This post was sponsored by Google in partnership with the Forward Influence Network. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Times have sure changed since I was a child. At 3 years old, I was just learning to tie my shoes. Today’s 3 year old’s can operate a phone, play games on a tablet tablet and they even know how their way around on the computer.

As a parent, I have to be just as tech smart so I can keep up with what they are doing online, at all times, whether it’s on their phone or on the computer.

Having done research and finding the Google Digital Wellbeing. Through this I found an amazing tips to help assist with digital time.

 

• Assistant

– Bedtime Routine: To make falling asleep easier, both parents and kids can set up customization Bedtime Routines. With a single voice command, they can set an alarm, dim the lights, lower the music, get tomorrow’s weather, play a bedtime story, etc. 

• Family Link

See full Family Link guide here

– Set screen time limits:  If parents feel like their child is spending a little too much time with their device, Family Link lets them set a daily limit for every day of the week.

• Android

– Customize Notifications: To help parents and their families live in the moment, they can control which apps are allowed to alert them. To reduce the urge to check email or social media when they don’t intend to, they can remove the indicators on the app reminding them of unread messages or updates. 

– Do Not Disturb: To limit interruptions during family time, parents can hide all notifications with one tap in their Quick Settings so they won’t appear on screen. They can also set do not disturb to turn on automatically during certain times.

• Gmail

– High priority notifications: Turn on high-priority notifications to limit the number of email alerts you receive and get notified only when it’s essential.

Dashboard: The dashboard gives you a view of your daily digital habits, so you can make the most out of how you spend time on your phone. It helps you understand the time you spend using apps, how often you check your phone, and much more.

• To access the Dashboard, go to your Android settings and click “Digital Wellbeing & parental controls” (if you haven’t updated to Android Q, it will appear as “Digital Wellbeing” in Android settings)
• From there, you can click on the colorful wheel and see your app usage based on (1) screen time in each app, (2) number of notifications received from each app, or (3) the number of times you opened each app. 
• You may choose to manage notifications from those apps or set app timers. 
• Ways to manage notifications
  • In Digital Wellbeing & parental controls. click “Manage notifications” under “Reduce interruptions”
  • From there, you can turn notifications on or off for each app
  • If you want more granular control, click the name of an app like “Gmail” under “App notifications” and change how those notifications appear on  your phone and whether they make a sound or are silent 

These are a few tips I use to help monitor our digital time. It is extremely important children learn to limit the amount of time they spend on their digital devices.