Our Family Screentime Reset, Part 1: Almost Three Weeks Without Gaming

Less scrolling. More living. Not perfection, but balance.

If you're a parent, you'll probably recognise this.
You ask your children to do something. Nothing happens.
You ask again. Still nothing.
By the fifth time, you're wondering whether anyone in the house can actually hear you.

That was becoming a familiar situation in our home.

We have two boys, aged four and seven, and lately my husband and I had noticed some changes we weren't particularly happy about.
They weren't listening. They were talking back, getting upset or angry more easily, and struggling to play nicely together. Mornings often started with one or both of them walking into our bedroom far earlier than we would have liked.
And asking them to stop gaming? Well, that wasn't always a pleasant experience either.

We were getting frustrated, and we didn't like the direction things were going.

We missed the calmer moments, the kindness between them, and the feeling that we were enjoying our time together.

It wasn't that our boys had changed into different children. We simply felt that some of the little moments that made family life enjoyable were getting lost in the everyday frustrations.

So we decided to change something.

It actually started during the summer

Our youngest was four and had developed a habit of watching YouTube on a phone.
Short videos, reels, endless scrolling. One video after another.
During the summer holidays, we decided to cut back significantly on his phone use.
And surprisingly, he accepted that change fairly quickly.

Our eldest was in a different situation.

He had broken his arm just before the summer holidays. With a broken arm, there were quite a few things he couldn't do, and gaming wasn't always easy either. But he managed, and we allowed him more screen time because his options were limited.

We weren't trying to be overly strict. We were simply doing what seemed reasonable at the time.

But after the summer, we started thinking more seriously about how screens were fitting into our family life.

The Sunday we put the games away

Almost three weeks ago, my husband and I decided it was time for a proper break from gaming.
No Nintendo Switch. No Xbox.
We also put the iPhone and iPad away, completely out of sight.
We didn't ban television. The boys could still watch TV, but we decided what they watched and when. Sometimes we simply switched it off and told them to find something else to do.
We also explained why we were making these changes.

We explained that we wanted everyone to listen to each other better, speak more kindly, and find more ways to enjoy our time together.
We weren't taking gaming away just to punish them.
We wanted to find a better balance.
Looking back, starting on a Sunday was a good decision.

The next day was Monday, which meant school.
And that helped enormously. Instead of spending an entire week at home thinking about the games they couldn't play, the boys returned to their normal routines.
Of course, that didn't mean they immediately forgot about gaming.

And then came the boredom…

Our eldest, especially, wanted to play games again.
Our youngest seemed to let it go more easily.
And yes, there was boredom. Lots of it.
Suddenly, they couldn't simply pick up a controller or ask for a phone whenever they wanted entertainment.So they had to find other things to do.
Sometimes they went into the backyard to play football. Sometimes they came inside and started colouring.
And sometimes we had to help them find something to do.

I don't want to pretend that we simply removed the screens and our children immediately discovered a magical world of independent play.
It doesn't work quite like that.
We still have to suggest activities, give them options, and sometimes get involved ourselves.
And yes, that takes effort.

But something interesting started happening.

From gaming to family dance parties

One thing we discovered is that reducing screen time doesn't necessarily mean eliminating every screen.
Instead, we started using screens differently.
Sometimes we watched YouTube quizzes together and tried to answer the questions.
Other times, we put on Danny Go and started dancing and jumping around.

I also began showing the boys music videos from when I was younger.
They'd become interested in some of the older songs featured in the Despicable Me movies, so suddenly we had a-ha and Michael Jackson playing in our living room.
And the boys were dancing along.

Honestly, I never expected our screen-time experiment to turn into a little 1980s dance party.
But here we are.
The difference was that we weren't all sitting separately, absorbed in our own screens.
We were laughing, moving, singing and doing something together.

And that felt good.

The little changes we're noticing

We're now in our third week, and I want to be careful about how I describe what's happened.
This isn't a scientific experiment. We haven't discovered a miracle solution, and I can't say that every change we've noticed is definitely because of reduced screen time.
But we have noticed some encouraging differences.

For one thing, the boys seem to be sleeping better.
They're waking up less during the night, and they're staying in bed longer in the mornings.

As parents who have been woken up far too early on more occasions than we'd like to remember, that's certainly something we appreciate!

We've also noticed a little more calmness in our youngest.

Now, don't get me wrong.

He's four. He's still an absolute whirlwind.
Our house has not suddenly transformed into a peaceful wellness retreat.
But he does seem a little calmer, and we're seeing more of his sweet, affectionate side.
Our youngest loves attention. Give him some time to play together or start a tickle war, and he's ALL IN.

