I already gave my kid a smartphone, now what?

There are still things you can do to support your child’s healthy use of technology once they have a smartphone, including:

• Create phone-free zones in your home, such as the dinner table and bedrooms

• Use a physical alarm clock (not a smartphone) to wake up in the morning

• Set the phone to grayscale (colors are more enticing and engrossing)

• Turn off all notifications, except from those that come from actual people (not machines)

• Use Apple’s Screentime or Android's Digital Wellbeing to block apps and notifications for periods when your child needs distraction-free time

• Work with your child to avoid or delete apps that make them feel bad while they are using them

• Use One Sec, which delays access to an app when your child opens it

If you are interested in topics like these and more, contact us using the message box below. We would love to have parents of kids with smartphones build community and tackle the challenges you are facing together. The work continues!