June 17, 2025 • 16 mins
We usually talk about tech as a problem — screens, addiction, distraction — but what if it could actually make family life better?
In this episode, Dr Justin Coulson chats with two innovative parents, Matt and Brianna Donaldson, about how they're using smart technology to support routines, reduce stress, and create more quality time together. From bedtime battles to TV tantrums, discover how smart lights, switches, and routines can bring more peace and predictability to your home — no tech degree required!
KEY POINTS:
- Around 80% of Millennial and Gen Z parents are now using smart home tech to manage home life.
- Smart devices (like lights, switches, and TVs) can automate routines to reduce friction — especially around bedtime.
- Tech can enhance a child’s autonomy and transitions (e.g. lights dimming, music playing) without constant parental prompting.
- Boundaries and structure are still essential — even in tech-forward homes.
- It’s not about more tech, but intentional tech that supports family connection and calm.
- You don’t have to spend thousands: starting with a $20 smart switch can begin transforming routines.
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:
“It’s not Mum or Dad turning off the TV — it’s the house. The structure is doing the heavy lifting.” — Dr Justin Coulson
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
- Samsung SmartThings App
- Smart Switches (available from retailers like JB Hi-Fi or Kmart)
- Bluey and the Tony Box (a screen-free audio player for kids)
- The Parenting Revolution – by Dr Justin Coulson
- happyfamilies.com.au
ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS:
- Start small. Try one smart light or switch in a high-impact area like the bedroom.
- Automate transitions. Use tech cues (e.g. dim lights + calming music) to support routines like bedtime.
- Keep boundaries clear. Set firm, predictable limits around tech use — especially screens.
- Use tech to reclaim time. Automate cleaning (like smart vacuums) or other routines to free up family time.
- Let the “house be the boss.” Reduce conflict by letting routines and automation do the talking.
- Prioritise presence. Tech should serve family life, not steal from it.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
On the Happy Families podcasts, I spend a lot of
time railing against the tech giants and their impure motives,
their duplicitous, mendacious motives when it comes to our children
and addiction. So today's podcast may come as a surprise
because I'm not always against tech. In fact, there are
some times in some places where I think tech serves
wonderful purposes and can really enhance and improve our lives,
(00:28):
and I'm pro tech in those situations. Today a conversation
about how tech can change our lives for the better.
Welcome to Happy Families Podcast, Real Parenting Solutions every Day.
This is Australia's most downloaded parenting podcast. My name is
doctor Justin Coulson, and today I'm joined by a couple
of teachers from Sydney, Matt and Brianna Donaldson. I'm chatting
(00:49):
with them because I saw them on Telly recently and
was surprised by what they were saying. I was also
intrigued by it, and shortly thereafter I was asked to
have a chat on the Today Show about the very
thing they were discussing. I was so captivated I thought
I've got to know more about this, so I've reached
out and I've managed to get hold of the Donsons
to talk with them about some recent stats and what
(01:11):
they're doing in their homes. So first the stats about
eighty percent, let me say that again, eighty percent of
millennial and gen Z parents are using smart devices in
their homes to make life easier. So we're talking about
smart devices for monitoring what's happening in the home and
(01:31):
even for controlling the way the home works. And Matt
and Brianna, you guys are the poster child of this
gen Z millennial cohort doing this stuff. I'm amazed at
what you're doing and how you're doing it. I don't
mind where you start here. Matt, Let's start with you.
What are you doing in your home? From a tech
(01:54):
point of view? That has obviously got me so captured
and so one amid and wondering how much money I
have to spend to do this in my life house?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Well, what are the.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Big things that we do is the routines and the
smart lights in our house. It just allows us to
have more time together as a family when you're not
worried about having to turn lights on an off or
going manually dim them or tell Google to do it automatically.
