If your kids are using Facebook’s kid-specific Messenger Kids app now there’s a new feature to help parents have a little more control over that use: Snooze.
Launched this week, the new feature allows parents to set specify “off time” each day where the app will “go to sleep” and not be accessible for kids to access. That means you don’t have to worry about them staying up late chatting with friends, or missing the bus because they were too busy talking to a friend in the morning.
To set Sleep Mode up for your child go to the Messenger Kids controls within the main Facebook app and tap on the name of the child you want to set up control for.
From there, you’ll see a “Sleep Mode” option in the App Controls section. Tap on that and then set restrictions for weekday and weekend days. You can set things up different for both if you want, or have the same controls every day of the week.
And when you do set those things up, remember to talk to your child about the Facebook limits you’ve set and why. App controls are great, but setting them up without having a conversation could be seen as punishment rather than setting a reasonable boundary. It can also set you up for an easier conversation down the line when they’re old enough for their own Facebook account that you won’t be able to control quite as closely.
