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iPad Addiction Breaking Bad with OurPact

Filed Under: BLOG, parenting two kids, Smartphones, Sponsored Posts, Technology Tagged With: , , , ,

*This is a sponsored post from OurPact to review their app, but all opinions are my own.

I would like to tell you that my girls’ iPad addiction has lessened since I first made light of it here, but sadly it hasn’t and may have only gotten worse since then as we were stuck indoors for months on end with it being winter, snowy and just downright cold for months on end.

Happier iPad Playing Sharing Moment

The iPad addiction at its finest!

I truly thought we were on the road to recovery as Spring and warmer weather has finally begun to sprung, but alas it was not to be.

Don’t get me wrong, I may have an issue myself at times, but still didn’t realize how challenging it would be to try to reform my kids’ iPad habits.

But again major fail on my part, as I more then habitually addicted to my Apple devices working from home.

Plus I am not going to lie, there are just times where they are quiet and not bothering me while I am get caught up working surfing Facebook that the iPad mini has been a friend to this mom tired of entertaining her kids all day long.

Yet, I knew we were treading into some dangerous waters when my older daughter was building Frozen Elsa’s crystal palace in Minecraft for hours on end and not coming up for air.

Then I was recently shown the light by an app, of things, to help break their bad habits with the iPad.

OurPact Screenshot

The app is called OurPact, which has become my new favorite drill sergeant for my girls with their iPad usage.

Here is how it works.

OurPact

My older daughter asks whines for the iPad from the moment she is done with her homework daily. 

As a reward for finishing her homework, I hand over the iPad with a caveat, which is that she has a 30 minutes to do her magic as Elsa would do in Minecraft.

Once the 30 minutes is up, the iPad is Frozen over just like the city of Arendale with all downloaded apps, social media and the internet too disappearing into a cloud of ice and snow!

Your kid’s iPad can be #Frozen over just like the city of Arendale with @OurPactApp

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I can even schedule either girls iPad usage around their daily schedule, such as bedtime, school activities, mealtime or just plain old-fashioned family fun time.

Seriously, I feel like I have even better magic powers then Queen Elsa with OurPact.

Lily all ready to freeze pre-school as Elsa small

Freeze the iPad usage thanks to OurPact!

As long as I remind the girls before they begin their iPad usage and give them clearcut alternatives for when their time is up, I have found the OurPact app works like a charm in our home.

OurPact also provides me with a larger than life peace of mind as it is a refreshing new take as a porn blocker app, by helping give me and all parents that use it the tools we need to monitor our kids’ online behavior.

And judging from the sheer amount of response in the affirmative, when I shared our original iPad addictions, I would say many others would benefit from the OurPact app, which just so happens to be FREE!

That’s right, the OurPact app is FREE upon download.  So, what are you waiting for download OurPact for FREE on all your IOS devices now!

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About Janine

Janine is a published author of the books, The Mother of All Meltdowns and Only Trollops Shave Above the Knee. She has been featured on The Huffington Post, Mamapedia, Today Parenting Team and SheKnows. She also runs her own graphic design company at J9 Designs.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Robin (Masshole Mommy) says

    My boys EACH have an iPod touch and a Kindle Fire. I definitely have to limit them because they would sit there in front of them all day.

    • Janine says

      I know Robin the devices that my kids also have access to is insane as well and hope you can try this out with your boys, too though.

  2. Nellie @ Brooklyn Active Mama says

    Definitely going to download the app now! I’ve slowly but surely reduced the amount of screen time by distracting them or telling them that it’s not working (when it’s simply not charged haha)

    • Janine says

      I know I totally have done that in the past myself, Nellie and so happy you can use this app with your little ones, too now though 😉

  4. Juliai says

    This sounds like a great solution for parents. It’s so easy for kids and adults to get sucked into their devices.