So like we use the Samsung Smart Things app, which
is fantastic. Like I've used other apps before, but this
(02:23):
one's so much better in the sense it feels more
like coding that you can say to it, Hey, when
the time gets to this and if the TV is
on and starts to dimmer lights to this percentage, or
you know, if the if it gets to this time,
turn the electric blanket on so that's ready and toast
you when we get into bed. So I think I
think just having those sorts of things, they seem really small,
but it really does add up eventually when you start
(02:45):
to not having to think about it, it just sort of happens.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
We use it a lot for our son in preparing
him for bed, and particularly with those routines. We've got
a lot of research into obviously melotonin and screen time
and the impact that that has before beds.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
We have very strict rules around dinner time.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Phones go away once it hit six pm, our lights
automatically start to dim and they change that more ambient light,
and then we sometimes have coming music that automatically comes
on and that's when we start our bedtime routine. With
our son, we've seen a massive impact that that's had
in preparing him for sleep, and we are very lucky
that when it comes to that six thirty six forty five,
(03:23):
he's ready to transition and we've seen that change in
his body language to then tradition transition.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Into his bedtime sleep stories, et cetera. And it's really
helped with that wind down.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
So using technology to benefit us to then help our
son get a good nuts sleep.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
So, like most parents, my brain is exploding right now.
I'm just a switch light on our off kind of
guy and hearing you talk about technology where you can
literally tell an app, Sorry, which one did you say
you use? You said that you several in your film on.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
That you really want smart things app. This is the
Samsung smart Things app. It's their like poster app that
does all of the all the Samsung smart text and
even other things that aren't Samsung based can ad them
into the device.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Right, So, yeah, I was going to ask that. So
if I've got like a Sinos music system, it'll still
talk to that. Yeah, as long as it's got like
it can talk to Google or other amazing smart home beaches,
you can connect to the same sung it's incredible. So,
like I said, my brain is exploding. I've heard you
talk about this before, and I've been on TV talking
about how people like you were doing this, but I
still don't have a clue how it actually works. I'm
(04:23):
not a boomer, I promise I'm not a boomer, but
I am very much gen X and and I kind
of I'm struggling to understand how you can say to
an app, if the TV's on and it's this time
of night, I want you to do this. But if
the TV's not on and it's this time and I
want you to do that. Like, the complexity around that
and the thinking through it is it'sooing my head in.
(04:46):
But also the fact that an app can turn on
an electric blanket so that the bed is warm. I mean,
it's freezing at the moment, and we all need that.
But what's the tech setup? What do I need to
do in my house? If I'm just running the stand
electrical setup that most houses have had for decades, how
do I get my electric blanket to turn on through
(05:07):
an app?
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Well, the smart electric blanket we have is not actually smart,
it's actually we've got a smart switch, so it interfaces
between the electric blanket and your power socket. That switch
connects to the Wi Fi which then you then connect
to the smart things app and then you say you
give it a label and say this is my electric blanket,
so the app knows this electric blanket, and so then
you tell it, hey, turn this switch on, which then
turns it on and powers on the electric blanket and
(05:29):
the electric blanket. Thankfully, R one just sort of turns
on for an hour, so we can do it an
hour before we go to bed.
Speaker 5 (05:35):
It just sort of turns on and starts warming the bed.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Or you're driving home, you've had a night out and
you know that it's late and everyone wants to get
to bed, So before you even drive home, you jump
onto the what is it smart things app and say,
turn on that smart switch because I want a warm
bed when I get home, and it does it for you.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And if you've got a Samsung phone, you can actually
talk to it and tell you your phone, hey, turn
on my electric blanket, and it will do that, so
that way hands free while driving.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
I mean, it just keeps on getting better and better,
and I'm blown away by it, Like I said, even
though I've talked about it before. If I don't know
what a smart switch is, I'm putting up my hand
right now. What is a smart switch? And how do
I get those installed? Like what's the money involved in that?
