Screen time apps help you manage the amount of time you spend using a device with a screen. While some adults use these programs to moderate their phone or computer use, they prove particularly useful for managing children’s screen time. If you are among the parents who find their children’s too much screen time on their android devices a problem, we suggest reading this article. We will introduce the best android screen time applications which you can use to monitor and restrict your child’s screen time.
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Why is Screen Time Important?
Too much screen time is harmful to children’s mental and physical health. The health problems it causes include, but are not limited to, the list below:
- Irregular Sleep
- Weight disorders
- Behavioural Problems
- Mood Problems
- Poor School Performance
- Poor Self-esteem
- Brain Development Delay
The lack of movement when children sit in front of a screen for an extended period of time makes children prone to weight problems. Also, late-night screen time can stop children from falling asleep on time. Lack of enough sleep leads to various problems in children’s daily lives. For example, they may have trouble focusing on educational subjects or participating in physical activities.
Excessive use of phones and computers harms children’s mental health in many ways. Children exposed to screens from a young age for extended periods may suffer from improper brain growth. They may also feel detached from reality and the world out there, meaning they will have problems communicating with others. Children with high screen time are also prone to depression and anxiety.
What’s the Screen Time Limit for Children?
According to Kaiser Family Foundation, children spend 7.5 hours in front of the screens today for entertainment. This figure doesn’t include children’s study time using smart devices. Meanwhile, the suggested screen time limit for people under 18 is only 2 hours. As you can see, the gap between the safe screen time margin and how much time children actually use screens is vast. But is there any way we can help children spend less time in front of screens?
How Can We Help Children Reduce Their Screen Time?
There is, of course, a procedure to help your child reduce their screen time. Below we’ve explained each step.
Explain the Risks of High Screen Time
The first and foremost step parents need to take to help their children reduce screen time is to explain the risks of high screen time. Although younger children are usually careless about the risks of what entertains them, older children tend to be more responsible.
Offer Alternatives to Screen Time
Next, you should offer children alternatives to their digital entertainment. As long as children are home and there is nothing to do but watch screens, it’s hard to expect them to look away. The best thing you as a parent can do is to find activities for your child that do not solely require a screen. For example, you may enrol your child in an art class, language institute, or gym.
Keep Your Children Active
Most parents are usually busy with their careers and daily activities. Therefore, they cannot spend much time playing with their kids or entertaining them. However, taking the most benefit out of the limited time you have to create physical or outdoor activities for your kids is crucial. For example, take your child to museums, galleries, concerts, movies, plays, etc. Or you can go camping, hiking, or do some family playing outside.
Monitor Your Child’s Screen Time
Finally, you need to consider monitoring and restricting your child’s screen time because children usually cannot do it independently. Since you cannot keep track of your child’s screen time and follow them wherever they go reminding them to stop using their phones, you need to use applications that do the job for you. If your child has an android phone or tablet, you may install an android screen time app.
Why Use an Android Screen Time App?
In the past, children’s screen time mainly consisted of watching TV. Nowadays, children spend significantly more time on tablets and phones. A survey in the US in 2011 showed that the screen time of children up to 8 years old consisted of 51% watching TV and only 4% using mobile devices. A similar survey in 2017 showed a stark change in children’s screen time: TV dropped to 42%, and mobile devices rose to 35%.
As phones grow to be used for more and more purposes (communication, entertainment, education, etc.), children spend more time on phones. Knowing that about 90% of all mobile devices run on android operating systems, it is clear why parents need an android screen time app to protect their children from abusing their devices.
There are a variety of android screen time apps; not all have similar features. To explain their most essential elements, we have selected Safes parental control app because it has the most comprehensive features.
Safes Android Screen Time App
Safes is a parental control application for parents to manage their children’s mobile and computer use. This app has advanced tools to observe and restrict children’s screen time. The program can be used on all types of android devices enabling parents to monitor their children’s screen time wherever they use their phones.
You first need to install Safe on your device (it doesn’t have to be an android device) and then install a different edition of Safe, called Safes Kids, on your child’s phone. Safes Kids helps you pair your child’s devices with yours. After pairing, you would receive your child’s screen time report on your device and manage everything from there.
Features of Safes
Safes come with innovative features that make it the best android screen time app ever, including:
Screen Time Limit & Time Intervals
Set time limits for your child’s mobile use on their android devices. As your child hits the screen time limit, the apps they’re using shut down automatically. You can set time intervals, meaning your child can only use the apps at certain times. They won’t be able to use their phone if it’s their study time.
Screen Time Monitoring Using Geofence
By creating zones, you can let your child use their phone less at school and more at home or vice versa. This feature defines a geographical location on the map and applies specific settings. As soon as your child enters the zone, the settings activate. Their phone will shift back to the previous settings as they leave the zone.
Restrict/Allow Apps Individually
You may want to let your child use some apps more often than others. By setting different screen time limits for different apps, your child won’t be deprived of using the ‘‘good’’ apps.
Screen Time Monitoring Profiles
Safes comes with an option to create screen time profiles. You can define a series of screen time settings for special occasions with screen time profiles. For example, let’s say you’re on vacation; by activating the vacation profile, you may let your child use their phone for an extended period. It’s up to you how you define these profiles. The good news is that you can apply the profiles to as many devices and children as you wish without making settings anew.
Screen Time Reports
Soon after installing Safes on your child’s android phone, you’ll receive reports on their screen time. You can design the most accurate screen time schedule using the information you get on the apps your child uses more often.
Device Pause & Bedtime Mode
If your child overuses an app, you can close the app instantly or put the whole device on pause right from your own device. Bedtime mode works the same way as the device pause; the only difference is that you can set an exact time at night when your child’s phone will lock. This feature stops your child from staying up using their phone after bedtime.
Conclusion
Children are increasingly spending more time using their mobile devices. It’s necessary to know that excessive screen time harms their mental and physical health. If your child uses android devices, you need an android screen time app to monitor their screen time. Safes android screen time app has the most comprehensive tools that enable you to observe and restrict your child’s mobile use.
If you find the screen time control features that Safes offers for android devices pleasing, find more information about the complete features of this app on its website: Safes.so
