Last Updated on 29 April 2025 by Colette
When I say we don’t allow the kids to have screens upstairs, I really mean we don’t allow the kids to have screens upstairs. There are no televisions, games consoles, tablets or mobile phones kept or used upstairs. This is something we have been really strict on from Ben getting his first tablet at the age of five – we knew that setting out this expectation when he was little would stand us in good stead for having teens with mobile phones and games consoles and let me tell you, it is not a rule we have ever regretted.
I should say that, to a point, Dave and I lead by example on this and we don’t have a TV in our bedroom nor do we use tablets or computers upstairs but we do both take our phones to bed – the kids have never really questioned why we are allowed to do that and they aren’t!
Here are five important reasons why you might want to consider not letting your children have screens upstairs:
1. We’d never see them – keeping their screens downstairs means we keep them downstairs too.
If we let our kids have screens upstairs, I honestly think they would disappear up there forever. We are fortunate that we have two reception rooms downstairs so are able to give the kids their own living room which we have set up with two screens so that the Xbox and TV can be used at the same time – preventing many an argument about “whose turn it is”
Whilst this doesn’t mean that our kids are necessarily spending more time with us as their parents, it does mean that they are kept more regularly in the company of their siblings.
Keeping screens in shared spaces encourages social interaction and family bonding, allows us to monitor how much time they’re spending on devices and ensures they’re participating in family activities or simply engaging in face-to-face interactions.
2. Encourages Better Sleep Habits
The blue light emitted by screens disrupts the production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep, making it harder for children to fall asleep at a reasonable hour so from the outset we were keen to set good routines around making sure they had plenty of screen free time before bed.
One of the very first rules we set for screen use when Ben got a tablet at the age of five (his sisters I think were then four when they got theirs which feels so young now but was a lifesaver on a long drive to France!) was that he wasn’t allowed to use his tablet after tea time. Of course over time we have adjusted this but we still ensure a period of screen free time before bed for all three kids.
Keeping screens downstairs or in shared spaces helps promote a more relaxing bedtime routine and encourages healthier sleep habits.
3. Prevents Late-Night Screen Time
Having screens upstairs makes it easier for children to sneak in some late-night screen time when they should be winding down – either by getting sucked into late night gaming sessions, messaging friends (who should probably also be asleep) or “just one more” video. This can affect both their sleep quality and overall well-being – and will almost certainly impact them in the classroom the following day.
By keeping screens in public areas, we can set clear boundaries for screen time, ensuring they don’t spend late hours on devices when they should be resting. We use Google Family Link to support this – setting routines around what time their phones will turn on and off so that even if they did take their phone upstairs at night (and yes, they have done because they are chancers) it would be entirely useless anyway.
4. Safety
It’s important to ensure children are consuming age-appropriate content, and being in a shared space allows us to step in if necessary. Without this supervision, children may come across inappropriate material or engage in unmonitored online activity, putting them at risk.
We use Google Family Link to block apps and websites we don’t want our children to have access to – but even with that, and even with them only being allowed to use devices in shared spaces – things can still go wrong.
By keeping screens downstairs, we can more easily supervise what your children are watching or playing – I remember reading somewhere that it’s easier and less intrusive to keep a check on what they are doing when they are in the same room and you can hear what they are up to or can just cast an eye over their screens as you walk past.
5. Limits Distractions for Homework and Study Time
Homework and study time is of particular pertinence to our family at the moment with GCSEs on the horizon.
I think we all know how easy it is to become distracted by screens – even as I’ve been writing this article I must have picked my phone up and checked instagram or become distracted by messages at least a dozen times, and I’m a 44 year old woman who should know better.
Keeping screens downstairs helps create a designated study environment where distractions are minimised, hopefully leading to better focus and more productive study sessions, ensuring children complete their tasks without the temptation of social media, games, or videos – in fact these are things that Ben has factored into his revision timetable as a “reward” if you will once he’s got everything done.
Will we ever let our kids take their phones upstairs?
Establishing boundaries around screen time and keeping devices in shared spaces can foster better habits, protect your child’s well-being, and encourage a healthy balance between digital and real-world experiences. As our children grow up, our rules and boundaries have flexed and changed – the more they show we can trust them to be sensible with their devices, the more we relax the controls on them and perhaps at some point they will just be allowed to take their phones upstairs because they are old enough to make their own decisions and face the consequences of a late night scrolling TikTok or whatever – but I hope that the boundaries we have set through their childhood, will help them to manage their screen use in a more healthy way as the move towards adulthood.
Have a read of these posts next:
How to manage your teen’s mobile phone bill
The best apps for getting your kids outside
Smart watches for the whole family
Managing screen time on holiday
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