We Banned Devices in Our Children’s Bedrooms — And This Is What Happened

I’ve always been pretty relaxed about my children using devices. They both do a lot of sports clubs that keep them busy, and I love that they spend time each week with different groups of friends.

I think tech is here to stay, so my attitude has always been that I want my children to grow up knowing how to use it responsibly. But recently, I noticed things might have slipped a little out of my control, and I wanted to rein it back in.

My children are 10 and 8, and I’ve seen a big shift in my 10-year-old lately. He wants to spend more time on his own in his bedroom, becoming more moody and a bit more negative. After checking his computer (which we try to do regularly), we noticed he was mostly watching YouTube Shorts. Now, the content itself isn’t bad — he loves anything to do with facts, stats, and football — but I know there’s a lot of research about how these short clips give us constant little dopamine hits, which really isn’t great in the long run.

The New Rules

After chatting with my husband, we agreed to bring in a new rule limiting the time our kids can use devices in their bedrooms. We thought about a straight ban, but since they both have such busy days, I knew from my own experience that I like a bit of downtime on my phone when I get home. So, we compromised: they’re allowed 30 minutes in their rooms after school to chill out with a device.

I actually set a timer for this because the time goes so fast (and I know how easy it is to lose track myself!).

When we told the kids, they weren’t thrilled (at all), but they accepted it.

The First Few Days

I was so surprised at the changes I noticed immediately! Firstly, I loved having them around more. Just being in the same room together — each doing our own thing — feels so good.

The next big change was how all of our device use shifted, even mine. Now that the kids could see how much time I was spending on my phone (even though I use it a lot for work), I became more aware and wanted to put it down to set a better example.

Using devices also became more social. My son would be playing a game on his computer, my daughter would see and want to join in, so she’d sit next to him with her device and they’d chat away about scores and strategies.

Week 1

My husband and I have been so pleased to see the positive changes in our son. He’s spending so much more time downstairs with us (which I love), and he seems so much happier and upbeat.

We chatted with him about YouTube and suggested he find some proper programmes to watch on Netflix or Disney+. Now that he knows we can see what he’s watching, he’s done exactly that and found some great new shows.

My daughter’s device use has decreased hugely too. She was always more interested in playing games on the iPad than watching videos, so I wasn’t too worried about her, but I wanted her to have the same example set. Now that she’s downstairs more, she gets distracted by what other people are doing and often puts her device down to join in. She’s been helping in the garden, watering plants, sweeping up, and showing me all her gymnastics moves.

Overall, this first week has been brilliant. The kids are happier, and I’m loving all the extra family time.

Week 2

This week I noticed a big shift in how the kids use music — and how it affects their moods.

Before, my son would hide away in his room watching YouTube Shorts, which never seemed to improve his mood. Now, if he’s feeling a bit low or wants some time to himself, he goes upstairs to listen to music, and it totally transforms his mood. He’s even commented on it himself!

He’ll often come downstairs and say how much happier he feels after listening to his playlist. He’s also started sharing his favourite songs with us, which I really love. The change in him has been fantastic.

Week 3

This week has been… interesting. My son is clearly desperate for alone time, so he’s started lying in the hallway to watch his device 🤣. I’m not sure whether this defeats the point or makes me proud of his resourcefulness! Either way, I can keep an eye on what he’s doing (and say hello as I step over him), so I suppose that’s a small win.

Week 4

The biggest surprise this week is how much we’ve all adapted. Honestly, I thought the kids would have moaned so much by now that I’d give in and relax the rules, but the opposite has happened.

They actually seem to like the new routine, and it’s rare they take devices up to their rooms at all, even though they’re allowed their 30 minutes. Their screen use has changed too — they’re watching at least half as much YouTube, and my son has completely given up Shorts. He’s gone back to watching proper YouTubers with longer videos, and his mood is so much better for it.

Before, they mostly used iPads to watch things, but now they’ve switched to the TV and enjoy watching shows together. They’ve both discovered a love of films, which means we often sit down as a family to watch something together. Personally, I much prefer them watching the TV — they seem more aware of their surroundings than when they’re locked into a small screen.

3 Months Later…

Well, time really does fly when you’re having fun! It’s now been 3 months since we started this new rule — and we’ve even had the 6-week holidays in that time, when all rules and routines usually go straight out of the window.

But I’m really pleased to say we’ve managed to stick to it completely. The difference in my 8-year-old has been brilliant. She spends about 75% of her time doing something crafty (I think she’s well on her way to building a jewellery empire with the number of bracelets she’s made!) rather than playing games like Roblox. And if she does play, it’s usually side by side with her brother, which feels much more social.

My son still loves lying in the hallway with his laptop 🤣 but overall he’s much more integrated into family life and spends far less time on apps like YouTube. The kids hardly ever ask to have their devices in their bedrooms now, which has completely changed how those spaces feel. Their rooms look much more like proper children’s bedrooms again — full of toys, creations, and little projects scattered across the floor and shelves.

Sure, when they were glued to devices the house was a lot tidier, but honestly, I’m enjoying the childhood chaos everywhere while it lasts. 😃

Conclusion

I am so, so glad we brought in this rule! My son still spends a lot of time lying on the hall floor with his laptop, but I’m okay with that 🤣.

I honestly thought this would cause major drama, but it hasn’t at all. They weren’t happy initially, but I feel like we introduced it at just the right time and may have saved ourselves bigger challenges as we really enter the tween stage (fingers crossed we can keep it up!).

If screen time is something you’re worried about in your house, I’d definitely recommend trying a change — even if it’s gradual. We’d got to the point where I barely saw my children and felt like I was losing control of what they were doing. Now, we’re spending so much more time together and we’re all happier 🥰.