Survey Shows 91.9% of Parents Struggle to Manage Kids’ Screen Time. Here's What To Do.

My 6-year-old (who doesn’t know we have Firewalla) recently said something that took me aback after I blocked YouTube on his device. 

“Dad, can we get a VPN?”

How does this second-grader know what a VPN does, let alone that it’s the answer to getting YouTube back? 

Kids are getting more sophisticated, just like the technology that’s available to consumers. The internet has become so addictive that New York City recently designated social media as an environmental toxin because of its potential danger to young people. 

To better understand how parents feel about screen time, we polled Firewalla users. Nearly all (97.5%) feel it’s necessary to take matters into their own hands to manage kids’ screen time because they feel there aren’t sufficient safeguards in place from social media companies, the government, internet companies, or other stakeholders. What’s more, 91.9% said they were having challenges managing their kids’ screen time. 

Responses noted a variety of factors that made the management of their kids’ screen time difficult. According to one respondent, “With multiple platforms such as Xbox, iPad, Nintendo, etc. (having) their own screen time limits, it's hard for parents to manage screen time for each one. They reach a limit with one and then they move to another. Setting network rules per device is also challenging when kids share a device.”

While organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics make recommendations to limit screen time to under two hours, even for adults, it’s a question that only parents can answer for their kids. The survey also paints a picture of how much parents deem to be an appropriate amount of screen time. Here’s a breakdown of the time limits they’ve set:

More than half of respondents (56.3%) said Firewalla has made a major difference in their ability to address concerns over their children’s online/social media usage. The biggest factor was increased visibility into network activity (41.7%), followed by increased control to restrict certain apps or services (36.5%) and the ability to manage screen time and certain apps (14.1%). 

The breakdown is a microcosm of how parents consider screen time these days. How you deal with it depends both on your parenting style and your children, but the biggest thing parents want is the visibility to know what kinds of content their kids are consuming. From there, they can make decisions about whether to block that content or set screen time limits. 

There are a variety of features on the Firewalla platform to accomplish those feats. According to the survey, the most used features include:

• Rules/policies (82.3%) to manage access control
• Family Protect (78.5%) to filter out harmful/inappropriate content (Ex. violent and pornographic material)
• Safe Search (78.5%) to keep adult content out of search results
• Ad Block (74.7%) to block targeted ads that promote web pages, mobile apps, and games

As technology competes for children's attention, it’s essential for parents to know they have the means to manage their kids’ screen time effectively. Parental control tools provide the necessary oversight to ensure screen time is not excessive. These resources put parents in the driver’s seat to set healthy boundaries, making them proactive participants in their children’s digital lives.