Speaker 4 (06:18):
Smart switches aren't very expensive and you can just go
to Cama Jbhi Fi just say you need a smart
switch and it's literally just plugging your normal power socket
into that and then that goes into the wall. So
it's not a very complicated device and they're not expensive
at all. But they are compatible with the app, which
is why it works so well, in the fact that
Samsung's allowed you to use a whole range of different devices.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Through their one app.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
And like the o awesome thing is is we have
the Samsung Smart TV and as we know, Todlins can
get very addicted to television and we have very very
very strict boundaries within our house and thirty minutes while
we're prepping dinner, he can watch his favorite episode of
Bluey or he's very interested in the shakt documentaries as
we have in our Samsung feature. He loves watching them
(07:02):
with our cat, Truffle. But if he decides, he's very
used to the routine and he will often allow us
to turn it off or we're trying to give him
that autonomy to get him to turn the TV off,
so he's part of that process. But if he doesn't,
we can use that Samsung smart things actually control the
TV to turn it off ourselves, and so then we
can have that. Now, yes, that sometimes comes with a tantrum,
(07:23):
but obviously we're supporting him through that and developing that
understanding with there's now no more TV time. We're transitioning
to dinner and then family time and bed and so
it just gives us more of that control over our house.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
After the break, I want to talk to you about
where somebody who's never done any of this before and
whose mind is just exploding right now where they're supposed
to start. I've also got a hypothesis that I want
to run by you and see if your experience is
consistent with what my hypothesis is. And we'll wrap it
up by just talking about some healthy tech habits at home,
especially since you guys are so ingrained with tech and
(07:58):
yet you're using it in a way to decrease the
negative impact of tech in your life. This thing is
just so fascinating to me that's coming up after the
break on The Happy Family's podcast, Matt and Brianna Donaldson,
I don't know what to call you. I feel like
(08:20):
you're these tech aficionados who are expanding our minds in
terms of what you can do with a home. You
were talking before about smart lights. The lights can dim
as well. Initially, when I saw what you were doing,
I was thinking, Oh, my goodness, to do this, I'm
going to have to spend thousands and thousands and thousands
of dollars and completely rewire my house so that I
can plug it all into an app and do this
cool stuff. Because I actually really like the idea of
(08:41):
doing it, and I'll explain why I'm sold on it shortly.
You've talked about the smart switches. What do I do
about lights? How do I get my lights to dim
based on what the app says?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
So what we did we started small, so it's not
something you have to jump straight in and go right.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
I've got to replace every single light globe in.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
My house, and as you said, if you did that,
it would cost thousands of dollars. So maybe you get
start with just your bedside lamps and then maybe you
move on to doing the down lights in your bedroom.
Just start small, and that way it gives you some
time to acclimatize to how you actually get them to
communicate with your with your phone. So let's say you
did your bedside lights to start with. Maybe you've already
(09:16):
got some bedside laps you love. You just get a
smart globe that it fixes appropriately, so whether to screw
or obey in it pop that in.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
You then go to the.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Website for the particular light that you've got and tell
it to connect up to the Wi Fi so you
give it permission to connect to your WiFi router and
then that means it's discoverable on your network. So then
when you go to the Samsung Smart Things app, you
can then go look for all the device I'm looking for.
It will appear because you've set it up, and then
it will appear in your smart Things up.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
The priorite is what you want as a family.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
So our big priority was that transitioning to bedtime for
a toddler and providing that space for him and helping
him transition from his busy day into a calming environment.
So we really focus on the bedroom spaces as the priority,
and then we're slowly expanded into our living spaces and
other areas of the house.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
I really like the way that you said that as well,
because if you're trying to learn how to use all
of this new technology with a house full of change,
it's too much. But just connecting one device learning how
to connect that, they're moving on to the next one
bit by bit, month by month, nice and slow. It's
really a really good way to get into it. Here's
my hypothesis. My hypothesis follows even though Brownie, you mentioned
(10:30):
that every now and again your child will have a
tantrum when the TV turns off automatically, my sense is
that when the house tells you that it's bedtime because
the lights are dimming and soft music is playing, and
the TV has switched off automatically, like you've got no
control over it. It's switched off because you've set it
up ahead of time, there will actually be fewer fights
(10:52):
than when the parents are saying it's time to turn
off the TV, switch off the light. We're done. You
guys are still fairly early in your parents journey, but
you clearly are doing this. Does that hypothesis resonate for
you or am I missing the mark somewhere? What's your reaction.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
I think that's one hundred percent correct.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Like as I said, we see the change in our
son's body language.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
If we've been out, we've had a busy day, and we're.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
Coming home and we're rushing that bedroom routine, tore pare
him for sleep because we've been out for dinner or
whatever it is. There's definitely a lot more of those
bedtime battles. But when we've taken the time, we are
already home and he's soho ViOS that routine. We've been
doing it since he.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Was a baby.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
We originally had white Noise integrated as well. Now he
has a Tony Box and he does stories on that
so that he can if he wants to listen to
audiobooks and stories, he can do that through his Tony Box,
which has been a wonderful edition because it's tech without
a screen, and so he can lie in bed and
listen to that, which was his choice to transition to that.
