Helping Young People Build Healthy Digital Habits

Raising children in an ‘always on’ world presents its own set of challenges for parents in 2026. Modern technology has a constant presence in our homes, in schools and at work. This presents dilemmas regarding how to find the right balance and approach that works for you and your family.

The digital world has attention capturing mechanisms built into the core of it, the short-paced video format, constant notifications and the fear of missing out is built to keep us all engaged and glued to our screens. Digital media businesses are working tirelessly to keep us hooked. The sophistication of these platforms is developing faster, and they are having a more significant impact than ever, and we, as parents and educators, are trying to keep up and find the right balance to ensure that childhood experiences are safe and healthy.

So, is ‘stop and block’ the answer? We all can acknowledge that restrictions can lead to confrontation, which then can lead to unwanted long-term friction. When barriers go up, it does not often lead to the good foundations of open dialogue, transparency and trust. Especially when you know that you may be guilty of spending excessive amounts of time on your phone, so how can you expect your child not to do the same without complaining?

I have always viewed technology as a tool and one that needs the correct guidance, training and support. However, there is no one size fits all rule that works for us all (especially in the busy world we are in), but communication is key. From when a device is put into a child’s hands, joint ownership of that device should be established, the understanding of who is the owner and who is the user and what purpose the device has in the family unit is key.

You might be thinking, ‘what on earth can I do to stem the flow and reach some balance?’ I think it is useful to create a Collaborative Agreement, a sort of "family tech agreement" together. Let your child have a voice in setting the rules; they are more likely to follow them if they feel a sense of ownership. Establishing non-negotiable tech free zones, e.g. the dinner table or the bedroom is also a quick win, but this must be observed by everyone in the family as good practice, so it is modelled consistently. But you also need to be transparent and explain why you are looking at your device, ‘I’m just checking this for work or checking my calendar’. This fosters effective communication and awareness that your attention is being pulled away for a purpose.

The Role of Schools in Supporting Digital Balance

How do we find the balance that works for us at Redmaids’ High? As a 1:1 iPad school, parents have always expressed their concerns regarding screen time in and out of school. We have adapted and adjusted the way we approach the iPads over the years; we loan the iPads to students and from the outset they are framed as an educational tool. We have configured our iPads to meet our educational purposes and expectations. We have our own App store with Teacher approved apps only, the filtering system is extended to home use, and we also have our age-appropriate internet curfew in place. This limits overnight access to iPads for our students across a staggered, age-appropriate, timeline to ensure that all students have an opportunity for quality time away from screens. We also have a parent monitoring app available that provides an app management tool for our iPads which enables parents and carers to have greater visibility and appropriate control over their daughter’s school device. This further supports the development of healthy digital habits at home and strengthens the partnership between school and parents in guiding positive and purposeful technology use.

We have built in as many guard rails as we can to support our students and parents, but we are aware that we will always need to continue to respond in a timely way to technological changes.

Mobile phones and social media, each generation throughout the years have had technological developments influencing their upbringing. Each innovation bringing its own challenges in the home and to society in general. We were warned that too much TV gave us ‘square eyes’, but now studies into technology are indicating that tech is in fact contributing to a range of health issues.

Our anxiety grows regarding what our children are doing online which is highlighted by the media, who often focus our attention on cases that have had life changing impacts on young lives. It is worth considering the wider reported impacts of digital dominance, many of which are now being actively addressed by governments and education leaders in the UK and internationally. Common concerns surrounding digital media, AI and mobile device use include changes to social interaction, sleep deprivation, reduced attention spans, impacts on language acquisition and the “tunnel vision” effect that can emerge when screens are constantly present in daily life. There is also growing discussion around the anthropomorphising of AI and digital devices, particularly as young people begin to form increasingly human-like relationships with technology. Our primary concern then becomes how do we keep our children safe in this technological age?

Keeping our Children Safe

We suggest that you talk about emerging technology and what impact is having in school and in the working community. Discussing whether AI is regarded as useful or helpful tool, where is it being used and where is it making mistakes, all provides good talking points. How can you spot something that has been made or written by AI, what are the common clues? Talking about these things openly and transparently fosters good critical thinking skills and insightful conversations from different generational perspectives.

Helping children to pay attention to how apps or streams make them feel is a helpful way to frame their engagement with digital media, apps and AI. We need to remember that we are consumers and users, we can decide to engage or not. The fear of missing out has always been a stigma and digital media thrives on this. Learning to shut the noise out is becoming necessary, as we are social animals that like to connect and increasingly we see people focused on screens rather than looking out of the window whilst travelling or waiting for someone, I know that I am guilty of this.

When you are a busy household, quiet times do seem premium but checking in with your child to talk about what they are watching and having healthy conversations often builds on that trust journey. Do try to engage rather than criticise, be genuinely curious and ask about who is trending? Suggest that you research a film together or play your favourite songs to each other. The device then becomes a tool and the stimulus for conversations or fun when you are driving them to clubs or settling in for an evening. Our pastoral care is built on talking face to face as we find that this is the best social platform to be on.

To conclude, there are no hard and fast rules to achieving a digital balance in a world that is craving our attention. There is no shame in the struggle of getting the balance to a place that you all feel comfortable. We can only act as stewards, that guide the next generation, helping them with our experiences and life skills to navigate whatever technological innovation comes next.

Written by Mrs Sarah Bramley-Dymond, Head of Digital Learning

For more information about the pastoral care for our students please click here.