Developing an Internet Schedule

Keeping a schedule for internet access is a matter of priorities. If everyone wants on at once, ask yourself, who needs the internet for time-sensitive projects, such as for work or homework? They should probably get first crack at the internet. Who will be on for the longest? They should go last of their particular category of importance so that they can stay late if they need to, in order to get finished. The next thing is to make sure the people who need it for less urgent purposes get a chance to use it, starting with whoever will be the quickest and working back from there.

If two people want to be online for several hours for social purposes that are not especially pressing, they can either split the time left over down the middle that day or agree to switch off and have their access on different days, but for longer periods of time.

Internet access becomes more of an issue when you want to limit the amount of time for a child or a teenager. There's software that can help with making sure everyone sticks to the schedule, with the result that each person in your household gets their allotted time on the internet, and that's it. This software can be filled with malware, though, so you'll want to be careful where you buy and/or download it. The software can also be very expensive, so keep that in mind if you decide to look for one online.

However, if everyone's honest and not too forgetful of the clock, you can make up your own schedule on a piece of paper, poster board, or even dry erase board (this last one is for the VERY honest), and put it up near the computer so that everyone can see it at their leisure.