The 1Question App: Making Screen Time Fun and Educational
We’ve put together a helpful guide for negotiating healthy Screen Time boundaries with your child. Discussing Screen Time management and setting boundaries together as part of a collaborative approach not only helps your child understand the value of Screen Time, but also fosters mutual respect and understanding, where everyone is on the same page. Here’s to making Screen Time management a positive and enriching experience for your child!
1Question is a super cool app that turns screen time into learning time. It asks your child curriculum-aligned questions before they can use recreational apps you’ve selected, making sure they’re learning while they’re having fun.
Using the 1Question App to Manage Screen Time Together
The 1Question app has some great features that let you and your child decide together how screen time is earned and which apps are monitored. Here’s how you can use these features to best manage Screen Time with 1Question:
1. Understanding and adjusting the earn rate slider:
- How it works: When you’re setting up the 1Question app on your child’s device, show them the Earn Rate slider. Explain how it works and that you can change it whenever you need to . If you’ve set a PIN on your 1Question account, adjustments to this setting will be PIN protected.
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- Making adjustments: The slider has five settings, from Slow to Fast. If it’s closer to Slow, your child will need to answer more questions to earn screen time. If it’s closer to Fast, they’ll need to answer fewer questions. The middle of the scale is usually just right.
- A discussion around how it will work best for your family: We encourage having your child be part of the decision-making process when adjusting the Earn Rate slider. Chat about their learning needs and how much screen time they think is fair. This gives your child a sense of ownership over their learning and Screen Time, and helps everyone understand and respect the plan.
2. Choosing the Topics for your Child to learn:
After selecting your child’s grade, you’ll see a list of available topics to choose from. We recommend talking with your child throughout this step – this could be an opportunity for your child to let you know where they may think they need more work or they may even point out a topic that seems super interesting to them! You can change topic selections or even move them up/down a grade at any time from the Settings cog on your parent dashboard.
3. Choosing Which Apps to Monitor:
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- Choosing together which apps will be monitored by the 1Question app is a positive step towards empowering your child in their learning journey.
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- The more apps you choose, the more chances your child has to earn screen time through 1Question.
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- Remember…the 1Question shield will pause a monitored app your child may be using when screen time runs out.
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- We recommend considering which apps you might not want to include, like timed games where your child might lose progress if they’re interrupted. The 1Question app is built to be a helpful and fair tool that your child can see the value of. If your child is already engaging with a productive app, being mindful not to include that productive app as one monitored by 1Question will help to reinforce the value of productivity with your child.
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- Check out our Troubleshooting page for more tips
4. Keeping Up with Newly Downloaded Apps:
- Keep up with newly downloaded apps. Selecting an entire category of apps to be monitored by 1Question means any newly downloaded apps that fall into that category will automatically be monitored. You could chat about this with your child, or set a regular time to review any new apps together and decide whether to add them to the monitored list individually.
- Ensure your 1Question app is always updated to the latest version to make the most of new & upcoming features!
- Here’s some help with Changing Monitored Apps
Having a Chat About Healthy Screen Habits
Even though the 1Question app is a great tool, it’s still important to have a chat with your child about Screen Time Management. Here are some ideas for working on screen time habits together:
1. Making Screen Time Rules Together:
Instead of setting rules, why not make them together? This could include deciding on no-screen times or places (that includes us parents too!). Make sure everyone understands and respects the rules. Maybe we could all put our devices away during dinner time and chat about our day instead. Download & Print your own Family Screen Time Plan
2. Balancing Digital Time with Other Fun Stuff:
Talk about the importance of balancing screen time with other activities. Maybe your child could suggest some outdoor activities or sports they’d like to do. Start by swapping screen time for a walk in the park or a fun family game.
3. Choosing Quality Content:
Not all screen time is the same. Have a chat with your child about the types of content they’re using and guide them towards educational and creative content. Suggest watching a documentary together instead of another episode of that reality show, or read an interesting article instead of scrolling through social media.
4. Talking About Our Screen Habits:
Let’s be honest with our kids about our screen habits. If we’re struggling to put our phone away, we can tell them about it. It’s a great way to show them that everyone can find it hard to manage their screen time, and it’s okay to talk about it and ask for help.
5. Making Screen Time Purposeful:
Screen time can be turned into goal-time. Try nudging your child to go in with a plan on why they are about to open that app, or even set some cool goals. Maybe they want to create a YouTube video each week, they’re keen on sharing a makeup tutorial, or they’re looking to connect with a new community online. Screen time doesn’t have to be the bad guy – it’s all about how they use it. Encourage them to dive into their apps with a game plan, and watch as they transform their screen time into a creative and purposeful adventure.
Let’s face it, we adults can sometimes be just as glued to our screens as our kids. Whether it’s work, social media, or that addictive new game, we’ve all had those moments where we realise we’ve been staring at our screens for a bit too long. And that’s totally okay! We’re all human, and some of us love our tech almost as much as our children do. And as parents, we have a super important role in showing our kids how to have a healthy relationship with screen time.
Healthy Screen Time Outside of the 1Question App
Besides using the 1Question app, it’s important to encourage healthy screen time in other areas. Here are some ideas:
Educational Videos:
Platforms like YouTube have loads of educational content. Encourage your child to watch documentaries or educational videos about things they’re interested in.
Creative Apps:
Apps that let your child be creative, like drawing or music creation apps, can be a great way for them to use screen time in a fun and productive way.
Online Reading:
Encourage your child to read e-books or listen to audiobooks. This can be a great way to get them excited about reading while using screen time.
Negotiating screen time with your child doesn’t have to be a one-way street. With the 1Question app and a bit of teamwork, you can turn screen time management into a fun and educational experience for your child. By understanding each other and respecting the plan, you can make sure that screen time is helping your child grow and learn. Remember, healthy screen time isn’t just about the 1Question app, but includes all sorts of activities that can help your child learn and be creative.
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