But we don't have those bedroom battles, and you can
(11:51):
see that change in his body language when he gets
out of the bath.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
It's a calming atmosphere that he's entering into.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
And then he's transitioning into bed, and we obviously still
support him with that. We do his prayers and we
read him stories and we help with that, but within
tens of fifteen minutes most nights, he's in bed, asleep
or transitioning through that on his own.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
I'll find it funny how as you're saying, like when
the house sort of turns everything off, it takes the
ownership off of the parents, so it's like, oh my gosh,
you turned off the TV and you turning down the lights, like, well, no,
the house knows it's bad time, And for a three
four year old he doesn't understand the concept of time,
it's a good cue for him as opposed to just
having the lights outside when maybe it's daylight savings and
(12:34):
it's still right outside, so he doesn't know, oh, it's
getting close to bed time. The house is telling him, look,
you don't know the time, but I know the time,
and now it's time to get ready for bed.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
It's so smart. I mean, technically it is so smart
because that's the idea of it, But I just love
the way that it can smooth transitions and make family
life feel better, which is what enhabbed me with it,
and with what you guys have done in the first place,
What do you reckon of the most important things. You
guys have got so much tech involvement in the home.
(13:04):
I'm a little bit the opposite. I'm trying to eliminate
tech in my home, or at least reduce it and
minimize it as much as I can. If you're going
to have this level of tech in the home, what
do you do as parents to create healthy tech habits.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
The thing that depends obviously on the tech.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
We've talked obviously a lot about the TV, the Samsung
Smart TV in the lights. We also have a vacuum,
the Samsung Respoke Jet dot Combo vacuum, which we named
nom knov.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
And you sound like your I've heard of Apple fanboys.
It sounds like you guys are just the Samsung, like
like reps or something. I know your teachers, but this
is anyway. Sorry, So you've got this Samsung What is
that a robot vac Yeah.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
So that bespoke Jet dot Combo. It's named nom nov
because he is everything before. But the part is he's
on automated routines as well. So he's also the Samsung
Smart Things app.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
And that's text.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
That's actually allowed us to have more family time because
what happens is he cleans and mocks our house three
times a week. So on the weekends we're not stop
doing those mundane cleaning things that no one likes to
do anyway, And so what it means is we have
more time with our son. And so we're using tech
to really try and gain back that family time. Obviously,
(14:21):
as big, busy working parents, you're just rushing so much
during the week and so it's like, well, how can
we gain that time back on the weekends as a family,
And so we've tried to find technology that's allowed us
to do that. And then within obviously other technology like
our smart TV. It's just about having those boundaries, which
I know you've talked a lot about having those boundaries.
(14:42):
So our son it's like thirty minutes only watching TV.
We're very strict around what he can watch, so like
he loves his Blue episodes and he learns a lot
from Bluish, which is great. But I think having those
boundaries in place is such an important thing because as
soon as you let the they know, oh, I can
push the boundaries. Like I know they're only toddlers, but
(15:03):
they can turn around and.
Speaker 6 (15:04):
Go, oh, if I either say one more episode or
just don't listen when the TV gets turned off, then
I won't listen, right, And they know from such a
young age how to do that, and so we're really
strict us to watch TV in the mornings.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
The answer is no, we.
