Finally got the kid's iPads upgraded to the latest and greatest iOS which puts ScreenTime onto the devices and it's a pretty slick little tool. All the kiddos are too young to have iPad time where they are not being observed by their parents - so I don't need ScreenTime to tell me what they are doing - I KNOW. The kiddos use their iPads while I'm cooking dinner because it gives me enough peace that I make sure not to burn everything and cook a decent meal for everybody.
When cooking time is over, it's time to put down the screens and eat as a family. I'm the adult, and I win every time, but some nights it is frustrating for everyone. "Turn it off or I'm going to turn it off for you- and if I have to turn it off and you fuss you go to your room." Ugh... not fun, right? Because the times they aren't going to do it are the times they are tired, hungry, etc. and it just escalates.
ScreenTime gives me the +1 for high ground advantage. It's no longer me disciplining kids if they can't follow the rules, it shifted to them attempting to bribe me to give them an exception. That rhetorical shift is pretty dramatic in changing the tone of the situation and reducing the stress into getting the preferred outcome. Anyway - it's cool.