Ask HN: Tech-savvy parents, what are the gadget rules for your kids?

I could certainly try, but the gist is:

I have a Mikrotik hAP ac² that I setup the VLANs on, and then some NAT rules that force DNS requests to go to the kid specific raspberry pi if its their VLAN

I also have a Unifi AP for WiFI, which uses radius auth to set the VLAN for devices. So everyone has their own user/password for WiFi, and it sets the VLAN based on that.

Each room also has a network socket in (I ran a load when we bought this house - they aren't used yet in their rooms) which goes back to a netgear managed switch, so if they were to plug into their room, they would get their VLAN also.

At some point I need to sort out a way to limit the speed after a certain time on their VLAN, but it's not super important at the moment.

Edit: Just to add, this was also done as a learning exercise for me, but I think it kinda makes sense. As the youngest get older, we can talk to them about being safe online, and what not to do etc. But at the moment I figure it's the same as locking the cabinet under the sink, or not letting them use the big sharp knives. Sure as they get older we can change it, but at the moment it means they can enjoy the new funky technology without being hassled by some dodgy advert or troll hassling them lol

I seem to have a very different experience from most of the comments so far, so thought I should share. My kids are 6 and 2 and we have no screen time limits but also no problems right now. However, I also think nature is very strong, and we're probably lucky that the kids are naturally very active and don't want to sit at a screen for long periods of time.

The oldest used to want devices so bad I was really worried about how we were going to handle screen time, but then COVID-19 happened and he had to basically get his own iPad for school, plus all sorts of exceptional situations in a pandemic, so he effectively unlocked unlimited screen time early.

The most exciting thing to him was being able to message us, and for a while he didn't want to talk directly but only text us. And he searched for all sorts of things on Google, but mostly just educational stuff (strongest metals, tallest person, etc). But he quickly got used to the iPad just being there, and forgot to be obsessed with it.

To this day, the iPad just sits around and he can grab it anytime to look up stuff. He uses it to show us stuff they talked about in school, look up questions he has, listen to music, etc. Basically using it like a responsible adult would. Occasionally he asks to get a game he's heard about, but we just say no and he seems fine with it.

He is not a particularly well-behaved kid otherwise, so I'm don't want to give the impression I'm humble-bragging about him. I just wanted to share that not everyone needs strict limits to develop a healthy relationship with technology. If the pandemic hadn't blown the doors open, we might still be struggling with limits on an assumed obsession, but we stumbled into the much easier solution of no limits and it worked for us.

Sounds like better communication would have been helpful, sharing concerns and listening to each other. This is where I see families, who communicate well, having to the most success in all areas.

10yo girl

30 minutes of social media per day (tiktok, insta, snapchat), all accounts are private, and we meet once per week to look together at the feed and moderate it. (e.g. follow more things like https://www.tiktok.com/@zippycode and less things like Charlie whatever)

Unlimited whatsapp, but we still look at it from time to time to see there is no bullying going on.

Using 1.1.1.1 family (1.1.1.3) always connected so there is some basic malware/adult site filtering.

During dinner phones go in a bucket, and we avoid phones until bed time (as a family).

Between 8pm and 10pm we design and code pgzero video games or turtle graphics, or read books, or play fortnite depending on the day.