 Welcome back to How I Parent, where we get a glimpse into how the nation is raising their kids. Every parent knows that getting some quiet time with children can be difficult, which is where screens – for better or worse – often come in. But one family has dug deep to buck the trend. Ruby Blaken, 32, and her husband Mike, 35, from Wiltshire, have banned their three children, aged 8, 4 and 2, from interacting with screens at home. This means the iPads and game consoles have been locked away – 'they know not to touch!' – and only occasional family TV-time, as a special treat. Ruby, who runs Second Snuggle, a preloved children's clothing company, says her children were using screen time frequently before the family took such drastic measures. 'We used to have rules that meant no screen time until after dinner. We have active children, so they would put the screens down to play outside,' she says, adding that things began to change. 'We started to see them picking up screens more often and not wanting to do other things. Then we noticed their behaviour became bad when they had been on them and there were constant arguments between themselves – it's like they forgot how to play with each other!' Ruby's children quickly adjusted to no screens at home (Photo: Own) Ruby was careful that she didn't make screen time into a 'prize', which she felt could create the problem of making it even more desirable. 'My eldest was talking to his friends all the time about what level of the game they were on or if they had managed to get the latest item within it,' she says. 'They seemed to use it more at a weekend than in the week.' Growing fed up with the constant arguments, Ruby and Mike decided to change the household tech rules. 'Initially, we tried by restricting it, but this just resulted in being asked about it all the time,' she says. 'So we chose to just stop screen time altogether. The bigger two were obviou){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Welcome back to How I Parent, where we get a glimpse into how the nation is raising their kids.
Every parent knows that getting some quiet time with children can be difficult, which is where screens – for better or worse – often come in. But one family has dug deep to buck the trend.
Ruby Blaken, 32, and her husband Mike, 35, from Wiltshire, have banned their three children, aged 8, 4 and 2, from interacting with screens at home.
This means the iPads and game consoles have been locked away – ‘they know not to touch!’ – and only occasional family TV-time, as a special treat.