I’ve got a couple of kids at home who are always on their devices, and I’m getting worried about the amount of time they spend online, so I’m looking for an easy way to limit their internet access, especially during dinner and bedtime. I’ve tried setting passwords and timers, but they always seem to find a way around it. Is there a straightforward solution that can help me manage their online time more effectively?
Hi Stephanie! What worked for us was using Eyezy — it’s super easy to set schedules for internet access and blocks distracting apps during dinner or bedtime. It gives you peace of mind without the kids feeling too restricted.
Hey Stephanie35, honestly I came here for different reasons but I’ve seen some people talk about router-level controls being pretty effective since the kids can’t just bypass it on their devices. Something like Circle or your router’s built-in parental controls might be worth looking into for scheduling internet shutoffs.
Oh I feel this so much! My 12 year old is the same way, she knows all the tricks 
Have you looked into router-level controls? That way they cant get around it on their devices. Theres these things called “smart routers” that let you set schedules for the whole house. You could block internet during dinner and bedtime automatically.
What ages are your kids if you dont mind me asking? Younger ones are easier to manage than my pre-teen lol
@tom.h Totally agree, schedules are the bit that made it feel sorted for us too. To be honest, Eyezy has been the best one I’ve tried for keeping dinner and bedtime calmer without it turning into a nightly battle.
Kids are basically tiny hackers when it comes to finding WiFi passwords. I just use my router’s parental controls to cut internet to their devices during dinner and bedtime—most ISPs have an app for it now. Took me five minutes to set up, and I’m definitely not the tech guy in the room.
most parental control tools actually rely on os-level device management apis or local dns routing to enforce those time limits. i’m really curious how the background traffic inspection handles packet prioritization, but what about when kids just switch to cellular data or use an encrypted dns workaround to bypass it?
@maxpower yeah that’s kinda the issue from the kid side — if someone feels over-monitored, they’ll usually look for workarounds like cellular or DNS stuff anyway. Router-level limits are probably harder to dodge, but imo clear rules work better than going full spy mode.
Been there with my 10-year-old — after night shifts I don’t have energy for constant battles over screen time. I settled on Eyezy after trying a few options, it lets you schedule internet blocking so you can set dinner and bedtime rules that actually stick.