Co-parenting: How can I monitor my child’s screentime while they are away from home?

A recent report by the Centre for Social Justice, titled ‘Lost Boys: State of the Nation’ has highlighted a number of challenges that young men currently face in Britain.

Almost half of children in the UK will experience parental separation by the age of 14. With a rise in relationship breakdown, it is becoming increasingly common that non-traditional family arrangements are in place.

Risks associated with technology usage

The report also addresses the risks associated with the increasing use of technology among children. Ninety-seven per cent of children aged 12 now have their own smartphone.

Within this, 25% of children and young people exhibit addictive behaviour in relation to their screen usage. Those who have extended periods of screen time have also been shown to more likely experience anxiety, depression and psychological distress.

For older children there is also ongoing concern of the effects of social media on mental health. Social media platforms have been shown to use algorithms to push engagement, regardless of its positive or negative nature. As a result algorithms have been found to be feeding increasingly violent and misogynistic content.

While technology can prove a useful tool for the modern family, especially to those co-parenting, as a means of ensuring open and consistent communication between parents and children, there are clear risks associated with giving children access to technology.

Smartphone free childhood is a grassroots movement, of now over 200,000 parents working together to combat the risks of technology by promoting a change in culture around children and smartphones. The group encourage parents to not give their child a smartphone until at least 14 years old. The movement has worked to provide resources and a community for likeminded parents who too are concerned with the increasing associated risks.

Smartphone monitoring issues for separated parents

Our clients tell us that where parents have separated it can be difficult to reach, and stick to, a joint decision about their child’s smartphone use. This is not least because each parent has “Parental Responsibility” for their child (the rights, duties and responsibilities that a parent has in relation to their child) which can be exercised unilaterally on a day-to-day basis. Where parents’ have different views about, in this example, smartphones, it can be difficult to find a compromise

While the Court can be asked to impose decisions where parents cannot agree, that should usually only be in relation to major issues. Whilst, on the face of it, ‘Screen time’ and ‘smart phone ownership or use’ might seem to be less important issues than some, they are topics which can give rise to binary views, and this is increasingly being raised within Children Act matters.

If parents are in agreement, an informal arrangement may be discussed and agreed together. However, if this proves difficult, parents may find a neutral third party may be best place to assist in settling the issue.

How mediation can help in managing a child’s screen time

One option available for parents is mediation. A mediator will be qualified to hear both parent’s views and help them work to a resolution, with the child’s best interest in mind. Parents may also find reference to screen time in a Parental Agreement a useful tool.

Blake Morgan has qualified experts in family mediation to assist co-parents in their decision-making and resolve parental conflicts. If this would be helpful to you, please do get in touch and we can refer you to one of our experts to discuss this or any similar issues.