For most adults, summer break meant swimming pools, bike rides, and reading. 

For many kids today, summer just means more screen time. 

Swimming pools have been replaced with Snapchat. Bike rides with Roblox. Reading with scrolling. Lifelong memories with memes.

Let’s change that this summer. 

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These 5 simple steps can help your family have a healthier, happier, and safer summer. 

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1. Limit screen time 

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For many kids, summer becomes a season of constant connectivity. Not to their friends, family, or the outdoors, but to iPads and iPhones. 

Everyone says, “Limit screen time,” but few people tell parents how much or how to actually do it.  

Our recommendations are based on leading research, speaking in more than 600 schools nationwide, and our experience spending hundreds of hours using the popular apps and video games. 

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Ages 0-5:

Little to no recreational screen time. Prioritize outdoor activities, imagination, reading, and human interaction.

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Ages 6-12:

Less than two hours of recreational screen time per day. 

No social media yet. 

We do not recommend Roblox based on what we’ve seen in our own research. If you allow it, set up Roblox’s Parental Controls and review Haven’s video games best practices module.  

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Ages 13-17:

Less than three hours of recreational screen time per day.  

Limit social media use to 60 minutes or less daily. 

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2. Keep devices out of bedrooms at night

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Our team at Haven has heard thousands of stories involving children harmed online. Many of them happen at night, in bedrooms, when kids have unrestricted access to the internet.

From pornography to drug dealers on Snapchat to inappropriate conversations with AI chatbots, late night internet use increases the chance of danger. 

Keep phones, tables, laptops, and gaming devices out of kids’ bedrooms at night. 

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3. Remind them they can talk to you about anything that happens online

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Students often tell us they don’t tell their parents when something bad happens online because of fear of punishment, shame, or losing access to their devices. 

Remind your child they can talk to you about anything that happens online, no matter how awkward or uncomfortable it may feel. 

Nothing is off limits. They won’t be in trouble for coming to you, and you’ll help through any mistake, uncomfortable situation, or embarrassing experience online. 

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4. Talk about AI 

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AI tools are introducing new risks, important conversations and growing responsibilities for parents. 

Take time this summer to understand how your kids are using AI and talk about potential dangers, including emotional attachment, oversharing, overreliance, and incorrect or misleading responses. 

Read Haven’s free Parent’s Guide to AI Safety, watch our AI-generated 13-year-old girl’s first experience using ChatGPT, or use our ChatGPT Parental Controls module for a step-by-step tutorial on setting up safety features. 

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5. Set up Parental Controls & Safety Features 

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Many parents still don’t realize they can set up parental controls on iPads, iPhones, Roblox, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and more. 

The tech companies don’t make these settings easy for parents to find or understand, but when set up properly, they greatly reduce the potential for harm. 

That’s why Haven exists. We built it to simplify online safety for busy parents. 

You don’t need to be tech savvy or spend 50 hours figuring this out. We did that part for you. 

Haven gives parents step-by-step video tutorials for setting up parental controls on today’s popular apps, real-time alerts about online dangers, and a community working together to protect kids in the digital age. 

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Click here to try Haven free for 7 days

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