Speaker 7 (15:16):
Don't watch TV in the mornings in our household. We're
getting ready, we're spending time as a family. So it's
really that later afternoon while we're prepping dinner, and he
knows as soon as we start cooking, oh, can I
watch Bluey Now It's like, yes, you can, because we
have that routine in our house and as he's getting older,
he's having a little bit more autonomy around that and
a bit more of a voice.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
But we've paid very strict boundaries in our household around technology.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
It just emphasizes, I guess, the importance of structure, boundaries, frameworks,
systems that makes the house go better. Matt Brianna, it's
just been such a fascinating conversation. My mind has really
been blown talking to you about the logistics and the
practicalities of how you've done it. Thanks for taking some
time out to chat with me on the podcast. About this, Well,
that's all right, thanks for having us a little bit
(16:00):
different than what we normally do. But but what a
delightful conversation. And I feel like I need to go
down to JB's or Kmart and pick up some smart
switches and hook them up to my WiFi. I like
the owner of the house telling my kids what to do
instead of me. The Happy Families podcast is produced by
Justin Rouland from Bridge Media. For more information and more
resources about making your family happier, visit happyfamilies dot com
(16:23):
dot au.
On the Happy Families podcasts, I spend a lot of
time railing against the tech giants and their impure motives,
their duplicitous, mendacious motives when it comes to our children
and addiction. So today's podcast may come as a surprise
because I'm not always against tech. In fact, there are
some times in some places where I think tech serves
wonderful purposes and can really enhance and improve our lives,
(00:28):
and I'm pro tech in those situations. Today a conversation
about how tech can change our lives for the better.
Welcome to Happy Families Podcast, Real Parenting Solutions every Day.
This is Australia's most downloaded parenting podcast. My name is
doctor Justin Coulson, and today I'm joined by a couple
of teachers from Sydney, Matt and Brianna Donaldson. I'm chatting
(00:49):
with them because I saw them on Telly recently and
was surprised by what they were saying. I was also
intrigued by it, and shortly thereafter I was asked to
have a chat on the Today Show about the very
thing they were discussing. I was so captivated I thought
I've got to know more about this, so I've reached
out and I've managed to get hold of the Donsons
to talk with them about some recent stats and what
(01:11):
they're doing in their homes. So first the stats about
eighty percent, let me say that again, eighty percent of
millennial and gen Z parents are using smart devices in
their homes to make life easier. So we're talking about
smart devices for monitoring what's happening in the home and
(01:31):
even for controlling the way the home works. And Matt
and Brianna, you guys are the poster child of this
gen Z millennial cohort doing this stuff. I'm amazed at
what you're doing and how you're doing it. I don't
mind where you start here. Matt, Let's start with you.
What are you doing in your home? From a tech
(01:54):
point of view? That has obviously got me so captured
and so one amid and wondering how much money I
have to spend to do this in my life house?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Well, what are the.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Big things that we do is the routines and the
smart lights in our house. It just allows us to
have more time together as a family when you're not
worried about having to turn lights on an off or
going manually dim them or tell Google to do it automatically.
So like we use the Samsung Smart Things app, which
is fantastic. Like I've used other apps before, but this
(02:23):
one's so much better in the sense it feels more
like coding that you can say to it, Hey, when
the time gets to this and if the TV is
on and starts to dimmer lights to this percentage, or
you know, if the if it gets to this time,
turn the electric blanket on so that's ready and toast
you when we get into bed. So I think I
think just having those sorts of things, they seem really small,
but it really does add up eventually when you start
(02:45):
to not having to think about it, it just sort of happens.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
We use it a lot for our son in preparing
him for bed, and particularly with those routines. We've got
a lot of research into obviously melotonin and screen time
and the impact that that has before beds.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
We have very strict rules around dinner time.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Phones go away once it hit six pm, our lights
automatically start to dim and they change that more ambient light,
and then we sometimes have coming music that automatically comes
on and that's when we start our bedtime routine. With
our son, we've seen a massive impact that that's had
in preparing him for sleep, and we are very lucky
that when it comes to that six thirty six forty five,
(03:23):
he's ready to transition and we've seen that change in
his body language to then tradition transition.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Into his bedtime sleep stories, et cetera. And it's really
helped with that wind down.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
So using technology to benefit us to then help our
son get a good nuts sleep.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
So, like most parents, my brain is exploding right now.
