{"id":11577663,"date":"2025-07-27T09:30:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T13:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11577663&preview=true&preview_id=11577663"},"modified":"2025-07-27T09:31:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T13:31:11","slug":"tips-cut-screen-time-smartphone-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/27\/tips-cut-screen-time-smartphone-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Column: Tips to cut down on screen time and smartphone use for kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

School starts up again soon, and parents will trade fighting over video games and cell phones to fighting over schoolwork, video games and cell phones. It\u2019s not an ideal world we have created for ourselves, but it does not have to be this way.<\/p>\n

Finding a way to cut down on screen time is arguably a health intervention for young brains. The U.S. surgeon general last year called for social media platforms to include health warnings for children<\/a>, and smartphone use has been found to intrude on sleep<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With three teenage boys in my home \u2014 well, one is 11, but he is furiously trying to keep up with his brothers \u2014 there are lessons I\u2019ve learned in keeping their screen time down to a minimum. These tactics are not always successful, and it takes constant vigilance. But when I see one kid doing origami while waiting, or the other working on his art projects, and the other competing in not one, not two, but three different sports, it feels worth it. Exhausting, but also worth it.<\/p>\n\n

Get to know your router<\/h4>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon for people to get a router, set up the Wi-Fi and never look at it again. But parents should see the router as an untapped resource when it comes to limiting screen time. Newer routers have built-in features that allow the identification and labeling of individual devices that are logged in \u2014 even the ones that come from your internet provider. For example, Spectrum, which I have used in the past, offers the ability to examine each device, match it in the router settings to the device\u2019s IP address, and turn the wireless connection off and on at will.<\/p>\n

If your internet provider doesn\u2019t offer this feature, you can go the extra step and set up a wireless mesh network. These devices expand your Wi-Fi\u2019s reach with a second network using your router as the source, creating a chokepoint for every connected device. The $100 Deco mesh network I use has a parental feature on its accompanying app that allows me to group multiple devices under each child\u2019s name and turn off internet access to multiple devices at once.<\/p>\n

And while you are in your router\u2019s settings, take a minute to change the password. It\u2019s a step a lot of people don\u2019t take and is a small thing to additionally secure your home, especially if you have multiple smart devices tapping into your Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n

Stick to old phones<\/h4>\n

There is a movement toward \u201cdumb phones\u201d or feature phones, but some of these can cost hundreds of dollars \u2014 and I would blow a gasket if I lost a phone that cost that much. I cannot imagine what my reaction would be if one of my kids lost one.<\/p>\n

So, when it came time to give the oldest kid, now 15, a smartphone, he got my hand-me-down, first-generation iPhone SE, also known as an OGSE. It\u2019s tiny in his big hands and it can\u2019t download the latest apps. But it can make phone calls, text and access the internet via its browser.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t his first phone, though \u2014 his first phone was a 4G Nokia 225, a bar phone with the mobile game \u201cSnake\u201d on it, and that\u2019s pretty much it. We serviced it with Mint Mobile and later with RedPocket\u2019s $10 1 GB per month plan<\/a>. This route took more effort and possibly was less cost efficient than simply adding him to our family cell phone plan. Sometimes the texts took forever to transmit, and the calls didn\u2019t go through. But the goal was to teach him to use the phone only as a tool to call and text us, and if it was absolutely necessary, bring up the internet on his very slow browser. Even though it was only $50, we still haven\u2019t let him live it down that he lost it after just one year of use.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Nokia 3410 mobile phone of painter August Lamm, a former social media influencer with over 100K followers, on a table at her art studio in east London, on February 18, 2025. Once boasting a social media following of more than 170,000, writer and artist August Lamm has ditched her smartphone and is urging others to downgrade to "dumb" phones to counter social media addiction. "When your whole social life is online, you can feel popular," she says, adding that she "would never go back" to using a smart device. (Photo by BEN STANSALL\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And yes, his younger brother, who received an identical pre-owned Nokia, also lost his phone about a year later. He is entering freshman year of high school, so all of our children\u2019s phones will soon make their way into different hands \u2014 the middle kid will get the OGSE and the oldest will get my husband\u2019s older, but later model phone, an iPhone XR, plus a slightly bigger phone plan to accommodate the increased demands of his academic and athletic pursuits. He\u2019s a conscientious student, a voracious reader, and is responsible in most things, so expanding the data plan is an appropriate step for him.<\/p>\n

As for the youngest, I have already identified a new $50 feature phone to purchase for him. Such phones can be found by scouring eBay or websites like dumbwireless.com<\/a>, which also offers service plans. If you\u2019re interested in learning more about so-called dumb phones, Jose Brioness has a robust YouTube channel<\/a> discussing all things dumb phone, and Reddit\u2019s r\/dumbphones<\/a> community has helpful tips for beginners.<\/p>\n

Make heavy use of screen usage apps<\/h4>\n

My husband and I have iPhones, so we use Apple\u2019s Screen Time<\/a>. Screen Time allows you to set up a family across Apple devices, with parents being able to set up restrictions for child users. You can set it up so any new app download requires permission from an adult and set a time limit for app use outside of restricted times. For my purposes, I do wish Screen Time allowed parents to set specific times an individual app can be used, not just bedtime limits, but this deficiency is why I have my mesh network to fall back on.<\/p>\n

Microsoft Family Safety<\/a> can be used across Android devices, Windows PCs and Xbox consoles in the same way Screen Time can be used across Apple products. Google Family Link<\/a> is available on both Apple and Android devices, as long as everyone has a Google account.<\/p>\n

All three are free of cost on their respective platforms and allow parents to control which apps children can download and set time limits. However with Apple\u2019s Screen Time, categories of apps can be fully blocked for periods of time. A child can get around web browsing restrictions by using a non-Edge browser or a non-Chrome browser restricted by Microsoft Family or Google Family Link, respectively.<\/p>\n

And if all else fails, there\u2019s always the option to simply take the device away.<\/p>\n

Remember this is an ongoing battle<\/h4>\n

Unfortunately, limiting screen time is not a set-it-and-forget-it exercise. Kids are ingenious when it comes to circumventing restrictions, and I have much less control over their school-distributed Chromebooks, which are a necessary evil now. Trying to safeguard your children\u2019s online safety and mental health will also require regular monitoring of their behavior and habits. Are they hiding out in their bedrooms, being quiet? Just like when they were toddlers, it probably means they are sneaking, but now with a school laptop or other device.<\/p>\n

However, parents alarmed at the growing drumbeat of negative news concerning children\u2019s smartphone and internet usage have options. It takes more work in many respects, but the payoff is healthy, safe children and their freedom to enjoy a childhood without a device in hand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Finding a way to cut down on screen time is arguably a health intervention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":11577664,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-27T13:31:13Z","apple_news_api_id":"89d11204-59f0-4e22-b8db-e980fd4fbd52","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-27T13:31:13Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AidESBFnwTiK42-mA_U-9Ug","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"Parents alarmed at 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