ConsequenceWheel
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Behavior

Screen time consequences

If the problem is the screen, the consequence should be the screen. Extra chores for a late tablet handoff feel random. A parked device, a shorter next session, or an earlier off-time is readable.

Decide the off-time when everyone is calm, and put the handoff on the wheel before the episode autoplays the next one. Kids handle a limit they helped set better than a limit shouted over the credits.

Free wheel

Preset: Screen time consequences

The wheel only chooses options you leave switched on. Agree on them before anyone is upset, and follow through calm, never in anger.

Add a name if you want it in the result. Spin when the list feels fair.

Consequences on the wheel

Switch suggestions off, edit the wording, reorder them, or add your own.

  • Screens off now

    The current session ends. Name the next allowed time.

  • Park the device

    It lives in the kitchen or office until the time is up.

    Amount 1–3 hours

  • Earn the next session

    The next session starts after the missed handoff skill is done.

  • Shorter next session

    Trim the following session instead of canceling the week.

    Amount 10–20 minutes

  • Practice the handoff

    Timer, pause, device to the spot. Rehearse once while calm.

  • Earlier off-time

    Tomorrow’s shutdown moves earlier by a small step.

    Amount 15–30 minutes

  • Task before screens

    The agreed task happens first. Then the device returns.

  • Review the plan

    Reread the off-time and the parking spot together.

Add your own

Build a small, real plan

Name where the device sleeps, what “off” means, and what happens if the handoff is late. One to three hours, or the rest of the day, is easier to enforce than a vague ban. The preset uses short ranges so you can tighten them.

For teens, “no phone for 1–3 days” is a starter slice, not a requirement. Turn it off if the phone is their way to reach you, and limit the apps involved instead. Say that out loud so the safety line is clear.

Do not make food or humiliation part of the screen fight

Meals stay off the table as punishment. HealthyChildren is explicit that you should not take away something a child truly needs, such as a meal. Mocking what they watch, or reading their messages aloud at dinner, is humiliation. Leave it off the list.

Notice the handoffs that go well. A specific “You parked it when the timer ended” teaches the skill the consequence is aiming at.

Leave these off the list

  • A month without a device for a ten-minute overrun, unless you truly want to live that month.
  • Secretly deleting games as a jump-scare.
  • A spanking decided in the argument at shutdown. If it is on your list, wait until you are calm.
  • Using dinner, dessert, or “no food in front of the TV” as the penalty. Where people eat can be a house rule; hunger should not be the consequence.

Words you can use

  • “Timer’s done. The plan is to park it on the shelf.”
  • “That handoff didn’t happen. We’re using the screen list we wrote.”
  • “It landed on two hours. It comes back at 5. I’ll set the clock.”
  • “Tomorrow we can edit the range. Today we keep it.”

Questions parents ask

What if my child needs a screen for school?

Separate school logins from play. A consequence can pause games and video while the class tab stays available in a shared room. Write that exception on the list so you are not inventing it mid-argument.

Is a family media plan the same as a consequence?

The plan is the agreement. The consequence is what happens when the agreement is missed. Make the plan first, on a weekend, then add two or three wheel slices that match it.

How is this different from a chore app?

Chore and reward apps track tasks and prizes. This wheel picks among limits you already approved. The comparison pages describe how Joon and ClassDojo are aimed at different jobs.

Sources