How to manage screen time effectively?

Tips to Limit Screen Time 1. Don't start your day grabbing your smartphone to see what you've missed. Instead, as you wake up, take some moments to set your intentions for the day. 2. Replace your bedside phone alarm with a clock alarm. 3. When using the bathroom, leave your phone outside. 4. Place your phone in a drawer for an hour at lunchtime. 5. Turn off your phone on the way to and from work or school. 6. Charge your phone outside your bedroom. 7. Turn off Wi-Fi at a fixed time, every night. 8. Install a distraction-proofing app, which can block your access to social media for a pre-determined time duration. 9. Have a family-media plan. Get the entire family involved in the planning. 10. Set up gadget-free zones in the house.

What is the best parental control app?

Screen Time Parental Control Apps 1. Kaspersky Safe Kids. 2. Norton Family. 3. Screen Time Parental Control App. 4. FamiSafe.

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21 Simple And Effective Tips For Parents To Reduce Kids’ Screen Time At Home

Team ParentCircle 3 Mins Read

Team ParentCircle

Eight leading experts and bestselling authors share a few easy tips to help you disconnect from your phone and reconnect with your children, family, and friends

Toddler to Parent

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21 Simple And Effective Tips For Parents To Reduce Kids’ Screen Time At Home

We are so connected to our phones that we are losing out on face-to-face connections. How can you balance screen-time with me-time, family-time, and connection-time? Eight renowned global experts share special tips just for you. It's a ParentCircle exclusive.

21 effective tips that you can easily turn into habits

Don't start your day grabbing your smartphone to see what you've missed. Instead, as you wake up, take some moments to set your intentions for the day.
Replace your bedside phone alarm with an alarm clock.
When using the bathroom, leave your phone outside.
Place your phone in a drawer for an hour at lunchtime.
Turn off your phone on the way to and from work or school.
Charge your phone outside your bedroom.
Turn off Wi-Fi at a fixed time, every night.
Turn off all notifications, except important ones.
Install a distraction-proofing app, which can block your access to social media for a pre-determined period.
Have a family-media plan. Get the entire family involved in the planning.
Schedule gadget-free time every day for you and the whole family.
Set up gadget-free zones in the house.
Make a special snooze box for all the phones. Have everyone place their phones in this box during gadget-free times.
Take a few minutes to unwind and finish all you have to do before you enter your house in the evening. Turn off your phone and put it away till your children are in bed.
When spending time with children or your spouse, turn off your phone. Even better, hide it.
When interacting with someone, even holding a phone in hand is a distraction. So keep your phone away while socializing and conversing with people.
Have no-gadget meals together at home or outside.
Go out as a family, where everyone leaves their phones behind.
Try having one screen-free day per week.
Plan a gadget-free weekend.
Go on no-gadget vacations.

These tips have been shared by:

Dr Laura Markham (Author, Peaceful Parents, Happy Kids series)
Nir Eyal (Author, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life)
Dr Victoria Dunckley (Author, Reset Your Child's Brain: A Four Week Plan to End Meltdowns, Raise Grades and Boost Social Skills by Reversing the Effects of Electronic Screen Time)
Blake Snow (Author, Log Off: How to Stay Connected after Disconnecting)
Orianna Fielding (Author, Unplugged: How to Live Mindfully in a Digital World)
Tanya Goodin (Author, OFF: Your Digital Detox for a Better Life and Stop Staring at Screens!)
Dr Tchiki Davis (Author, Outsmart Your Smartphone: Conscious Tech Habits for Finding Happiness, Balance, and Connection IRL)
Dr Sharon Saline (Author, What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life)

Screen time parental control apps

With children spending more time on gadgets, the problem of gadget addiction is increasing. If you are worried about your child's increasing screen time, using parental control apps can help.

Here are a few screen time parental control apps that you can use.

Kaspersky Safe Kids: Includes location tracking and geofencing features
Norton Family: Includes time-scheduling and web-filtering controls
Screen Time Parental Control App: Includes family location tracking, blocking device usage at certain times of the day, and monitoring social media usage
FamiSafe: Has a host of features, including checking the usage of specific apps

Use these tips to unplug and stay connected. Keep your head up, exploring and connecting, instead of keeping your head down, glued to your phone. Disconnect to Reconnect.

Last updated on: July 21, 2025

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