5 ways to Deal with your Kids Texting During Family Time

“Caught in the act…and it wasn’t pretty. I’m talking about my kids texting during family time. So, I had to give out some consequences.

I never thought I would be a parent who would have to deal with this problem, but here we are. We live in a connected world where technology is at our fingertips 24/7 and it’s not going away. With that being said, there are ways to limit the cell phone usage in your home, but it takes effort on everyone’s part, especially with teens and tweens.

Our family night is sacred to me and my family. Since our kids both play sports year round we don’t get a lot of time together outside of school activities and church. So what do you do when you finally have them all together and they have their noses in their phones? You lay down the law!

5 Ways to Deal with Your Kids Texting During Family Time:

1) Establish Cell Phone Free Zones

2) Create an Incentive Program

3) Hold a Family Meeting

4) Use the Buddy System

5) Have Consequences Ready

How many times have you sat down for dinner with your family, and instead of looking at the people around the table have you noticed that everyone is looking down at their phones? Or how about during a movie night? You may look around and notice that your family is texting on their phones. This can be very frustrating to parents, especially when they feel that their children are always on their phones. I admit that I struggle with this issue in my own house, but here are five ways to help deal with kids texting during family time:

1. Set up a family charging station.

2. Turn off all notifications on your phones or tablets, except for phone calls.

3. Remove social apps from your phone or tablet before leaving the house.

4. Turn off the ringer and vibration on all devices before leaving the house for an outing or event.

5. Have a family game night where everyone leaves their devices in another room during the game.

More and more kids are texting during family time. This is not a good thing as it means that they are not in the moment with you and are missing out on what is being said. Everyone knows that texting during family time is rude, but how can we get the kids to stop doing it? Kids often don’t realize they are doing something wrong unless they are told. Here are some ways that you can deal with your kids texting during family time:

1. Talk About It

The first step is to talk to your children about why it bothers you when they use their phones during meals or other times when they should be giving you their full attention. Tell them why it hurts your feelings if they do this, and that you would like them to put their phones away at these times. This is a good way to start a discussion so that everyone understands why it matters.

2. Be a Good Example

If you use your phone during dinner or other family events, then guess what? Your children will probably emulate this behavior and do the same thing. So, the first step should be for you to put your phone away so that you can give those around you the attention and respect that they deserve. If your children see you doing this, then hopefully they will follow

“Put it down and pay attention to me.” “Mom, I can do more than one thing at a time.” “I don’t care if you can; put it away.” This is the typical battle that ensues when your teenager is caught texting during family time. There are several ways to handle this situation:

1. Ban cell phones from the dinner table and other family times

2. Ignore it

3. Talk about it

4. Time together without devices

5. Be a good example

1. Clearly define what is appropriate behavior during family time and have a conversation with your kids about it. This helps them understand your expectations, which in turn will help them make the right choices when you’re not there to tell them what to do.

2. Talk to other parents and find out how they handle this situation. You may find some great ideas you can use with your own family.

3. Be a role model yourself by not engaging in texting or other inappropriate activities during family time. If you expect your children to follow your rules a good place to start is by following them yourself.

4. Put away all electronics for a period of time each day so that everyone knows there is no question about whether or not it’s appropriate for your family to use them at that time.

5. Get creative about how you spend your family time together so that you will be doing things that do not involve technology, such as playing games, riding bikes, or going for walks together.

The Internet is taking over. E-mail, social networking, texting… the list goes on and on. It’s easy to say that the Internet is ruining our kids with all of the technology that is out there, but it doesn’t have to be.

When it comes down to it, we can’t just say “no” to technology. Why? Because we use it daily! So why not use it as a way to interact with your kids? That’s exactly what I do!

I love my iPhone. I have my e-mail, texting and Facebook right there in my pocket whenever I need them. The same goes for my kids. They have their own cell phones and iPod touches that they carry with them wherever they go.

My oldest daughter texted me while she was at work a few days ago and said “this is so boring… I need more hours!” I asked her what she was doing and she said “I’m just sitting here.” That’s when I got an idea… let’s text each other! We had a great conversation about work, college and friends!

Another thing we do is play games together. There are many different games available for free via the internet and apps on our phones (and iPods). One of our

1. Take away their phone

2. Use the timer technique

3. Charging station

4. Don’t let them have a phone at all

5. Talk to them about it