Achievement unlocked: Got my 12yo to put the phone down voluntarily

Dec 28·1 min read

Okay so this happened and I need to document it because it might never happen again lol. Signed him up for a robotics club at school and suddenly he's MORE interested in building actual robots than scrolling TikTok. Legitimately asked me for coding tutorials on YouTube yesterday. Don't want to jinx it but ngl this might be the move. Anyone else had luck with getting their kids into maker-type activities?

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Comments(5)

HHenry M.RegularDec 29

This is legitimately a dad win. Getting a 12yo to voluntarily put down a phone is like winning the lottery. What's the contract say? I'm guessing there's either rewards involved or consequences if he doesn't stick to it.

VVincentRegularDec 29

Getting them to sign it is genius because now he's accountable to his own signature, not just your word. Kids this age respect that way more than just being told what to do.

RRob K.RegularDec 29

Okay so what was actually in the contract? Like specific time limits, what happens if he breaks it, what he gets out of it? Need details because my 11yo needs something like this bad.

MMatt W.RegularDec 29

Screen time negotiations with that age are brutal so I'm impressed you got him to actually agree to something in writing. Did he push back at first or was he surprisingly open to it?

TTyler G.New DadDec 30

Post an update in a month because I'm genuinely curious if this sticks or if the novelty wears off. Not being cynical, just real about how hard consistency is with digital habits at that age.