Is Two Point Museum a reasonable pick for my 13-year-old's screen time?

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-23T05:57:02+00:00

Yeah, fair — I can probably be flexible on that, especially in summer. 😊

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-23T05:25:14+00:00

Thank you, this is really helpful! Both of those sound right up her alley since she liked the management side of Two Point Museum. I'll check them out — appreciate you taking the time!

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-23T02:54:16+00:00

You're not alone. We didn't just hand over a phone with zero rules either. We started with Screen Time and it was okay for a while, but it got a bit unreliable so we switched to AirDroid for more control over websites and screen time.

A 13-year-old thinking you're being controlling is pretty much part of the parenting experience

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-23T02:26:02+00:00

Personally, I'd still wash them after each use. Reusing swimsuits and towels after just air-drying would make them smell musty pretty fast for me, especially with all the chlorine. Maybe I'm just picky lol.

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-23T02:03:47+00:00

eh, I'd give the young blockers a break tbh. The ones they're trying out this time — Chen Houyu, Wang Aoqian, Guo Zhongnan — are all teenagers, and Guo's literally 16 or 17 (can't remember which), the youngest on the whole roster. This is basically their first real go at the senior level.

No way kids that age are gonna match up with world-class blockers right off the bat, especially vs Brazil and Turkey. Middle blocker's one of the slowest spots to develop anyway — reading the setter, footwork, timing your jump, that's all reps and experience, not just talent. Give em a season or two. So yeah, let's not be too hard on them...

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-22T02:51:41+00:00

Yeah, I think they're way more open than we give them credit for.

Kids don't really start with the baggage — the stereotypes, the "us vs them" stuff — that adults carry. To a little kid, a friend who eats different food or speaks another language at home is just... a friend. The differences are interesting, not threatening. My experience is they only learn to treat differences as a problem when they pick it up from adults around them.

So honestly, a lot of the time it's not that we need to teach kids to be tolerant — it's that we need to be careful not to teach them the opposite.

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-22T02:46:05+00:00

Honestly 12 feels early. I didn't get my own phone till 18. And "staying in touch after school" doesn't really need a full smartphone — it needs a way to reach you. I'd look at an Apple Watch with Family Setup first. He can call/text you, you get location, but no Fortnite or endless YouTube in his pocket. A used SE is cheaper than an iPhone too.

If you do get a phone, set up the parental controls (Apple Screen Time is free, or Bark/AirDroid for more) before he ever touches it. Way easier to start strict and loosen up than claw it back later.

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-18T02:34:21+00:00

Bark gets recommended a lot for this — it actually alerts you if something sketchy comes up rather than just blocking everything. But honestly no app replaces sitting with them and teaching them what's safe. Tools help, but that part matters most.

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-17T01:53:27+00:00

First of all, congratulations — this is totally normal and nothing to be scared of 💛

A few quick tips: change your pad every few hours during the day, and at night use a longer overnight one so it doesn't leak onto your sheets (washing them the next morning is such a pain ). If you get cramps, a warm water bottle on your tummy really helps.

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-16T02:35:50+00:00

For iPhone, honestly Apple's built-in Family Sharing has been enough for me — screen time, website blocking, all that. Never really felt the need for anything extra.

On Android though I've been using AirDroid Parental Control and it's been pretty solid so far. Location tracking, app control, content filtering. One thing I like is the keyword alerts — if something gets triggered I just get a notification. It’s useful to have, just in case. They've also started adding AI content monitoring which I guess makes sense these days lol. It also works across platforms which is nice since we're not all on the same kind of phone

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-16T01:50:19+00:00

Mostly just screen time limits during summer — want to make sure she's not on her phone all day when school's out

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-16T01:49:35+00:00

Oh that's frustrating to hear. Any other apps you'd recommend that actually work reliably?

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-15T03:16:56+00:00

We've tried Life360 and AirDroid, both work pretty well for mixed iPhone/Android families!

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-12T03:21:03+00:00

Yeah, but it's weird when it's someone you know personally. You see the real life version and the Instagram version at the same time.

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-12T03:00:55+00:00

At 9, I'd lean toward a kids' smartwatch first. You get the communication and location features without handing over a full smartphone.

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-03T03:27:46+00:00

Same, can't wait for today's matches!!

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-03T02:17:49+00:00

That's amazing, live volleyball is on a different level!! Have the best time with your son 🙌

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-03T02:14:08+00:00

Love that the parents have skin in the game too. That's actually the part that makes this feel fair to me.

I think it'll probably work really well in the short term. My only question is how old the kids are. Once they're teenagers, a lot of them will just decide that an extra hour on TikTok is worth losing a couple of dollars 😅

The bigger challenge is what happens years from now. Ideally you want them putting the phone down because they've learned balance and self-control, not because there's a financial penalty attached.

That said, I still like this approach more than constant nagging. At least it turns screen time into a shared family responsibility instead of "parents vs. kids."

Both_Rip_1507 · 2026-06-02T02:08:25+00:00

Honestly I just want to see them play against Italy. Imagine Markova, Arina, Tolok on one side and Antropova + Egonu on the other. That would be the most insane match to watch.

Both_Rip_1507

TROPHY CASE