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PSLE is over! Yes!!! However, please set some limits to your children’s access to personal devices! The internet is wild and dangerous when used without limits. From my personal experience, Google’s Family Link can really help control device-access and maintain peace in the family. Here’s how.

Google’s Family Link is an app that helps you take TOTAL CONTROL over your child’s screen time:

Functions in a nutshell:

– full view of their activity online

– full control over what they download

– set limits on the amount of time they spend on-screen

– set limits on the amount of time they spend on each app

– award Bonus Time for good behaviour

– set bed-time so that the device locks itself when it’s time for bed

– control their devices remotely using Parents’ own handphone. i.e. Need them to come to the table for dinner immediately? Click “Lock now” (the button that sends exhilaration down my spine) and see them walk to the table reluctantly.

Still not convinced? Here are 3 main reasons why you should install the app.

1. Control Till 18 Years Old.

You might think this is only necessary for young kids where you need to control screen-time to prevent hyperactivity and over-stimulation. However, from my experience of dealing with teens whose parents bestowed them with a device right after PSLE, the device is exactly what damages well-behaved kids.

To be honest, I’ve met so many parents of post-PSLE kids losing complete control over their once-obedient little angles due to handphone addiction. Therefore, I highly recommend that Family Link be used on all devices handed over to children under the age of “mature-enough-to-handle-devices-responsibly” year old.

They are never too old for some form of control over devices. Admit it, even we ourselves, can be addicted to the phone, not to mention our own children.

2. Amazing Control You Can Have Over What They Can Access

I find these functions extremely useful because my son is into pop music yet not everything is suitable for him. Family Link not only allows me to control the music he can stream but also lets me:

Set limits on movies and TV shows based on the same familiar rating systems used in theatres and by TV stations
Set limits on the types of books my child can download
Control search options (Google SafeSearch is on by default) and limit the websites my child can visit in Google’s Chrome browser with the option to 1) allow all sites, 2) block mature sites (default), or 3) only allow for certain sites on a list you approve. As the app says, “no filter is perfect” but the default settings should help hide sexually explicit and violent sites
Control my child’s ability to share photos (it’s on by default)

3. Set a Time for Every Activity

Here are some screenshots of what you can set and control.

I allow 2.5h on days he has zoom lessons. The device is otherwise always locked.

On days when he wants to be rewarded for work done or good behaviour, I’ll use this function to unlock the tab momentarily. This is a very effective negotiation tool when we want him to do homework 😉

Being able to set time limit is perhaps the most important reason for installing the Family Link! Even though the big exam (PSLE) is over, doesn’t mean the kids can be on the phone the entire day, watching Youtube videos after Youtube videos. It also doesn’t mean they can be chatting on the phone with their friends until daybreak! What’s worse, you will not even know who he/she is chatting with!

Bottomline

This app has definitely taken away my worries of introducing a device to my son. I love the amount of control I get over his usage and prevented many tussles we could potentially have over his uncontrolled usage when we are not at home. Highly recommended! Try it!

Parenting has never been easy and we all wish there is a manual that guides us on this tedious and ever-so-challenging journey. As a matter of fact, plenty of such guides are out there but they tend to espouse different principles and guidelines and they can be very overwhelming. No fret. Here’s the ultimate parenting summary from the findings of studying 70,000 children across five generations. Ready? Get your notebook out!

1. Be responsive and interested parents.

Studies have shown that small things that parents do, like talking and listening to a child, responding to them warmly, teaching them their letters and numbers, taking them on trips and visits, are associated with good outcomes for children. In one study, children whose parents were reading to them daily when they were five and then showing an interest in their education at the age of 10, were significantly less likely to be in poverty at the age of 30 than those whose parents weren’t doing those things.

2. Send your kids to bed at regular times.

Studies have shown that those children who were going to bed at different times were more likely to have behavioural problems. In fact, sleep has been found by researchers to affect executive functioning and children with a lack of sleep or irregular sleeping habits tend to suffer from lower inhibitory and impulse control. One more bad news, one study showed that catch-up sleep on a weekend has no particular benefits to executive functions; it might even have an adverse effect on self-regulation in children. Therefore, send your kids to bed at regular timings and do not rely on catch-up sleep on the weekends!

3. Leave it to your child to choose what to read.

Scientists found that children who were reading for pleasure, be it a magazine, a picture book, or a story book, were more likely to perform better in school in all subjects and not just English. So do not stop your child from reading Geronimo Stilton or Whimpy Kid thinking they are useless or too simple! Whatever they read doesn’t matter, what’s more important is that they read.

In summary, the ultimate guide to parenting: Give them your attention for at least 30min a day, send them to bed at regular timings, allow them to go everywhere with a book (instead of an electronic device!), whatever the title. Congratulations, you are on your way to becoming a GREATER PARENT.

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3 Reasons Why You Should Install Google’s Family Link (Post-PSLE)

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