Set Time Limits on Technology with Screen

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If your family is like mine, monitoring your kids’ screen time and media exposure throughout the week is a constant worry. With schools now utilizing technology like iPads more often, our kids are spending multiple hours looking at a screen every day. Learning time aside, they are sitting in front of television and playing video games in between times to relax. As concerned parents, we find ourselves having to be diligent in guarding family time and making sure our kids get creative play time and face-to-face human interaction. However, the right tools can make managing this time easy.

{We’d like to thank Screen for sponsoring this post and letting us share their new technology with our readers.}

Last month I was introduced to a great new set of products from getScreen that can help the whole family to monitor screen time across all the devices in your home. Screen offers a unified system of parental controls that works with smartphones, tablets, television, and even video games. Once installed, the Screen app lets you set time limits unique to each device, track usage, set custom rules for each device, and remotely turn off devices. You can even get help locating any device connected to your account.

Screen Parental Controls for Kids Screen Time

Trying Screen at Home

I decided to try their products using my iPhone to manage screen time for my kids’ iPads. Installing the app and connecting the devices was easy. To start, I visited the website www.getScreen.com. I was guided through a step-by-step process to set up the master account on my phone. Then I was emailed a link for the kids’ version of the app that I could install on any device. Once installation was confirmed, an icon for each device was displayed on my phone. Setting viewing schedules was easy and straightforward, and the customization was great. I could create any number of viewing rules to control each iPad to suit the needs of each child.

After getting everything set up, I gave iPads back for game play and watched what happened. Using my phone as a remote control I locked one of the iPads, and within minutes an alert popped up on my kid’s screen. Even after trying to continue using the iPad, alerts kept popping up until they were eventually logged off and sent to the home screen. Although it did not turn off the power completely, it effectively interrupted use of the iPad. I was also sent an alert on my account that notified me about the usage. The viewing rules help to easily enforce our family’s overall screen time agreement–which we can all sign directly in the app.

screen time rules, family screen time agreement
Adding a rule (left) and signing a family screen time agreement (right)

Recommendations

Screen seems especially well-suited for families with young kids and households that need help managing lots of devices. I love the peace of mind that comes with using a tool like Screen, knowing that I can check in on my kids’ activities and have control over their media exposure no matter where they happen to be. Whether we are home all together, or the kids are left with a friend or babysitter, Screen offers a constant and reliable routine for the whole family.

Screen even provides parents with the ability to view what kids are doing on their computers, which can help with keeping kids focused on their task (e.g. homework) versus engaging in less productive screen activities.

I also have to compliment the company on providing superior customer service. I emailed a few questions along the way, and their team was very quick to respond. Every person I dealt with was very personable and attentive, and they resolved matters quickly. I would trust them to help work through any glitch or hiccup that our devices might happen along the way. Technology has a way of being difficult, even when it seems like it should be simple. These guys were great.

To get started, install the apps on your devices (iPhones, iPads, Android phones and tablets and Windows computers) and enjoy using Screen as your family screen time assistant!

Visit getScreen.com/install to try the software today!

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