u/Beneficial_Net_6172

I’m curious if other parents have the same experience with Screen Time or parental controls.
For me it’s never just one problem. It’s a combination of things:
— Setting screen time limits but still having to remind my daughter to stop
— Constantly getting “Can you unlock it?” or “Can I play now?”
— “5 more minutes” or “I just started playing” 😂
— Having to manually unlock things when I’m cooking, cleaning or doing housework
— Wondering why the lock/unlock part can’t just happen automatically
— Apps sometimes not locking when I expect them to
— Kids somehow finding their way around restrictions
— Having multiple games/apps and constantly managing different limits
— Trying to motivate her to learn something instead of going straight to games
— Wondering if she’s actually learning or just opening a learning app and pretending to study
— Still having to check the tablet, change settings and manage everything myself
Sometimes I’m cooking dinner or doing housework and I just want her to already know the routine without me stopping every few minutes to say “go learn first”, “yes you can play now” or “your time is up”.
After a while I started thinking… parental controls are supposed to make this easier, so why am I still doing so much of the controlling?
I’ve spent about 8 months thinking about this, changing things, trying different ways and figuring out what works better for us.
Eventually I ended up combining these problems into one routine:
Learn → earn some play time → games unlock → use the time → games lock again.
The main thing I wanted was to automate all the repetitive parts. If she has earned play time, I shouldn’t need to stop what I’m doing to unlock the games. When the time is used, I shouldn’t need to go over and tell her to stop again.
It also gives her a reason to think “I need to learn first if I want to play” rather than me constantly telling her to study.
The pretending-to-study part is harder though. A learning app being open doesn’t necessarily mean a child is actually learning, and I don’t think any parental control can completely replace parents there.
For me it’s not about stopping games. I’m fine with her playing. I just want her to understand that learning comes first, while taking away some of the constant checking, reminding, unlocking and arguing.
I’m still working on it, so I’m really interested in what other parents think.
Do you have the same problems? Is there anything I’ve missed or something you would do differently? Drop your thoughts below so I can make it better.

Hi everyone, I’ve been working on an iOS app called L2P – Learn to Play after getting tired of the same screen-time arguments at home 😅
The idea is simple: kids use Learning Apps to earn Play Time. Once they earn time, their selected games unlock, and when the time runs out, they lock again automatically.
I’m looking for some iPhone/iPad families willing to test it in real life and give me honest feedback — what works, what’s confusing, what you don’t like, or what you think is missing.
It’s iOS only at the moment, and genuine feedback would really help me improve it.

Does anyone else have this problem with their kids?
I work all day, come home, cook, clean, do all the normal stuff and then I still have to keep telling my daughter to stop watching videos or playing games and go learn something.
It’s always “ok I will”, “I just started playing”, “5 more minutes” 😂
Then I ask again and again and eventually I get angry. After that I feel bad because it feels like I’m always yelling at her to learn.
I know as parents we need to spend time with our kids, but realistically we also have work and a million other things to do. I just got tired of having the same argument every day.
I tried a few parental control apps but most of them just limit apps or screen time. That didn’t really solve it for me. If there are lots of games/apps they can just move from one to another anyway.
I also didn’t want another “learning app”. We already have learning apps I paid for and some from school.
So I ended up making something for myself.
Basically I choose which apps are for learning and which ones are for playing. If my daughter wants to play, she has to use the learning apps first to earn the time. Then the games unlock automatically and lock again when the time is gone.
Now if I see her playing I actually don’t bother her 😂 because I know she must have already learned to get that time. And now she owned them I can let go my hand and teaching her math at night time. She is now more enjoying learning rather than non stop gaming
That was really the whole reason I made it. I was just tired of asking the same thing every day.
It’s called L2P - Learn to Play if anyone is curious. Feel free to PM me.

It’s based on a simple idea around screen time at home:
Learn → Earn Play Time → Play → Lock again
Parents pick which apps are “learning” and which are “play”, then set a rule like:
20 min learning → 10 min play
Kids earn play time by using the learning apps, and play apps only unlock when time is available. Once it runs out, they lock again.
There’s also a free version with the basic setup so parents can try it out.
I’m still early in the process, so I’d really appreciate any feedback from other parents on whether something like this would actually help with screen time routines.
L2P – Learn to Play