Think about the choices you’re making now while your children are young, and imagine how they might play out when they’re teenagers. A TV or gaming console in the bedroom might seem harmless today, but a few years down the line it could mean late nights and regular battles over turning it off.

 

Setting clear rules and boundaries around technology while your child is still young makes a huge difference later on. You don't get to join the dots up until your children get older and see how some of this plays out. 

 

When expectations are introduced early, they become a normal part of your family life, not a fight that starts in the teenage years. Consistent routines about screen time, devices in bedrooms, and what’s OK online help your child grow up understanding the limits and the reasons behind them. It makes life much easier for you in the long run and gives your future teenager a safer, healthier relationship with technology.

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• Children learn from us, set Healthy habits with your own digital use in front of your children. 

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• Youtube - when they are little and you put on videos for them it all seems fine, but when they are older with access to the control, the content that they watch is just endless, mind numbing attention grabbing YouTube clips. Keep YouTube for educational use only and don't allow YouTube shorts, you can change your settings so video's don't automatically play. If you want to use YouTube, we suggest using it on a family computer. 

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• Ensure your Wifi Security is set and you have parental controls on every device your child has access too. This is to protect your child and other peoples from accessing all sorts of really harmful content.

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• Hold off on smartphones and social media until at least 14, ideally 16.

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• Give a simple phone for calling and text as they get older.

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• Get a landline - they are coming back! Get your children's friends to get one, they can call each other.

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• No devices at mealtimes, it's tempting to have a quiet meal, but think about what that looks like when they are older. It really pays off if you can get them used to sitting, socialising and eating with you. Just make sure if you go for meals have a bag by the door, with colouring, games, cards, toys in.

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• No phones -  in the car, before bedtime, in bedrooms.​​

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• No TV or gaming stations in bedrooms, keep them where you can see and hear who they are playing with.

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• Gaming - Try and have a rule of no gaming in the week, the pressure to play is relentless, if they learn from a young age that this is how it is it will be so much easier for you when they are a teenager. If you want to get a gaming console we recommend getting something that isn't portable so its a fixed station in a communal area in your home so you can hear who they are playing with. 

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• If your child goes anywhere, have an up front discussion about technology with the other parents and what your expectations are. We recommend saying no devices or Youtube for young children after what parents have experienced with their young children on playdates and sleepovers. 

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• Sleepovers and playdates - In a recent survey 53% of children didn't have parental controls on their devices. This is the time they want to share with their friends. You can have a box by the door to leave devices in or if you are ok with them having them for a bit, at least remove them by 8/9pm so not to allow them through the night when you aren't around to monitor. 

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• Pornography: Sexual content isn't just limited to adult websites anymore, it shows up across many different forms such as social media, games messaging apps, pop ups. Even apps that seem harmless can expose children to explicit images, videos or ads. Children don't have to search for it to find it, there is explicit content on TikTok many OnlyFans post here, on Spotify, there is audible erotica and podcasts, even YouPorn pop up ads when a child was listening to a YouTube audible book for Diary of a wimpy kid which the child clicked on it. This is why having parental controls and wifi security enabled are so important. Click here with help on how to have conversations about explicit content. 

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• Tracking - It's tempting to want to know where your child is and what they’re doing at all times. It feels like good parenting keeping them safe in a world that can be unpredictable.​ But constant tracking can quietly harm the very thing it’s meant to protect: trust. Read here for some alternative ideas on tracking.

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​This list is very much a perfect world scenario. But putting these things in place now whist your children are still young will make life with your teenager so much easier for you in the future.