If your teen has ever set their age to “32” just to download a game, welcome to the club. In the UAE, one 13‑year‑old admitted he deliberately enters a fake birth year so he can install titles like Brawl Stars or Clash Royale. He even tried to convince his parents to let him on TikTok because “all my friends have it,” but they wisely held off. It’s a classic modern standoff: an army of apps designed to keep kids scrolling versus parents who just want their sanity — and maybe a normal dinner conversation.

Yet the families interviewed in the Middle East story aren’t locking phones in safes. One dad struck a deal with his daughter: if she tells him about a problem, they tackle it together; if he finds out later, there are consequences. He doesn’t just trust blindly, though. He has access to her accounts, occasionally checks her search history and has TikTok’s content filters turned up to eleven. It’s less “Big Brother” and more “Big Hug with Passwords.”

Another mom takes a slower approach. She’s upfront that kids are curious and shouldn’t be deprived entirely. Instead, she sits with them, shows them how algorithms work, and gradually increases screen time each year so they can build resistance to digital sugar. She controls which apps get downloaded and uses device settings to block age‑inappropriate material. By the time they’re teens, they understand that a “yes” from mom requires a conversation about why the app is worth their time.

The third parent goes full “family viewing.” She plays YouTube clips on the living‑room television and selects educational games that everyone can enjoy. Screens aren’t banished, but they’re treated like kitchen knives: useful tools that need supervision and training.

What ties these parents together is not an iron‑clad ban but a focus on trust and conversation. They know peer pressure is real — when every classmate is posting dances on TikTok, it’s hard for a teen to feel left out. Instead of reacting with fear, these parents are teaching their children to think about who benefits from endless scrolling. They’re creating house rules that involve the kids in the decision, teaching them to ask, “Does this app make me feel good? Is it worth my time?”

As Egyptian parents, we can borrow their playbook. Rather than giving a 10‑year‑old an unrestricted phone, invite them into the process. Explain that some apps are built to keep them hooked, and together decide when, how and why to use them. Building trust now pays dividends later, because the real goal isn’t to ban TikTok forever — it’s to raise teens who can walk past a screen without feeling like they have to dance for likes.

مصادر:

[1] تقرير لجريدة خليجية يذكر أن مراهقاً عمره 13 سنة يغيّر سنة ميلاده إلى 32 لتنزيل ألعاب ويتمنى الانضمام إلى تيكتوك مثل أصدقائه، لكن والديه رفضا.

[2] والد إماراتي يروي أنه اتفق مع ابنته على مصارحته بأي مشكلة حتى يحلّوها معاً، ويستخدم ميزات الرقابة الأبوية ويتابع سجلّاتها أحياناً.

[3] أمهات يتحدثن عن زيادة وقت الشاشة تدريجياً واختيار التطبيقات التعليمية مع مراقبة ما يشاهده الأطفال.