone who does not have arguments over phone use or screen time with your teen, count yourself lucky. But then you wouldn’t be here, would you?
I know screens have just gotten out of hand, very quickly. As I am writing this many other countries are putting laws into effect which will ban social media for all kids 15 and under. Smart move, in my opinion.
The world is realizing that we as a collective whole, need to pull back a bit and rethink phones and screens.
If your kids are under 18, living under your roof and benefitting from you paying their bills, you can do a lot to help your child navigate the world of screens It can be so helpful to teach kids some boundaries. These reasonable screen rules for teenagers are a great place to start.
Biggest thing To Help Your teens With screens
This idea is so big, it comes before any of the screen time rules for your teens. YOUR USE of the phone and screens is the first thing to look at. How often are you on your phone when you should be connecting with kids?
Any one of these screen time rules for teens that you lay down must also be followed by YOU. No exceptions.
Let’s look at some rules that you can rules can you expect your teen to follow.
Wait, there’s a lot of Screen Time rules!
Yes, find a few that work for you. I like to suggest starting with the easiest and work up from there.
Remember, you are the parent and you control the wifi, pay the phone bill, etc. If you don’t like what is going on, you can do what you need to do to put screens on hold for a bit, reassess and continue in a totally different way.
Screen Time Rules for Teens #1 – Turn off time
It is completely fair to institute a regular turn off time for your teen’s screens. There are many reasons why this is a good practice.
Sleep is so important for our growning teen’s brains. If they are up to all hours.of the night on a screen their sleep will be greatly impacted.
Also, as a member of the family, teens have to be mindful of others in the family who may need to get to bed or need the wi-fi turned off.
What time should be phone/screen shut off time? Ideally an hour before bed is good. This will allow their circadian rhythm to settle down so sleep onset is easier. As long as they are staring at the lights of their computer, their body thinks it is daytime.
It is also crucial to create a charging station away from teens bedrooms. If they use their phone to wake up in the morning, buy them an alarm clock.
It is way too tempting to have the phone charging on a bedside table. Which brings us to our next point.
Screen Time Rules For Teens #2 – Not in bedrooms
If your teen already has access to screens in their bedrooms, it may be hard to get them out without a bit of a rebellion. As I suggested above, phones should not be in bedrooms overnight, no matter how old your teen is.
On the subject of a computer in their room, if it is used for homework alone and not gaming or doom surfing, you may be able to bend this rule. But this is a very slippery slope and know that at any time you can change your mind and take it out.
I would highly advise against a gaming computer in their bedroom. You will very little agency over their use and might just find your kid never going to bed, waking in the middle of the night to get on, etc.
If your teen is younger, I would think about keeping phones out of bedrooms altogether. The habit of escaping into your bedroom and doom scrolling can happen much to easily.
Screen Time Rules For Teens #3 – Screen Free time
It is wise and really healthy, to institute some screen free times during the week. Again, this should be followed by the entire family – meaning YOU – for it to be the most effective.
You can have a basket, even a lock box – where phones go for an afternoon or an entire day.
It’s a great time for a family outing, but you do not have to entertain your kiddo during this time. It is really beneficial for them to figure out how to entertain themselves without a screen.
Boredom is a gift for your kids – it’s the place where brilliance and creativity flourish.
Screen Time Rules for Teens #4 – No Phone Zones
There should be zones, both in your home and out, that are screen free – always.
The car and the kitchen table are two great examples of places that phone use should not be allowed.
Yes, the car should be a screen free zone! We forget how valuable it is for kids and teens to look out the window and observe the world around them. The car can then become a place where you talk to each other and hear about what is going on with your children.
It is a great habit to teach kids who are driving age or almost driving age, to start getting them in the habit of not even thinking about looking at their phone in the car.
What other places can be no phone zones? Restaurants, relatives’ houses, grocery stores, museums…
You can have a discussion about this and have kids pick a few places where phones/screens are not allowed, but remember, you get the ultimate say.
Screen Time Rules for Teens #5 – Tune in to others
Nothing bothers me more than a teenager walking around the house with headphones on, totally oblivious to their family and what is going on around them.
When kids are tuned out there is no spontaneous conversation going on – no connection of any sort happening at all.
It seems incredibly self-serving. You can tell I feel strongly about it.
If it does not bother you as much, certainly you can skip this rule or just institute it in certain places or a certain times, like meal times and family gatherings.
Remember, it’s 100% up to you
You can do what feels right for you and your family. I would not do nothing…..start slowly and institute a few things that feel right to you. It might be hard, but we do really have to teach kids how to put screens in their place.
