Raise your hand if your child is a huge fan of strict rules limiting their screen time. What’s that, no hands in the air? Not to worry, my hand isn’t raised either.

As the mother of a 13-year-old who loves quality time with his video games and scrolling on YouTube, the screentime rules I’ve established (and do my best to enforce) have become a frequent point of contention.

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but parenting is not always a walk in the park. And given that reality, it’s not unusual to occasionally second-guess yourself – especially when the rules you’ve laid out may seem quite strict or become a source of drama between you and your child.

There are many reasons why parents employ strict rules with children: to keep them safe, teach responsibility and accountability, foster healthy habits, encourage academic discipline and, well, to raise good, well-balanced humans.

Some parental rules have the intended effect, while others may not work as you hoped or planned. On still other occasions, being the bad cop and enforcing the rules is just plain hard or exhausting.

“Boundaries can feel like the hardest part of parenting,” clinical psychologistMichelle Chung, Psy.D.,co-founder of the non-profit organisation The Modern Approach to Parenting, told HuffPost. “We want our kids to feel trusted, capable, and free. We also want them to be safe, rested and emotionally well – and these goals don’t always coexist comfortably.”

With all of this in mind, we asked parenting experts to share some of the strict rules that they stand by and believe are totally worth our parental effort. Here’s what the experts said.

No phones (or electronics) in the bedroom at night

Turning our attention back to the battle over electronics that often takes place with children, experts largely agree that having phones or iPads in the bedroom as lights-out approaches is a big no-no. Not only do electronics get in the way of a good night’s rest, but they can also be disruptive to a growing child’s mental health.

“Even adults struggle to put the phone down when we’re tired, bored, or stressed,” said Chung. “For kids and teens, whose brains are still developing the ability to regulate impulses and emotions, that tiny glowing screen can become the boss of their attention, their social world and their sleep.”

“Protecting their nights means protecting their mental health,” added Chung. “It’s saying ‘I know rest is the foundation for everything you dream of doing – and I’m going to help you guard it.’ ”

Everyone does chores

Here’s what a typical Friday afternoon in our house sounds like. Me to my son: “Please bring the trash bins in.” Crickets. “Please bring the trash bins in.” Still crickets. “Please bring the trash bins in, you know it’s your job to do that, every single Friday.”

“OK mom, after I finish this round of (insert any video game name here.)”

Having to remind a........

© HuffPost