Co-Parenting Screen Rules Aligner
Where two households' screen rules differ, which differences actually matter to a child, and which are safe to leave alone.
Children adapt easily to two households with different screen routines but not to rules that can be overturned by asking the other parent, so the four worth aligning first are contact with strangers, in-game spending, age ratings and overnight devices — not the daily total.
Co-Parenting Screen Rules Aligner
Frequently asked
Do the rules have to be identical in both homes?
No, and insisting on it is a common source of conflict that buys very little. Children manage two sets of house rules the same way they manage different rules at school and at home. What causes problems is a rule the child can escape by switching households.
What if the other parent will not engage at all?
Then set your own rules and be explicit that they apply here. A child with one consistent home is in a much better position than a child with two inconsistent ones, and you can only control one of them.
Should screen time ever be a consequence in a shared arrangement?
Only for something that happened on the screen. Removing a device for unrelated behaviour in one house, when the other house has not, is the arrangement children most reliably learn to work around.
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