I'm just a switch light on our off kind of
guy and hearing you talk about technology where you can
literally tell an app, Sorry, which one did you say
you use? You said that you several in your film on.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
That you really want smart things app. This is the
Samsung smart Things app. It's their like poster app that
does all of the all the Samsung smart text and
even other things that aren't Samsung based can ad them
into the device.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Right, So, yeah, I was going to ask that. So
if I've got like a Sinos music system, it'll still
talk to that. Yeah, as long as it's got like
it can talk to Google or other amazing smart home beaches,
you can connect to the same sung it's incredible. So,
like I said, my brain is exploding. I've heard you
talk about this before, and I've been on TV talking
about how people like you were doing this, but I
still don't have a clue how it actually works. I'm
(04:23):
not a boomer, I promise I'm not a boomer, but
I am very much gen X and and I kind
of I'm struggling to understand how you can say to
an app, if the TV's on and it's this time
of night, I want you to do this. But if
the TV's not on and it's this time and I
want you to do that. Like, the complexity around that
and the thinking through it is it'sooing my head in.
(04:46):
But also the fact that an app can turn on
an electric blanket so that the bed is warm. I mean,
it's freezing at the moment, and we all need that.
But what's the tech setup? What do I need to
do in my house? If I'm just running the stand
electrical setup that most houses have had for decades, how
do I get my electric blanket to turn on through
(05:07):
an app?
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Well, the smart electric blanket we have is not actually smart,
it's actually we've got a smart switch, so it interfaces
between the electric blanket and your power socket. That switch
connects to the Wi Fi which then you then connect
to the smart things app and then you say you
give it a label and say this is my electric blanket,
so the app knows this electric blanket, and so then
you tell it, hey, turn this switch on, which then
turns it on and powers on the electric blanket and
(05:29):
the electric blanket. Thankfully, R one just sort of turns
on for an hour, so we can do it an
hour before we go to bed.
Speaker 5 (05:35):
It just sort of turns on and starts warming the bed.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Or you're driving home, you've had a night out and
you know that it's late and everyone wants to get
to bed, So before you even drive home, you jump
onto the what is it smart things app and say,
turn on that smart switch because I want a warm
bed when I get home, and it does it for you.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And if you've got a Samsung phone, you can actually
talk to it and tell you your phone, hey, turn
on my electric blanket, and it will do that, so
that way hands free while driving.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
I mean, it just keeps on getting better and better,
and I'm blown away by it, Like I said, even
though I've talked about it before. If I don't know
what a smart switch is, I'm putting up my hand
right now. What is a smart switch? And how do
I get those installed? Like what's the money involved in that?
Speaker 4 (06:18):
Smart switches aren't very expensive and you can just go
to Cama Jbhi Fi just say you need a smart
switch and it's literally just plugging your normal power socket
into that and then that goes into the wall. So
it's not a very complicated device and they're not expensive
at all. But they are compatible with the app, which
is why it works so well, in the fact that
Samsung's allowed you to use a whole range of different devices.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Through their one app.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
And like the o awesome thing is is we have
the Samsung Smart TV and as we know, Todlins can
get very addicted to television and we have very very
very strict boundaries within our house and thirty minutes while
we're prepping dinner, he can watch his favorite episode of
Bluey or he's very interested in the shakt documentaries as
we have in our Samsung feature. He loves watching them
(07:02):
with our cat, Truffle. But if he decides, he's very
used to the routine and he will often allow us
to turn it off or we're trying to give him
that autonomy to get him to turn the TV off,
so he's part of that process. But if he doesn't,
we can use that Samsung smart things actually control the
TV to turn it off ourselves, and so then we
can have that. Now, yes, that sometimes comes with a tantrum,
(07:23):
but obviously we're supporting him through that and developing that
understanding with there's now no more TV time. We're transitioning
to dinner and then family time and bed and so
it just gives us more of that control over our house.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
After the break, I want to talk to you about
where somebody who's never done any of this before and
whose mind is just exploding right now where they're supposed
to start. I've also got a hypothesis that I want
to run by you and see if your experience is
consistent with what my hypothesis is. And we'll wrap it
up by just talking about some healthy tech habits at home,
especially since you guys are so ingrained with tech and
(07:58):
yet you're using it in a way to decrease the
negative impact of tech in your life. This thing is
just so fascinating to me that's coming up after the
break on The Happy Family's podcast, Matt and Brianna Donaldson,
I don't know what to call you. I feel like
(08:20):
you're these tech aficionados who are expanding our minds in
terms of what you can do with a home. You
were talking before about smart lights. The lights can dim
as well. Initially, when I saw what you were doing,
I was thinking, Oh, my goodness, to do this, I'm
going to have to spend thousands and thousands and thousands
of dollars and completely rewire my house so that I
can plug it all into an app and do this
cool stuff. Because I actually really like the idea of
(08:41):
doing it, and I'll explain why I'm sold on it shortly.
