Got him a basic iPhone for his birthday like he begged for. Now he's asking for TikTok every single day and I caught him watching YouTube videos at 11pm when he was supposed to be sleeping. I set up screen time limits but he figured out how to request more time and keeps bugging me about it. Anyone else struggle with this? Feel like I opened Pandora's box.
Yeah at 8 that's tough. The thing is they see all their friends have it and it feels unfair to them. We did the basic phone thing too and had to establish hard rules from day one. No TikTok here either - that app is designed to be addictive.
Yeah, the regret is real. I'd say set some hard boundaries now before it gets worse. We use screen time limits on our phones and it's been a game changer, but you gotta stick with it or the kids will wear you down.
TikTok is a whole different beast. At 8 years old he's not ready for that algorithm rabbit hole. Stick to your guns on that one.
11pm is way too late for an 8yo. Tom B. here and I've been down this road. What helped us was putting the phone in a charging dock outside the bedroom at a set time every night. No exceptions, no negotiations.
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I feel you. We're not there yet with my daughter but it's coming and I'm already stressed. I think the key is being clear about what the phone is FOR - emergencies, calling home, texting you. Not entertainment. How are the conversations about it going?
This is what I'm terrified of. You gave him the phone with good intentions and now you're the bad guy saying no. Screen time limits from the jump would have been the move but hindsight right? You can still reset expectations though.