It's proven effective for her and her two-year-old.
Going viral the past few days was a Facebook post by Lei Suerte, "Dahil stress na ako sa anak ko dahil sobrang adik na sa phone. Two years old palang, daig pa matanda maggamit ng phone. Pagkagising niya, phone agad ang hanap, kaya nakapag-search ako kung paano ma-control ang pag gamit niya sa mobile phone. Scroll-scroll lang hanggang sa nakita ko ito, kaya sinubukan ko at gumana naman. Ngayon na oorasan na sya sa panonood nya. Try nyo rin po at sana makatulong po ito sa inyo. Nasa pic po ang guide kung paano. (Because I was stressed with how my child is addicted with the mobile phone. At only two years old, my child uses it more than adults. When she wakes up, the first thing she picks up is the phone. That's why I searched online on how to control the usage of the mobile phone. I just kept scrolling until I found this, and that's why I tried it and it works. Now, I can time the usage. Try it and I hope it helps you. Pictures of the guide are in this post."
She discovered the Google Family Link app. Simply install the app on the parent's phone while install the Family Link child and teen app in the child's mobile phone. Set up both phones to link and you can view how long the child has been using his/her phone. You can also control how many hours or what time can they only use the mobile gadget. Once set up, the phone will automatically lock based on the parent's settings. Only the parent can unlock, if needed.
Lei also told Manila Bulletin Lifestyle that she's been using this app for a month already. "First two to three days, nagagalit siya kasi bigla nalang mag la-lock ang phone kaya di na niya magamit. At palagi ko siyang kinakausap kapag ibabalik na nya ang phone sa akin at alam na niya na time to sleep na. Sa morning, pag gising niya, hindi na niya hinahanap. Nawala ang interest niya sa paggamit ng phone simula ng gamitin ko ang app na ito. (First two to three days, my child would get angry when the phone locks and my child couldn't use it anymore. My child would return the phone to me and knows that it's time to sleep. In the morning, when my child wakes up, my child doesn't look for it anymore. Lost interest in using the mobile phone when I started using this app."
She confirmed that it's been very effective so far. "Kasi, ngayon, hindi na po talaga siya nagfo-phone. Nag-e-enjoy na sya sa paglalaro. Papel at lapis na palagi ang hanap nya dahil nakikita nya kapatid niya nag mo-module, gusto nya rin magsusulat (Because, now, she doesn't use the phone anymore. She enjoys playing. She looks for pen and paper because she sees her siblings studying with their modules. She also wants to write). "
Lei ends the interview with this reminder to fellow parents and guardians, "Mali po talaga na hayaan ang bata sa paggamit ng phone dahil maaring ito ang pagmulan ng problema nating mga magulang, at delikado ito sa kalusugan ng bata (It is wrong to leave the children to use the phones, because this would probably become the source of problems for parents, and it's also dangerous for the kids' health)."