Parent resources
Digital wellbeing is a broad phrase that usually arrives attached to something alarming. In practice, for a child aged 5 to 12, it comes down to a handful of ordinary questions: when devices are used, what they are used for, who else is around, and whether anyone can tell when it has stopped being enjoyable.
These guides stay on that practical ground — what to agree as a family, what children can reasonably be taught to notice themselves, and which habits are worth building early.
A rule your child helped write is one they will argue with less. Ask what they think is fair, take at least one of their suggestions seriously, and put the result somewhere visible.
“No devices at the table” only survives if it includes the adults. Children measure a rule by whether it is a rule or a punishment, and the difference is whether anyone else follows it.
Ask, without judgement, how something felt afterwards: better, worse, or just gone. Children are more perceptive about this than they get credit for, and noticing it is a skill that outlasts any limit you set.
The half-hour after waking and the hour before bed are the easiest places to hold a boundary, because nothing else is competing for them. If you only defend two windows, defend those.
Digital Wellbeing5 min read
What children's digital wellbeing looks like in an ordinary house: the habits worth building at 5–12, what to model yourself, and how to help kids notice how their own screen time feels.
Published 31 August 2026
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