Do they have trouble sleeping after looking at their screens?
Using front of them, just moderating your use, keeping to set times and set spaces
Digital Detox: A Parent’s Guide
What does ‘digital detox’ mean?
The term ‘detox’ can sometimes imply that the thing you are cutting
down on is toxic. This isn’t the case with either tech or online services, such
as social media. They offer many positive things, whether it’s opening up a
world of knowledge to help young people in their education, an easy, cost-
effective way of keeping in touch with friends or absent family members, or a
vital communication tool for children with special needs. However, this has
become a topic of discussion because of the dangers that go along with
internet use, and digital detox simply means ‘weaning off’ from toxic
websites or being selective in what goes into your digital network.
Is there a need for digital detox?
We must not underestimate the need for fun and relaxation in our kids’
lives – particularly given the stresses children experience at school as they
prepare for exams, go through puberty and prepare to enter adulthood.
However, we should keep the following research findings in mind to keep us
wary of the dangers of long internet hours for our kids:
1. ‘Media use is no longer an optional extra, something that can be
bracketed off from daily life.’ Parents are naturally concerned when they
see their child hunched over their smartphone for hours, and worry they
are spending too much time in the virtual rather than the real world.
2. Research from media regulator Ofcom in August 2016 found that people
spend more time online than they do sleeping. It found that 30% of
adults had undertaken some kind of digital detox themselves, indicating
their concerns at the effect of too much tech on their own lives. There are
now companies offering ‘digital detox holidays’ for adults who want to get
away from their devices completely. These concerns for themselves will
naturally be passed on to the amount of time their children spend online.
3. Constant social media use can affect relationships with friends and family.
40% of people in one study said they felt ignored by a friend or
relative whose attention was entirely on their smartphone. Ask them
how they would feel if someone did it to them?
What Can We Do as Parents?
By the time children have reached a certain age, it can be difficult to
change ingrained habits of any kind, but the best thing to do is have open
and honest discussions with your children about your concerns and
find positive solutions together.
Encourage them to reflect on their own use of technology – as
well as comment on yours (because that’s only fair!) Discuss the amount
of time they spend online and the effects frequent use of technology can
have on them.
smartphones before going to bed can delay your sleep by at least an
hour. Lack of sleep can lead to health problems, make people moody or
mean they’re less able to concentrate, both at school and while doing
outside activities.
Do they put off important tasks because they are watching YouTube
or looking at Snapchat? Many young people suffer from FOMO – fear of
missing out – if they aren’t constantly connected to social media. Ask them
what they think will actually happen if they aren’t online – and encourage
them to think of things they may be missing out on in the real world.
Tips on what to talk about with your child
Ask them if they feel in control of their online activity. If they think they
spend too much time online, or that their internet use may be making them ill
and they want to moderate it, here are some topics to discuss with them:
Use activity apps. Research has suggested that ‘remaining seated for too
long can be bad for your health,’ so ask them to think about whether they
are spending long periods of time sitting down when using technology.
There are some great health apps around which can encourage them to get
active and help them track their achievements.
Close apps. Are there any apps which they spend a lot of time on but which
make them feel frustrated or angry, rather than help them in a positive way?
Encourage them to uninstall them for a set time to see how they feel without
them. If they genuinely miss them, they can always install them again.
Switch off notifications. Notifications can be particularly intrusive –
deliberately so as they are designed to get you back onto that particular app.
And they work brilliantly. But they are also incredibly distracting when one
pings up on your phone or tablet’s home screen. Ask your child if
they really need to be alerted about all of them. A lot of apps activate
notifications automatically when you download them. Ask them to think
about which ones they actually need – and switch off the rest. Again, they
can always turn them back on again if they feel they need to.
Use a timer. If they have an important task to do and want to focus, suggest
they schedule internet breaks. Set a timer or alarm to let them know when
their designated internet use time is up, then set airplane mode or turn the
phone or tablet off while they complete the task.
Be a role model. Of course, it’s not just children and young people who use
technology. Many parents are active users, too. It’s very difficult to
encourage your children to cut down on the time they spend online if you are
constantly updating your Facebook status on your smartphone in front of
them. There is nothing wrong with it, but if parents want to encourage their
children to modify their internet use, it helps if you can do the same yourself.
This doesn’t mean giving up your smartphone or never using your laptop in
at home, and being seen to enjoy doing things that don’t involve technology.
Encourage tech-free moments. With younger children, it’s easy for parents
to suggest family days out or activities together that don’t involve
technology. As children get older, their lives become more independent from
you and it’s neither right nor possible to control what they do all the time.
Even if you were at home with them when they are younger, parents
often return to work when children move up to secondary school which
means they are likely to spend time at home on their own after school. Short
of taking away their phone and removing the Wi-Fi router from your house,
you won’t be able to stop them going online. (And even this can be
circumvented by going to a friend’s house or the local library.)
So it makes much more sense to encourage their interest in activities
in the real world that don’t require access to the virtual world to be fun.
That could mean supporting them to take up a sport, learn the guitar,
go skateboarding with their friends or attend a local drama group, or
encouraging them to join a youth group or organization like the Scouts.
Local authorities will often have information about free activities for young
people on their websites, so encourage them to take a look at what’s going
on in their local area.
Tips to Keep Kids Off Inappropriate Games and Websites
1. Reiterate to your kids that these games and challenges are not real. Tell
them to not go openly searching for them online.
2. Be present while your children are online - or better yet, keep computer
units out of the bedroom and put them where they can be openly seen by
each family member.
3. Be wary of any sign of changes in your child’s behavior.
4. Talk regularly with your child about their online activities. Constantly
check on the search history on their cellphones, tablets, or PCs.
