WiFi hardware / software for controlling kids usage

https://wifi-blocker.com/virgin-media-hub-3-parental-controls/

Seems the easiest in your circumstances.

ParentTFU. If you're having confrontations now, do you suppose an automated solution will make them go "oh, OK then"?

You could, for instance, stick the ironically named Super Hub into modem mode and use a higher-end device as the primary router. That way you get granular control over connected devices. It's what I did, albeit for different reasons. But the uncomfortable truth is that your kids either understand this stuff better than you do or they will do soon, do you really want to start a cyber arms race? Technology isn't the answer here IMHO. Reminding them who the adult is, is. Back when I was a kid, if a mate of mine ignored 'bedtime' commands his dad would pull the circuit breaker to his room.

Yours, not a parent and probably talking out the top of his head. 😁

your not going to be able to control them forever, blocking stuff is only going to harm them

I'm not biting on people with no children giving parenting advice, but more 6 weeks of 3 children off school and two parents working 3 jobs from home, or at least trying to.

I have Virgin, and wanted the same controls. I opted for a Google nest WiFi router. I have all the controls over wi-fi time within Google home app. Done via Mac address, so you'll need to discover each one and name it appropriately. It's really good. Bought it with an extra pod which is speaker as well as extra wi-fi access point. Large 3 bed house covered and garden.

Only got the one and he's 15, but have been there, so sympathies with 3 at home for the summer.

We put in an asus router that allows you to control what content devices can see (porn,18+, p2p etc) and also set access times.

Kind of worked as long as we kept making the rules clear about times when Internet was OK, when he had to do other things like going to the park with mates.

Seemed to be managing a good balance until lockdown, when PS5 with his mates was his only social interaction, and we've not managed to get that genie back in the bottle since.

I think it's ultimately a mix of router settings and rules, and trying to keep talking. If you keep giving in to changes in timing you'll lose the battle. Tough out the initial upsets and they'll adapt to the new rules.

(But phones w unlimited data can frustrate your well laid plans and intentions.. )

Good luck and best wishes for a harmonious summer

I’m not biting on people with no children giving parenting advice

I'm a father and I agree with @cougar. Using technology won't fix the problem or avoid confrontation.

I’m not biting on people with no children giving parenting advice, but more 6 weeks of 3 children off school and two parents working 3 jobs from home, or at least trying to.

And I'm not biting on people who choose to have three children, have the luxury of both parents working from home so don't need to worry about stuff like childcare, and yet are seemingly expecting pity for it. So cool, it looks like we're both on an even keel here.

Have you considered Lego?

Have you considered Lego?

Good plan if a little extreme, take away the children's footwear then scatter lego on the floor between them and any device they can access the internet on.

Cougar, whilst your IT experience is invaluable in threads like this, I do think you should stand away from any parenting comments.

"Back when I was a kid, if a mate of mine ignored ‘bedtime’ commands his dad would pull the circuit breaker to his room."

Is essentially the same thing...

blocking stuff won't help, especially if you are still allowing 4g.  It will take 10 femtoseconds for them to work out how to turn their phones into a hotspot.

It's a modern family problem and you can't automate it as one of the things they have to learn is how to manage that form of addiction as adults have as much of an issue and teenagers.  Best options are no devices in bedrooms in the evening (including for you).  For gaming devices arrange that the controllers are somewhere central except during gaming hours.  If you turn it into a game where they try and defeat automated restrictions while you are working then you will lose.  At night time all devices are in a box in the kitchen or somewhere central.

Depends on how determined your kids are. The Google solution worked for me. My lad doesn't bother using hotspot for ps4. Besides the parental control, the nest hub is far better than the Virgin wi-fi

Thanks for the useful advice.

Get back under your bridge cougar. If you've got nothing positive to add then don't add anything.

@superfli

Best of luck with the MAC address thing. I tried this with 3 different routers. Set up access times for each MAC, everything looks okay. Next day the MAC numbers are different, it appears that the phone software changes the number each time they login.

Parent of two. I just tell them to switch off all tech at particular times. If they don’t do it I take it off them for a period of time the next day. Don’t have to do that often!

Cougar, whilst your IT experience is invaluable in threads like this, I do think you should stand away from any parenting comments.

Perhaps. I just get a bit tired of people demonising whatever their kids are into. My mum once told me that when she was young she was always getting told off for spending too much time with her horse. When they lived on a farm. 🤷‍♂️

Get back under your bridge cougar. If you’ve got nothing positive to add then don’t add anything.

I pointed you at a technical solution - literally the second sentence I wrote - then explained why I think it's the wrong answer (which some other posters have agreed with) and suggested an alternative. If that wasn't what you wanted to hear then I can't help that.

How would you control them if instead they were into books or bikes or football or cake? How is Wi-Fi control going to stop them playing Xbox? It'll stop them gaming online but what is that supposed to achieve, are you saying it's OK to play computer games so long as it's not with their mates?

You then responded with an arsy comment so I simply replied in kind. In hindsight that was probably excessive. Sorry.

Apology accepted.

I'll probably post one here even less from now one.

Virgin customer with two boys.

Virgin have a 'VirginMediaConnect' app that allows you to block specific devices from accessing the WiFi - there's no need to get additional hardware. Doing this from memory as we got fed up of the hub bugging out as it couldn't handle all the devices so stuck it in modem mode and got a Netgear Nighthawk, which handily also has a similar function.

It certainly adds another tool to your parenting toolbox.

The media connect is what I was after but it doesn't work for the new router we have.