Time limit for cell phones: These times are useful for children
Related Videos: Screen Time Rules For Kids | Let's Talk | NPR (March 2024).
More and more children use a smartphone even at a young age. You should set a time limit for your child's cell phone so that the content and usage of the child are not too distracted from other important things.
Mobile phone use: This time limit makes sense
According to the industry association Bitkom, 82 percent of 10 to 11 year olds already use a smartphone. Most of the time, the cell phone is used by 10 to 18 year olds to stream music (88 percent) and watch videos (87 percent). An RTL study also shows that children between 8 and 13 years use their smartphone on average for 31 minutes a day. But how much time should children actually use a smartphone?
- Look Hin !, an initiative by the Federal Ministry for Families, Das Erste, ZDF and TV Spielfilm, says that a child is only mature enough for its own smartphone from the age of 11. If you give your child a cell phone earlier, you should consider the following recommendations from Schau Hin! consequences:
- Children up to five years: a maximum of half an hour at a time
- Children between six and nine years: maximum one hour at a time
- The following applies to all age groups: no more than 10 minutes of media time per year per year or one hour per year of the week per day
- On Familie.de, the experts advise the following times of use:
- Children under three: no smartphone use at all
- Children between three and five: maximum 30 minutes a day
- Children up to nine years: maximum 45 minutes a day.
- Children aged ten and over: nine hours a week
- The times of Familie.de refer to the use of all devices with a screen, including tablets, laptops or even smartphones.
Agree usage times
Mobile phones for children should always be carefully considered. To ensure that your child uses the smartphone responsibly, you should agree usage times and rules with him. Important: These agreements should be strictly adhered to!
- Record the agreement in writing. Templates for so-called media usage contracts are available, for example, at mediennutzungsvertrag.de.
- Set smartphone-free times. This could include meal times, homework times and the hour before bed.
- In general, the smartphone has no place in the child's bed. It is best to mute the smartphone at night and place it outside the children's room - for example in the hallway or in the kitchen.
- Have confidence in your child and do not constantly ask whether and how long they have used their smartphone today.
- If the contract is not adhered to, consequences should be drawn. These should be recorded in writing in the contract beforehand so that the child knows about them. The consequences could be a day's ban on cell phones.
- Be a good example for your child. The smartphone has nothing to do with you at the dining table or before going to bed.
Time management apps
There are various apps for Android and iOS that you can use to manage and control your child's smartphone time.
- Among other things, the apps allow you to set times when the cell phone may not be used - for example when doing homework.
- Or you restrict access to the smartphone in certain hours, so that the next generation can only call up certain learning pages or make calls.
- Many of these apps offer other functions that you can use to control which pages or content your youngsters watch / use for how long.
- The most popular apps include: Familytime, Famisafe, Screen Time Parental Control and Spyzie.
- Caution: When using such apps, you should always be aware that you control your child in one way or another. Therefore, you should always inform your child about the use of such applications.