Screen Guardian

Don't grab the phone

Let the screen stop on its own. If a child wants more time, they ask.

It is 7:40 in the evening and the homework is still on page two. The child says "just one video." You take the phone. They stand up, and the next sentence is not about homework. It is "you can't do that." Grabbing wins the moment and loses the next two hours.

The phone is not a prize. It is shared time in the house. Shared time runs on a rule that was said before the app opened, and that ends by itself. The grab is what the child remembers.

One thing tonight

During homework, block short video and games. Leave the dictionary and the class chat alone. Blocking everything starts a fight. Blocking the two apps that eat the evening leaves the homework on the desk. When time is up, the screen should say it cannot be used. You should not have to reach for the power button.

If they want more, they send a request: extend to a time, or unlock one stretch. You approve or refuse on your own phone. A refused request still leaves a next conversation. A grabbed phone leaves a contest.

Three rules, or none of them happen tonight

• During homework, short video and games stay off.
• The phone comes in at one fixed time. For younger children, start with 8 p.m.
• Extra time happens only by request, and only if you approve.

Screen Guardian carries out those three lines. One family code links your phone to the child's iPhone, iPad, Android, Harmony, or computer. When the daily allowance is used up, the child can ask. The red Lock button on the parent home screen stops the managed apps immediately. Bedtime windows and remote rule editing are in the paid plan. You do not need them tonight.

Install Screen Guardian, or get the iPhone and iPad app on the App Store.

If Android will not lock, check Force stop

A normal Android install cannot block Force stop. A child can Force stop Screen Guardian in system Settings, and monitoring stays off until the app is opened again. Uninstall and Force stop are blocked only after the phone is provisioned as a managed device by scanning the setup QR on the welcome screen. Some Xiaomi, Huawei, and OPPO welcome screens have no QR setup, and those phones cannot be provisioned. Removing that management requires a factory reset. Do not install first and argue later on a phone that cannot do this.

The child phone needs five grants. A missing one is marked in red: usage access, display over other apps, unrestricted battery, autostart, and the accessibility service. Steps are on the Android page.