We finally caved and got our daughter a phone. But before we did we sat down and wrote out some ground rules. No phones at dinner, no phones after 9pm on school nights, homework done first, that kind of stuff. We also have Life360 on it which I know some parents say is controlling but whatever. Anyone else do something similar or are we being too strict?
Good move setting those boundaries early. I coach enough kids to see the ones glued to screens versus the ones who aren't, and it makes a real difference in how they focus on what matters.
Respect for having the conversation before handing it over. That's the parenting equivalent of measuring twice and cutting once.
That's solid stuff right there. We did something similar with our kids and the no phones at dinner rule has been a game changer for actually talking to each other. Stick with it.
Nice, you actually sat down and made a contract before handing over the phone. That's smart parenting right there. A lot of people just give the phone and hope for the best. What were your biggest ground rules?
The fact that you had the conversation first instead of just handing her the phone puts you miles ahead. We're going to have to do this soon and honestly the planning stage is the most stressful part.
This is the move. My oldest is getting close to phone age and I'm already thinking through what boundaries we want to set. Did you include anything about social media apps or just the phone usage itself?
Sign in to join the conversation.
Good luck with that. Honestly even with a contract kids are going to find ways around stuff. But at least you've got clear expectations set from day one which is what matters.