What Should You Do About Your Kids Screen Time: Join the Challenge, Make It Fun

A father turning screen-time limits into a fun bonding activity with his toddler – doing push-ups together to earn phone minutes.

Since the release of the Pushup, Squat, and Step to Scroll challenges families using Clearspace have shared dozens of stories of making screen time reduction into a family game. Screen Time is one of the most difficult and fight-inducing conversations that parents and kids have. Instead of playing big brother and locking everything down, what if a screen-time limit became a playful contest: parent and child laughing through sets of push-ups, then enjoying their earned screen minutes together (and rarely using them all). We've heard from mom's who have turned Clearspace’s “Squat to Scroll” feature into a nightly competition with her teens – they’d all do squats to “earn” video time, and at week’s end the family member who accumulated the most active minutes while "spending" the fewest earned minutes got a reward like extra allowance, or picking where the family got dinner. Instead of a source of friction, screen management became a fun part of their family culture: parents and kids side by side, modeling healthy habits and cheering each other on. 

Such anecdotes highlight a powerful parenting insight: kids learn by watching what parents do. If you make healthy screen habits fun and join in, the kids are more likely to follow suit. In fact, many Clearspace families report that when parents participate in screen-time challenges – whether it’s doing push-ups, squats, or taking extra steps – their kids become more enthusiastic about it too. By turning a screen-time challenge into a shared game rather than a top-down rule, these parents are sending a clear message: we’re in this together.

The Power of Parental Modeling (Backed by Research)

Children often mirror the behaviors they observe – if parents are glued to screens, kids may assume that’s the norm. Conversely, when parents prioritize active play or device-free meals, kids learn to do the same. It’s not just anecdotal: research shows that children are far more likely to adopt healthy habits when they see their parents consistently practicing them. This holds true for screen time, fitness, diet – all kinds of behaviors.

For example, a Duke University study found that kids whose mothers encouraged them to eat well and exercise – and modeled those behaviors themselves – were more likely to be active and make healthy dietary choices dukehealth.org. In other words, seeing mom or dad walk the talk (literally and figuratively) has a measurable impact. Another study observed that when both parents were physically active, their children were nearly six times more likely to be active than children of inactive parents pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. The authors noted that parents probably influence kids’ activity by serving as role models and creating active family routines.

The same principle applies to screen time. A 2024 analysis of over 10,000 adolescents (part of an NIH-funded study) found that teens logged more hours on devices and had more problematic social media use when their parents frequently used screens in front of them – for example, during family meals or in bednature.com. In contrast, teens whose parents set limits and modeled restraint with their own screen use tended to have more balanced screen habits. In plain terms: if we scroll endlessly, our kids likely will too; if we show moderation and priority for offline activities, our kids learn that instead. Psychologists often call this parental modeling or the role-model effect, and it can work for us or against us. The good news is, by consciously modeling the behavior we want to see – like putting the phone down at dinner, or doing that goofy exercise challenge before Instagram – we leverage a powerful tool for shaping our children’s habitsdukehealth.org. Kids take cues from us every day, so leading by example is one of the most effective parenting strategies for health and screen use alike.

Making Screen Time Challenges a Family Affair

Understanding the impact of parental modeling, you can intentionally turn healthy screen habits into a family project. This is where Clearspace’s features shine. Clearspace is a screen-time app that doesn’t just block apps – it makes reducing screen time interactive and even fun. Two features in particular help parents and kids team up: Clearspace Challenges and Screen Time Friends. Below is a quick guide to using these tools with your family:

1. Clearspace “Challenges” – How They Work: The Challenges feature lets you attach a physical activity to earning screen time. Think of it as making your phone a pedometer or coach that says: “Earn your scroll time!” For instance, with Pushup to Scroll, Clearspace will require a certain number of push-ups before unlocking your apps. Every push-up might earn, say, one minute of scrolling – you decide the ratio (e.g. 1 push-up = 1 minute)ycombinator.com. There are other options like Squat to Scroll and Step to Scroll, which integrate with your phone’s motion sensors or health data. Using Step to Scroll, you could set a goal that for every 100 steps you take, you earn a few minutes of Instagram or YouTube time. The app will track your steps via Apple Health or the phone’s pedometerycombinator.com, adding to your “time bank” when you hit the goal. Families can have a lot of fun with this: you might challenge your kids to see who can do the most push-ups for screen time, or collectively agree that no TikTok until we’ve all done a 5-minute exercise. By gamifying screen limits, Clearspace Challenges transform what could be a tense rule into a motivating game. Parents should join in too – let your kids see you doing that silly dance or those jumping jacks to earn your own 15 minutes on Instagram. This way, you’re not just enforcing a limit; you’re living it alongside them. The result is often more buy-in from kids (because if Dad is willing to do it, maybe it’s not so bad!), plus a little bonus exercise for everyone.

2. “Screen Time Friends” – Light Accountability & Encouragement: Another popular Clearspace feature is adding friends (or family members) for mutual accountability. Through the Screen Time Friends feature, you can share your screen-time activity with selected people – for example, Mom, Dad, and the kids all become “friends” in the app. What does this do? In practice, it means everyone can see some basic stats, like how much total time each person spent on their phone today, or whether someone went over their daily limit. You can even get gentle notifications, for instance, “Alice stayed under her 2-hour goal today!” or “Jake exceeded his limit.” This isn’t about shaming; it’s about awareness and support. In many families, just knowing that someone else will see your screen-time report can inspire better choices – it’s the same principle as having a workout buddy. Clearspace initially noticed users manually sharing screenshots of their Screen Time and built this feature to make it seamlessbusinessinsider.com. Parents and kids can agree to be accountability partners: if Junior’s report shows he’s been online for 4 hours by dinnertime, a parent might casually ask how he’s doing with his goals. Likewise, kids see that parents are holding themselves to the same standard – if Mom’s phone usage spikes one week, it’s an opportunity for a family conversation about challenges and getting back on track. Some families even turn Screen Time Friends into a friendly contest, celebrating whoever has the lowest screen hours each week or collectively trying to keep the total down. The key is to keep it positive: use the data to encourage (“Wow, you beat your goal three days straight – awesome!”) or playfully nudge (“Alright, I need you guys to remind me to put the phone away tonight!”). By sharing the experience through Screen Time Friends, everyone is mutually invested in healthier habits, and no one feels singled out.

In conclusion, making screen-time management fun and collaborative can dramatically change the family dynamic around devices. Instead of parents vs. kids, it becomes parents with kids – whether you’re doing push-ups for TikTok time or seeing each other’s progress on the app dashboard. The anecdotes from Clearspace users show that when parents actively participate and model the behavior, kids respond with enthusiasm and accountability of their own. Armed with a bit of creativity and the right tools, you can turn the “screen time battle” into a bonding experience. So go ahead: join the challenge and make it fun – your kids just might thank you as they drop and give you ten!

Sources: Clearspace user feedback and feature descriptions; research on parental modeling and child behavior from Duke Healthdukehealth.orgdukehealth.org, The Journal of Pediatricspubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, and Pediatric Researchnature.com; Clearspace app documentation and press coverageycombinator.comycombinator.combusinessinsider.com.