Electronics have been an indispensible way for all my kids to stay in contact with their friends during the chaos that COVID has caused. Ideally I didn't want them all to have phones until they learned to drive but plans changed. The only holdout now is my 13yo son who doesn't have a phone but does have an apple watch for texting his friends and me. Otherwise he communicates with friends through video games.
All electronics in our house are required to be used in public areas. No cell phones, laptops or nintendos in bedrooms or bathrooms. During the day sometimes they'll have their phones plugged into outlets in the hallway outside their bedrooms while they are doing homework. We used to charge ours on a multi-gang charger in the kitchen but the kids were getting up in the middle of the night to check their phones so I changed that about 6 months ago to a small table in my bedroom. They have to drop off their electronics to charge in my room at night and can pick it up first thing in the morning. They also have to be ok with my checking their text messages occasionally (sometimes I do this when they are there just to ask questions about what they are their friends are up to. They are pretty open with me so it's not a big deal). We have explained that the phones belong to DH and I and we can take them away when we think it's necessary (i have done this once for DS1 and DD). Also, all phone privileges end the first time I see any photos of body parts between the shoulders and knee caps posted. I've explained how that lunacy will leave a trail on the internet that will follow them for life. Also, they need to ask us before subscribing to any new platform like snapchat, Instagram, whatever. If they have a well-reasoned explanation why they want to join, I let them do it and then just ask for updates now and then. So far, so good.
Last edited by gatorsmom; 04-12-2021 at 04:06 PM.
" I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." Mahatma Gandhi
"This is the ultimate weakness of violence: It multiplies evil and violence in the universe. It doesn't solve any problems." Martin Luther King, Jr.