Set WiFi to Automatically Shut Off With Parental Controls

Parents seeking an easier solution to curb their children’s nighttime device usage have several viable options. If it’s too troublesome to simply take their devices away each night or to manage parental controls directly, you can try restricting their access to the internet from your WiFi routers, which we’ll explain how to do below.

“Most of the routers we test have parental controls with some combination of time-based usage, website logging, or content filtering,” says Antonette Asedillo, CR’s senior test project leader for routers. “Time-based usage will help the most in blocking social media use and gaming at bedtime.”

Although this trick doesn’t stop them from accessing apps and games that don’t rely on the internet, it’s an easy way to disincentivize their usage.