Tech guru Abbie Richie has tips for parents to keep kids from spending too much time on their digital and screen devices.
Tip number one she says: Get to know your Wi-Fi app.
A lot of carriers like Cox and others have settings in their apps that you can adjust to limit your child's screen time. This works particularly well if you have a gamer in the house as it gives control back to you.
"You determine how long your son can be on his gaming computer and then after that time, it no longer has a WiFi connection.
Tip number two: Print off a list of priorities the kids must complete before they're allowed on their devices. Abbie found a useful printout on Pinterest.com
"I like the ones down here at the bottom," she said reading just three off the list of ten. "Play for 30 minutes. Read for 30 minutes. Do something creative. Do something helpful before you get on your technology."
Tip number three: Utilize the screen time settings on your Apple devices.
"Again, it allows you to control how long you kids spend online and when its time to take a break," Abbie said
"So let's say you only want your daughter to spend a certain amount of time on social media, you can then determine the downtime for those particular apps," she said.
And Abbie reminds parents to try and keep up with their child's technology habits as much as they can, and make sure they're doing their part to limit their time on their devices.
"When you're using your screen time settings, make sure you are doing it on all your Apple devices," she said.
"And make sure you're keeping your iPad password secure, because our kids are so smart, they always figure out a way to hack around what we've set up."
Abbie says it can take some work to keep up, but the benefits for your child's development are worth it.
"It's a way for them to really engage their mind and their creativity off the screen," she said.
You can find more tips from Abbie Richie at seniorsavvy.net
