Kids might feel care-free when the weekend starts, but as parents, we often find ourselves with a tricky decision to make: should we stick to the same screen time rules as weekdays, or give a little – if not a lot – more freedom over the weekend?
Why have different screen time rules on weekends?
Without the backbone of school, weekends are less structured and “freer”, allowing for more flexibility and spontaneity. Wake-up times and bedtimes might be later, and kids have more free time to spend with friends and family – and of course, on their favorite devices.
For most families, it’s difficult – and often impractical – to keep the same device rules on weekdays and weekends. But you can still relax your weekend rules while keeping everything running smoothly. More free time doesn’t mean freedom without boundaries. With a few small adjustments to your routines, paired with the right tools, you can help keep your child’s screen time balanced and safe, whether it’s a school day or a Saturday.
5 simple ways to balance your kids’ screen time on weekdays and weekends
In most cases, kids use their devices differently on weekends – for example, they may play more games, or chat with their friends more as they have extra free time.
Using the Routines feature, you can schedule different screen-time rules throughout the day and customize them for the weekend. For instance, you might adjust bedtimes to be a little later on Friday and Saturday nights, or, as an end-of-week reward, schedule more screen time for them to use as they see fit.
2. Allow access to essential apps
As parents in the digital age, we know that not all screen time is created equal. While we might be more flexible on weekends, we know it’s not a great idea to let kids play Roblox or scroll TikTok for two days straight.
Always allowed helps to navigate those gray areas by giving kids access to crucial apps on their Android devices – such as learning, messaging, or wellbeing apps – while others remain blocked. For example, if your child has homework to complete, you might always allow the apps they need to study, including Spotify if they like to listen to music while they work – it’s your call. Always allowed apps will stay accessible even during downtime events like Routines or Family pause.
Always allowed is currently only available on kids’ Android devices, although parents can use the feature by logging into the Parents App on any device.
3. Keep them safe when they’re out and about
During the week, parents usually have a better idea of where their kids are – at school, walking to and from school, heading to their extracurricular activities, and everything that comes with the regular routine. The weekends are often a different story, especially for older children who might use their free time to catch up with friends and go on real-world adventures.
Family locator helps you keep track of those busy weekend plans by showing you where your kids are at a glance – without them having to keep telling you. As well as where they are currently, you can check where they’ve been, and receive automatic notifications when they arrive at particular places, such as a friend’s house.
4. Preserve family time
Many families have dinner together on weekday evenings, but the chaos of the weekend may make it difficult for you to carve out that all-important offline time to spend together.
Family pause makes it easy for everyone to enjoy screen-free moments, no matter their busy schedules. Instead of pausing devices or profiles one by one, Family pause allows you to pause every child’s internet connection simultaneously – you can choose from preset durations like 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour, or set a custom pause time that suits everyone.
Weekdays or weekends, many families use Family pause to enjoy device-free dinners, take walks, play board games, or watch movies together.
5. No screens before bed
You may relax the rules on the weekend, but some should remain in place, whichever day of the week it is. Reducing, and preferably eliminating, screen time before bed is one of the easiest things we can do to improve sleep quality, and therefore our overall health and wellbeing – and just because there’s no school or work in the morning, doesn’t mean we should be up scrolling in the small hours!
On weekends, it can be a little harder to enforce the “no screens before bed” rule, but Qustodio has tools to help. For example, Routines allow you to set bedtime rules which block apps during the hours before, and during sleep. You can also use Family pause to help the whole family disconnect before bed so you all have the energy for a weekend adventure!
With kids having more free time, with less of a focus on school, their device needs are different on the weekend compared with weekdays. Parents should allow some flexibility, but the rules for screen time on the weekend don’t need to change drastically. With the help of parental control tools, such as Family pause, Routines, Family locator, and Always allowed, parents can relax knowing their child’s screen time is in safe hands, whether it’s a Monday or a Sunday.