  6. Bev says

    Eve hasn’t played with any electronic devices yet, but she is obsessed with my phone. She likes to press the home button (which just turns it on since my phone is locked) and hold it up to her head and say “Hello!” I can only imagine what it will be like once we allow her to start playing with devices and apps. Yikes! This sounds like a great app for controlling device usage.

    • Janine says

      Bev, you will see in no time Eve will be playing with your phone like a pro and hope you can use this when she does 😉

  9. Lauren Baker Cormier says

    I got this app when I first heard about it. I haven’t used it much, but I’m excited for them to get the feature where you can have a separate setting for each kid on the same device. They all use our iPad and it will be great when I can set it so that each kid has a certain amount of time and then it’ll shut off.

  10. Diane Roark says

    Janine,

    This is the best thing I have seen in a while. I am sharing and sharing because I know this will help a lot of kids who are addicted to their iPads.

    Thanks for sharing!
    Blessings,
    Diane Roark

  11. Rosey says

    That is a great idea. I need something like that on the XBOx when little man lures his father downstairs to play. 😉

  12. Allie says

    I did not know about this – thank you! I have the same problem with my son and Minecraft (although his is Nijago forts!). What’s worse – is that some teachers are encouraging MineCraft and using it as a teaching tool. Yikes.

    • Janine says

      My older daughter’s friend is obsessed with Minecraft and here about it all the time. She tried it, but didn’t like it believe it or not (not upset about this in the least though)!

  13. Seana Turner says

    I love this idea because it takes Mom out of the role of “bad guy.” If it shuts off, it shuts off. Particularly great for families where the children are little enough to believe that Mom can’t override this:) Great idea.. using technology to fight technology!

  14. Ginny Marie says

    This sounds like a great app!My girls love playing a My Little Pony game where they build Ponyville. Do you know if it’s available for Android?

    • Janine says

      From what I heard, the Android version is going to be released very soon now and hope when it is that you can use it for your girls. Oh and my girls love My Little Pony on my iPad too 😉

  15. Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says

    This sounds like a great idea! Since my daughter gets only “work”/educational “games” on the iPad, she’s quite happy to relinquish control. However, I like the idea of a timer because let’s admit it – when mama says 1/2 an hour, sometimes even mama forgets time and 1/2 and hour turns into an hour.

    Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely check this out!

    Wishing you a lovely day.
    xoxo

    • Janine says

      I agree totally and yes this mama has definitely been guilty of this, too here! Have a wonderful day once again, too xoxo 😉

  16. Chris Carter says

    Ohmygosh what a BRILLIANT APP!!! I love this so much!! I am going to look into this for my boy who bought himself his first ipad and now it’s time for some limit setting!!

    • Janine says

      Thank you Chris and I am seriously so happy that you can use for your boy and his first iPad, too!!! 😉

  17. Bill says

    Janine, I don’t even know how to spell iPad, so I have no horse in this race. Have a great week, dear friend, and Happy Monday.

  21. Dana says

    Hmm…this may be useful with my teenagers – blocking apps after a certain time at night. Who am I kidding…I could use this for myself! Thanks for sharing, Janine – off to check it out now.

  24. Alana Romain says

    If only there was an app like this for the TV! We don’t do iPads/phones, but we DO do an awful lot of Curious George and Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood. Getting a bit challenging to reign it in 🙁

  25. Carrie Groneman says

    What a great app and thanks for sharing this Janine. I shared it and I know it’s going to be a contention -breaker between kids and parents; what a relief! Thanks for another terrific idea. Carrie, A Mother’s Shadow

  27. Kristen says

    You know what, at 3 & 6 we haven’t had this issue. We just use it for special occasions…but this sounds like it will help!

    • Janine says

      Kristen, you are better than me then, because I seriously have been guilty of letting my two use it more than just for special occasions, but glad you do have it under control and thank you so much for sharing for me today, too 😉

  30. Kerry says

    Sounds like a great app. Thanks for sharing! Wondering if this also works on iTouches? My boys rarely use the iPad, but they both have their own iTouches and could easily spend hours on their little devices if we didn’t snatch them away.