Our eldest, meanwhile, is spending more time on something he's always loved: drawing.
He even made his own little booklet to draw in. He hasn't actually drawn anything in it yet, because he hasn't decided what he wants to draw. Which, honestly, is very like him.
But I love that he's created something of his own and is thinking about what he wants to put inside it.
There's no rush. The booklet will be there when inspiration strikes.

And perhaps my favourite change of all…

The boys are playing better together.

Do they still argue? Absolutely.
They're brothers, aged four and seven. Of course they do!
But they're also laughing more together.

And that's something I hadn't realised how much I'd missed.
Hearing them having fun, making each other laugh and genuinely enjoying each other's company is lovely.
It's not that every argument has disappeared or that they suddenly listen perfectly.

They don't.

But there are more of those little moments that make you smile.
And sometimes, those moments are enough to remind you why you started.

Something changed for us as parents, too

Here's something I hadn't really expected.

When our children aren't constantly entertained by games or tablets, we have to think more about how we're spending our time together.

We suggest activities. We join in. We answer quiz questions, dance around the living room, or end up in another tickle war.

And while we're doing all of that, something else happens.

I noticed I was spending less time scrolling through my own phone, too.

That was an interesting realisation for me.

We started this because we wanted our children to spend less time looking at screens.

But it has also made us more aware of our own habits.

We're not perfect at it, and I don't expect us to be.

Still, it's been a reminder that screen-time balance isn't only something we need to teach our children.

It's something we can work on as a family.

Is the struggle over? Absolutely not.

I don't want anyone reading this to think that almost three weeks without gaming has magically solved every challenge in our household.

It hasn't.

The boys still get bored. They still argue. They still have their moments.
And we still have to help them find things to do.
Some days, it would undoubtedly be easier to hand them a controller and enjoy a little peace and quiet.
But so far, the effort has been worth it.

One hundred percent.

Not because everything is suddenly perfect, but because we're seeing changes that matter to us.
Better sleep. A little more calmness. More creativity. More time playing together.
And more laughter.
Especially the laughter.

Will we ever allow gaming again?

Yes. Absolutely.

My husband and I enjoy gaming too. We love games like Mario Kart, and I think playing together as a family can be a really fun experience.

I don't believe we need to prevent our children from ever gaming again. And realistically, we can't control every situation anyway. They'll visit friends, have playdates and encounter games elsewhere.

But when gaming returns to our home, we want it to be different.
We don't want hours and hours of gaming. We don't want gaming on weekdays.
And we'd love for it to become something we sometimes enjoy together, rather than the automatic answer to every moment of boredom.

For now, though, we're not bringing it back just yet.

Almost three weeks isn't very long.

Our next challenge: the autumn holiday

The autumn school holiday is approaching.
No school routine to keep the boys occupied. More free time. More opportunities to get bored.
And still no Nintendo Switch or Xbox.
I'm not going to pretend I'm completely relaxed about that!
But we're going to see how it goes.
We'll try different activities, give the boys opportunities to entertain themselves, and hopefully find more ways to enjoy our time together.

There will probably be complaints, arguments and moments when we wonder what to do next.
And that's okay. We're still figuring things out.

After the holiday, I'll share how things went — what worked, what was difficult, what surprised us, and what we learned along the way. Because this isn't the end of our family's screen-time journey.

It's just the beginning.

It's not about never looking at a screen again

If there's one thing this experience has taught me so far, it's that we're not trying to become a screen-free family.

We're trying to become a family with a better screen-time balance.
We still enjoy movies, music, quizzes and television.
We still enjoy technology.
We just don't want it to take over every quiet moment or replace the little opportunities we have to connect.
And sometimes, those opportunities are surprisingly simple.
A football in the backyard.
A few colouring pencils.
An unfinished drawing booklet.
An old Michael Jackson song.
Or two brothers laughing together.

We thought we were taking something away from our children.

But slowly, we're beginning to notice what we're getting back.

Less scrolling. More living. Not perfection, but balance.

Our story continues…

We're still figuring out what screen-time balance looks like for our family, and the autumn holiday will bring a whole new set of challenges.

I'll be sharing Part 2 of our family's screen reset after the holiday — including what worked, what didn't, and what surprised us along the way.

Want to follow our journey? Follow Ignite Bloom on social media and subscribe to our newsletter so you don't miss Part 2.

A little more about LOOK UP

Our family's experience is part of what inspired me to create LOOK UP — The Family Screen Reset, a printable guide designed to help families find a more intentional balance with screens.

It's not about strict rules, guilt or getting everything right. It's about making room for more connection, creativity and everyday moments together.

If your family is looking for a little more balance too, you can explore LOOK UP — The Family Screen Reset.

This is our family's personal experience, not a promise that every family will see the same results. We're still learning, and I'll be sharing how things go after the autumn holiday.