• Skype limit plan - lets him check his skype for 15 min, limited launch to 5x/day.  Notifications are blocked (via skype settings) so there is not messages popping up when he gets a text. 
  
• Internet browsing plan - time limit internet browser to 30 min/day, 7 days/week - unlimited launches.  white listed sites needed for school.
  
• Videogame time limit - 3 hours/week - all allowed video games (apps and webites) are included on this plan.  
  

• Skype limit plan (as above)
  
• Gmail plan - Gmail is only allowed at certain specified times of the school day, so that he isn't checking it all the time. 
  
• block internet browser use during online class time - to prevent him drifting off on other tabs when he should be attending online classes. 
  

(05-31-2020, 03:50 PM)Flowers6 Wrote: Hi all,  
I thought I'd share how I'm setting up FM for my 2 kids who do online homeschooling.
I find there is a learning curve to using FM with kids - you have to set up a few plans, let them run, see how they behave and how the kids are helped or hindered by them.  You also have to monitor their use of the computer and see where they are getting distracted and then add plans accordingly.  It is an open discussion - the kids know it is for their benefit to have the FM working, and giving them their allowed time without the temptation to go over.  It isn't so much a control as guidance.  We discuss what they need out of their time on the computer and come to agree on what is reasonable, and make plans accordingly.  I also make sure they know that if there is need of a pause, altering of a plan etc, that it is an ongoing conversation that they are welcome to contribute to.  

First kid - 11y/o who needs a lot of guide rails when it comes to computer use.  Parent is fully in charge of FM and dashboard is PW protected:

• Skype limit plan - lets him check his skype for 15 min, limited launch to 5x/day.  Notifications are blocked (via skype settings) so there is not messages popping up when he gets a text. 
  
• Internet browsing plan - time limit internet browser to 30 min/day, 7 days/week - unlimited launches.  white listed sites needed for school.
  
• Videogame time limit - 3 hours/week - all allowed video games (apps and webites) are included on this plan.  
  

Second kid - 13 y/o - much more independant, has learned to use FM dashboard and is making up many plans for himself independently, as he sees areas where he has gotten distracted.  He has over 10 plans running - I'm not sure of all of them - they are for sites that I didn't even know existed before he told me they were distracting him.  I think it is good training for him to be an independent manager of his own time and user of tools like FM to enhance productivity.

• Skype limit plan (as above)
  
• Gmail plan - Gmail is only allowed at certain specified times of the school day, so that he isn't checking it all the time. 
  
• block internet browser use during online class time - to prevent him drifting off on other tabs when he should be attending online classes. 
  

I'd love to hear how other parents are using FM with kids.

(06-05-2020, 03:48 PM)Anon4Lulz Wrote: Thx for sharing,
I think it's a good idea to teach kids how to manage their time!
My parents just took the computer away, which did not solve any problems (U have to be able to manage ur time by urself, when u grow older!).
As a 9 y.o. I started watching porn, which is an addiction of mine up to today. I told my parents about it and that I wanted to quit. Instead of supporting me, they told me how disappointed they are. Sadly I continued to watch it and am even more ashamed now.

I'd like to know, do u talk with ur kids about the abyss of the internet?
Do u have the adult blocker running? Are u looking at the statistics to see what websites they visited or not?
What about Smartphones?

If I was a parent (I'm not) I'd complement FocusMe with an DNS-Filter like Cleanbrowsing or OpenDNS (I recommend the first one) to make sure that the kids are safe.
They (the DNS-Filters) will automatically set YouTube and Google to SafeMode (u might discuss it with ur children first, sometimes it is really bothering bc literally all musicvideos today have halfnaked women in them).

Kind regards,
A4L


PS: I hope I am allowed to recommend DNS-Filters, they are not really competitor-products to FM (it actually has no competitors, for it's by far the best product

(01-15-2022, 05:18 PM)CarlosCM Wrote: I need help. I'm new member and I dont know how can I write a question

(08-14-2022, 08:31 AM)Ava24 Wrote: Focusme is a great program.