5. Ensure that you set up parental controls for your devices at home (see
back page), to help restrict the types of content your child can view. (e.g.,
turning off “suggested auto play” on YouTube)
6. Convince your child not to succumb to peer pressure and do anything
they are not comfortable with, online or offline.
7. As you can’t always rely on parental controls to block distressing or
harmful material, make it a point to flag, report, and block any account
with materials deemed to be inappropriate or harmful the moment you
come across it. Do not forget to encourage your child to
record/screenshot malicious contents as evidence to escalate the issue to
appropriate channels.
8. Encourage your children to talk to trusted adults to seek help and
assistance from whenever needed.
source: https://parentzone.org.uk/digital-detox-parent-guide
 HOW TO ENABLE RESTRICTIONS AND PARENTAL CONTROL ON WIFI/PHONES
For iPhone and iPad in iOS 11 or earlier
1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on Restrictions.
4. Tap on Enable Restrictions.
5. Type in a passcode. You’ll be needing this to disable restrictions
again. (This can and should be completely different from your Lock
screen passcode.) Make sure you note it down somewhere — if you
forget the passcode, you'll need to reset your device.
For iPhone and iPad in iOS 12
1. In iOS 12, restricting access to any content falls under the new
Screen Time feature.
2. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
3. Tap Screen Time.
4. Tap Turn On Screen Time.
5. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
6. Enter a four-digit passcode.
7. Re-enter the four-digit passcode.
For Android
Creating and Using Restricted Profiles
1 Open the Settings menu of your device. Locate the gear icon on the
home screen, notification panel, or app drawer, and tap it. This will
open all the Settings menu for your device.
2 Scroll down and tap “Users.” This will open a menu where you can
add new users to the device.
3 Add a restricted user profile. Tap “Add user or profile” and from the
options select “Restricted profile.”
4 Set up a password for the account. This is in case you don’t have a
password yet. To do this, select the security option you prefer (PIN,
password, or pattern), then enter the PIN, password, or pattern for it.
5. Once you’re done, a new screen will appear listing all the installed
apps on the device. Each will have a toggle ON/OFF button adjacent
to them.
6 Name the profile. Tap the three-line icon adjacent to the “New
profile” option at the top of the screen. In the dialog box that appears,
enter the profile name; this could be your child’s name. When you’re
done, tap “OK.”
7 Select apps to enable for the profile. You can now choose the apps
that the profile user will have access to. For instance, if you want your
child to have access to only his/her games, then choose only the
game apps. To select apps, tap the toggle button next to the app to
ON. Leave those apps that you don’t want your child to access to
OFF.
8 Use the new restricted profile. Exit the Settings menu and lock the
screen. Activate the screen by pressing the Home button of the
device. You will now be on the lock screen. The lock screen will
display user names at the bottom. Select the user name of the
restricted profile, then unlock the screen using the PIN, password, or
pattern you set.
If you access the app drawer, you can see that only those apps
you selected for the profile will appear. These are the only apps your
child can access.
Using a Parental Control App
1 Download and install a parental control app from the Play
Store. Open the Play Store, and search for “Parental Control.” Several
apps will appear in the results, like Mobile Fence Parental Control,
Kids Place, Screen Time, and many more. Tap one to view their
description, and once you find one that you’d like to use, tap the
“Install” button to download and install it.
2 Launch the parental control app. Locate the icon of the app you
selected from the home screen or app drawer, and tap it. When the
apps opens, it should have options like games, growth, education,
among others. These are categories where you can add apps for your
child. This is the home screen that your child will always experience.
3 Set a PIN code. Most parental control apps will require that you
create a PIN code. The PIN code will be used to add unrestricted
apps, make changes to settings, and to exit the parental control
mode. This way, your child won’t make unnecessary changes to the
parental control mode or exit it unintentionally. The Create PIN option
is usually found in the Settings menu. Locate a menu button (three
dots or three lines), tap it, and select “Create PIN.”
4. Enter the PIN you want to use, then tap “OK.” For additional security,
some parental control apps will ask that you select a security
question and provide an answer. This is useful in case you forget the
PIN.
5. Add your child’s information. You can usually find the option to add
your child’s information in the Settings menu. Enter your child’s name,
birthdate, age, and/or gender in the fields provided, and tap “OK.”
6 Add applications. From the Settings menu, tap the option for
selecting apps. A list of the installed apps should appear. Go through
the apps and tap the ones that you will allow your child to access.
When you’re done, tap “OK.”
7 Have your child use the parental control mode. Exit the app, and
when you launch it you may be asked for the PIN code. Enter it, and
the screen will show only the apps you have allowed your child to use.
You can now safely allow your child to use the device. Your child will
not be able to exit this mode, since the PIN will be required to exit, nor
will he/she be able to access the Settings menu without the PIN.
Setting Up Parental Controls in the Play Store
1 Launch Google Play. Look for the white shopping bag with a colored
play icon on it. Tap to open.
2 Open the Settings menu. Tap the three-lined icon at the top left and
tap “Settings” from the menu.
3 Go to Parental Controls. You’ll find this option under the “User
controls” heading. Tap it to open the Parental Controls menu.
4 Enable Parental Controls. A toggle switch will be below the Parental
Controls heading. Tap this to set it to ON.
5 Create a PIN. You will be asked to enter a 4-digit PIN; this PIN will be
used to change the settings for parental controls. Enter the PIN you
want to use and tap “OK.” Confirm the PIN by entering it again in the
field, and tap “OK.”
6 Set restrictions. Tap “Apps & Games” on the screen, and a pop-up
will appear allowing you to select app ratings for certain age levels.
For instance, if you select apps rated ages 3+, Google Play will only
show apps for kids ages 3 to 7. If you select rate 7+, it will only show
apps for kids ages 7 to 12, and so on. Tap on the rating you prefer to
set it.