All screens come with an off button

My son now has Minecraft on his iPad. And like most new electronic privileges in our household, it came with a set of rules.

So far, he has taken to the rules quite well. Whenever I tell him that his time is up with the game, he puts it away and sometimes I even get an unprompted kiss and "I love you, Mommy" from him. He's happy. I'm happy. And now, I'm trying to give parents some hope.

It's difficult to limit the amount of screentime our children have, but it is definitely worth it. For several years, I've been consistent about limiting the time my son interacts with devices and reminding him that screentime should be a small percentage of his overall day.

It (slowly) seems to be sinking in.

I no longer get the automatic whine when I ask him to turn off the device. Nor do I get the constant "I'm bored" wail when he claims he has nothing to do. (Don't get me wrong - it still happens, but then he will eventually remember that he owns LEGOs and there are things that need to be built.)

To any parent out there who is constantly battling the exposure time to screens: Keep up the good work. Stay consistent. It really does sink in. Eventually.

How consistent are you with the screentime rules in your household? Tell me in the comments.