You've talked about the smart switches. What do I do
about lights? How do I get my lights to dim
based on what the app says?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
So what we did we started small, so it's not
something you have to jump straight in and go right.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
I've got to replace every single light globe in.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
My house, and as you said, if you did that,
it would cost thousands of dollars. So maybe you get
start with just your bedside lamps and then maybe you
move on to doing the down lights in your bedroom.
Just start small, and that way it gives you some
time to acclimatize to how you actually get them to
communicate with your with your phone. So let's say you
did your bedside lights to start with. Maybe you've already
(09:16):
got some bedside laps you love. You just get a
smart globe that it fixes appropriately, so whether to screw
or obey in it pop that in.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
You then go to the.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Website for the particular light that you've got and tell
it to connect up to the Wi Fi so you
give it permission to connect to your WiFi router and
then that means it's discoverable on your network. So then
when you go to the Samsung Smart Things app, you
can then go look for all the device I'm looking for.
It will appear because you've set it up, and then
it will appear in your smart Things up.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
The priorite is what you want as a family.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
So our big priority was that transitioning to bedtime for
a toddler and providing that space for him and helping
him transition from his busy day into a calming environment.
So we really focus on the bedroom spaces as the priority,
and then we're slowly expanded into our living spaces and
other areas of the house.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
I really like the way that you said that as well,
because if you're trying to learn how to use all
of this new technology with a house full of change,
it's too much. But just connecting one device learning how
to connect that, they're moving on to the next one
bit by bit, month by month, nice and slow. It's
really a really good way to get into it. Here's
my hypothesis. My hypothesis follows even though Brownie, you mentioned
(10:30):
that every now and again your child will have a
tantrum when the TV turns off automatically, my sense is
that when the house tells you that it's bedtime because
the lights are dimming and soft music is playing, and
the TV has switched off automatically, like you've got no
control over it. It's switched off because you've set it
up ahead of time, there will actually be fewer fights
(10:52):
than when the parents are saying it's time to turn
off the TV, switch off the light. We're done. You
guys are still fairly early in your parents journey, but
you clearly are doing this. Does that hypothesis resonate for
you or am I missing the mark somewhere? What's your reaction.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
I think that's one hundred percent correct.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Like as I said, we see the change in our
son's body language.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
If we've been out, we've had a busy day, and we're.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
Coming home and we're rushing that bedroom routine, tore pare
him for sleep because we've been out for dinner or
whatever it is. There's definitely a lot more of those
bedtime battles. But when we've taken the time, we are
already home and he's soho ViOS that routine. We've been
doing it since he.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Was a baby.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
We originally had white Noise integrated as well. Now he
has a Tony Box and he does stories on that
so that he can if he wants to listen to
audiobooks and stories, he can do that through his Tony Box,
which has been a wonderful edition because it's tech without
a screen, and so he can lie in bed and
listen to that, which was his choice to transition to that.
