New research published today by Action for Children has found that almost one in four mothers and fathers (23.1%) struggle to control their children’s screen use.
As the BBC reported, many UK parents find it easier to get their children to do homework, go to bed or have a bath than turn off their phones, laptops and TVs, a poll finds.
To ensure young people have a healthy relationship with technology it is important that a balance is maintained. Putting in place a family agreement is a great way to help to this.
A family agreement allows parents to start a conversation with your whole family about how you all use the internet and gives you chance to discuss together how to behave in a positive way when online at home, at school or at a friend’s house.
To support parents in creating a family agreement we have put together some free advice and a family agreement template.
Healthy lifestyle plays a key part of this and it’s important, as a family, to ask questions such as:
- How long can we spend online?
- Do we spend the same amount of time enjoying our offline activities?
- Where can we use our devices around the house?
Once you’ve answered these questions you can then use the family agreement template to set clear expectations for positive and safe internet use.
To download our advice and template visit: https://www.childnet.com/blog/family-agreement