    • Janine says

      Kerry, I believe it works on all IOS (Apple devices) that you can download the app from iTunes onto. So, let me know if you can if you could use on your iPod Touch 😉

  31. Tamara says

    You are truly my hero with the Frozen tie-in and you know all about my experience with Our Pact, and how afraid I am of my kids using technology without limits.

  32. Caryn says

    I need to find a way to change our habits around the iPad, too. I feel like it gets the most respect in our house. Even if I say “five minutes”, I get a big whine and song and dance why he needs five more. This app solves that problem. Thanks for the review.

  33. Camille says

    Sounds like a great app, and I love that it’s free! Our kids have an iPhone which recently broke and they have been hurting, lol. The addiction is real! We will have to download OurPact when we get them a new one. Which will be soon because I have nothing to ground them from when they misbehave now, lol!

    • Janine says

      Camille, I don’t even want to think about if our iPad broke and totally felt your pain just reading that!!

  34. Rea says

    Wow, that sounds really cool! I see that it’s a big help especially that most kids are so drawn to gadgets nowadays. I think it’s really crucial that we put a limit to everything. I usually hide the laptop from Reiko to keep him from playing all day.

  36. Jack says

    My kids would be terribly hurt if I installed an app that blocked their porn.

    Just kidding. 🙂

  37. Rabia @TheLiebers says

    My mid-kid is especially bad about getting lost in the iPad vortex! He seems okay with the computer timer, though, so hopefully this will work. My only concern is that he likes to watch videos and if this shuts off in the middle of a video, there will be a FIT!!

    • Janine says

      Lisa, I swear you commented and just checked you were #57 comment if you check back. So, totally still have your original comment, but thank you so much for stopping back and commenting again 😉

  39. Leslie says

    We haven’t gotten our kids an iPad yet, though the 5-year old has my old iPhone. I’m going to have to check it out to se if this app is available for the phone – and will definitely keep it in mind when it’s time to upgrade them to their own iPad.

    • Janine says

      It is definitely available on the iPhone and as long as you have an Apple product that uses the Apple App Store (iTunes) you should be good to go 😉

  40. Courtney says

    Oh, I need something like this for the Wii. My kids are becoming obsessed!

  41. Aunt Gloria says

    What a great idea….and the price is definitely right! Eliminates a lot of struggle to keep a limit on iPad and other device usage and makes it fun. I’m sure this will be a help to other parents. xxoo

    • Janine says

      I know Susan, trust me I so need something to help not get me lost on Facebook when I supposed to be writing and do other work here, too!

  43. karen says

    love that pic of them sitting together. Thankfully AJ is only a bit interested in his Kindle. He will go on a few apps, and sometimes Raz Kids for school. He’s more addicted to TV.

    • Janine says

      Karen, I am surprised at how much they truly could care less about the TV here, but the iPad is totally a different story!

  44. Aunt Gloria says

    I thought I had responded before…..sometimes my computer doesn’t connect properly. Oh well…anyway, thought this was a great idea and a good way to keep things under control. Hope the “training” will hold through the teen years! Happy weekend!

    • Janine says

      Aw, thanks again Aunt Gloria and hope it will totally hold us through the teen years, too! Happy Weekend xoxo 😉

  45. The Pinterested Parent says

    That is a great app & such a good idea to limit their screen time. Mai is an Ipad lover too. Once she stops, she just can’t stop, but still like you said, it does sometimes give us just enough time to get a few much needed things accomplished.

  46. Oana says

    I only allow my son to use 30′ a day his Ipad (he’s only 24 month old). He adores playing on his tablet!!

  47. parental control apps says

    We haven’t gotten our kids an iPad yet, though the 5-year old has my old iPhone. I’m going to have to check it out to se if this app is available for the phone – and will definitely keep it in mind when it’s time to upgrade them to their own iPad.

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