Screen time in children aged 11-16
Children aged 11 to 13 should have a maximum of 90 minutes of free screen time per day or about 10 hours per week. You should always communicate with them about the content. It is also important to have parental control tools and settings to support your child when they are online unaccompanied.
At the age of 14 to 17 years, usage times should also be agreed upon, also to prevent excessive online usage. It is extremely difficult to give guidelines in this age group, because family and personal situations are too different. Regularly check whether there is still enough time for school, training and other hobbies in addition to media use.
How often and for how long are your children allowed to watch TV or surf the Internet? Create a media usage agreement for your family quickly and easily.
Tips
By the end of elementary school, most children have already learned how to navigate the web safely. Therefore, get your child used to the possibilities of accessing previously selected websites via bookmarks or favorites . Accompany your child if he or she wants to try out general search engines in addition to the children's search engines. Without filter and parental control settings, your child can quickly and unintentionally encounter problematic content. Help your child to correctly assess the information on websites.
You should not rely on technical protection alone. It is just as important to talk to the children about the challenges and dangers of the Internet and cell phones and to establish rules. This should include clear agreements on downloading music and movies and on handling personal data. You should also discuss the topics of rip-offs, advertising and cost traps with your child.
Let us show you your child's Internet worlds once in a while, too. The insight you gain is an insight into your child's surfing habits and interests. Don't immediately devalue sites, but form a fair judgment. Remember your own experiences growing up with media and what fascination media used to have for you. Justify your decision if you want to prohibit certain sites and activities on the Internet. As a rule, children understand your concern - even if they can't admit it right away - and thus learn to assess dangers better.
Children take their cues from their parents - even when it comes to media use. That's why our tip is to regularly check how important media are in your own life. Do you perhaps look at your smartphone even at inappropriate moments? How many hours a day do you privately use the Internet, TV, cell phone, etc.? This also has an impact on your child's use of media.
Just as you talk to your child about "real-life" activities and friends, you should also stay in touch about relevant Internet experiences and contacts. Consider what manners should apply on the Internet. Make it clear to your child that he or she should not meet strangers whom he or she knows only from the Internet (chat, social networks, ...)! If a "real" friendship does develop online, accompany your child to the first meeting (in a public place).
If you suspect that your child is being harassed on the Internet, you can report this to fragzebra.de.
Despite all the agreements and measures, children can come across problematic websites. In this case, they should know that they can involve their parents without being threatened with an Internet ban or having to feel ashamed. Children need support to deal with possible negative experiences. The rule here can be that your child tells you immediately or closes the youth protection-relevant offers and tells you (or another trusted adult) about it. You can then use the browser history to check whether the content is relevant to youth protection and report it if necessary.
You should also talk to older people about pornography, violence, (cyber)bullying and other problematic topics on the Internet . Be sensitive about this and respect your child's boundaries. Show them good websites on the topic of "sexuality". Stay open to your children's questions and topics.
- Information on the topics of pornography use, sexting, right-wing extremism, cyberbullying and glorification of eating disorders
- Jugendschutz.net (content relevant to youth protection)
In connection with the Internet, cell phones and digital games , the terms "excessive use", "addiction" or "dependence" are increasingly being used. Therefore, pay attention to whether your child often cannot keep to agreed times on the computer and inform yourself about possible warning signs of addiction.
klicksafe booklet "Digital addiction - klicksafe tips for parents".
klicksafe checklist "Is my child at risk of digital addiction?"