Parenting expert Dr Becky Good’s 30-second boundary hack to reduce your child’s iPad time

Everyone’s heard the world’s most infallible argument from their kids: “I’m in the middle of something!” Or, the classic “five more minutes”. Well, that doesn’t need to be the end of the conversation.

Parenting expert Dr Becky Good has shared an incredibly quick boundary-setting technique that’ll not only help to reduce your child’s iPad time, but also make reaching those mutual understandings a little easier.

Speaking to comedian Hasan Minhaj on his podcast Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know, she participated in a quick role-playing scenario with the host, explaining how finding the balance between being instructive and gentle is the key to setting boundaries with your child. 

See the video of the pair acting out the scenario here…

Starting off by giving a firm five-minute warning for the end of their screen time, Dr Becky Good sets the expectation of the allocated time coming to an end, also giving a warning that the device will be taken away if the child doesn’t give it back.

Then, 30 seconds before the end of the time, she sits next to the child, engaging with what they’re doing. In this specific scenario, she asks what Hasan is watching, affirming that she also enjoys the show.

When Hasan suggests that the child would ask for one more scene, she calmly states that if she is told where to begin, they can start off from there tomorrow. If the child continues to refuse, she simply takes away the device.

Dr Becky Good stresses not letting your child feel like a ‘bad kid’

Though hilarious when acted out, Hasan’s role-played response of a scream isn’t an unrealistic one. 

When he says: “I wouldn’t do this because we’re role playing, but then, they attack,” Dr Becky Good jokes that she would pull out her jiu jitsu moves, but what she says afterwards is especially poignant.

She responds: “Of course, I’m not gonna let myself be hit by my kid and let them feel like a bad kid.”

That’s what boundary-setting techniques are all about – firmly creating expectations and understandings to help set rules in the household while always remaining fair.