But we don't have those bedroom battles, and you can
(11:51):
see that change in his body language when he gets
out of the bath.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
It's a calming atmosphere that he's entering into.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
And then he's transitioning into bed, and we obviously still
support him with that. We do his prayers and we
read him stories and we help with that, but within
tens of fifteen minutes most nights, he's in bed, asleep
or transitioning through that on his own.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
I'll find it funny how as you're saying, like when
the house sort of turns everything off, it takes the
ownership off of the parents, so it's like, oh my gosh,
you turned off the TV and you turning down the lights, like, well, no,
the house knows it's bad time, And for a three
four year old he doesn't understand the concept of time,
it's a good cue for him as opposed to just
having the lights outside when maybe it's daylight savings and
(12:34):
it's still right outside, so he doesn't know, oh, it's
getting close to bed time. The house is telling him, look,
you don't know the time, but I know the time,
and now it's time to get ready for bed.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
It's so smart. I mean, technically it is so smart
because that's the idea of it, But I just love
the way that it can smooth transitions and make family
life feel better, which is what enhabbed me with it,
and with what you guys have done in the first place,
What do you reckon of the most important things. You
guys have got so much tech involvement in the home.
(13:04):
I'm a little bit the opposite. I'm trying to eliminate
tech in my home, or at least reduce it and
minimize it as much as I can. If you're going
to have this level of tech in the home, what
do you do as parents to create healthy tech habits.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
The thing that depends obviously on the tech.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
We've talked obviously a lot about the TV, the Samsung
Smart TV in the lights. We also have a vacuum,
the Samsung Respoke Jet dot Combo vacuum, which we named
nom knov.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
And you sound like your I've heard of Apple fanboys.
It sounds like you guys are just the Samsung, like
like reps or something. I know your teachers, but this
is anyway. Sorry, So you've got this Samsung What is
that a robot vac Yeah.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
So that bespoke Jet dot Combo. It's named nom nov
because he is everything before. But the part is he's
on automated routines as well. So he's also the Samsung
Smart Things app.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
And that's text.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
That's actually allowed us to have more family time because
what happens is he cleans and mocks our house three
times a week. So on the weekends we're not stop
doing those mundane cleaning things that no one likes to
do anyway, And so what it means is we have
more time with our son. And so we're using tech
to really try and gain back that family time. Obviously,
(14:21):
as big, busy working parents, you're just rushing so much
during the week and so it's like, well, how can
we gain that time back on the weekends as a family,
And so we've tried to find technology that's allowed us
to do that. And then within obviously other technology like
our smart TV. It's just about having those boundaries, which
I know you've talked a lot about having those boundaries.
(14:42):
So our son it's like thirty minutes only watching TV.
We're very strict around what he can watch, so like
he loves his Blue episodes and he learns a lot
from Bluish, which is great. But I think having those
boundaries in place is such an important thing because as
soon as you let the they know, oh, I can
push the boundaries. Like I know they're only toddlers, but
(15:03):
they can turn around and.
Speaker 6 (15:04):
Go, oh, if I either say one more episode or
just don't listen when the TV gets turned off, then
I won't listen, right, And they know from such a
young age how to do that, and so we're really
strict us to watch TV in the mornings.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
The answer is no, we.
Speaker 7 (15:16):
Don't watch TV in the mornings in our household. We're
getting ready, we're spending time as a family. So it's
really that later afternoon while we're prepping dinner, and he
knows as soon as we start cooking, oh, can I
watch Bluey Now It's like, yes, you can, because we
have that routine in our house and as he's getting older,
he's having a little bit more autonomy around that and
a bit more of a voice.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
But we've paid very strict boundaries in our household around technology.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
It just emphasizes, I guess, the importance of structure, boundaries, frameworks,
systems that makes the house go better. Matt Brianna, it's
just been such a fascinating conversation. My mind has really
been blown talking to you about the logistics and the
practicalities of how you've done it. Thanks for taking some
time out to chat with me on the podcast. About this, Well,
that's all right, thanks for having us a little bit
(16:00):
different than what we normally do. But but what a
delightful conversation. And I feel like I need to go
down to JB's or Kmart and pick up some smart
switches and hook them up to my WiFi. I like
the owner of the house telling my kids what to do
instead of me. The Happy Families podcast is produced by
Justin Rouland from Bridge Media. For more information and more
resources about making your family happier, visit happyfamilies dot com
(16:23):
dot au.
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