Katherine Heigl isn’t paging her and Josh Kelley’s kids.
Which is just one of the reasons why the Grey’s Anatomy alum and her husband chose to limit when Naleigh, 16, Adalaide, 13, and Joshua, 8, can use their phones after their grades started slipping.
“We always said no phones at bedtime,” Katherine told People in an interview published July 5, “but there was sneaking devices and staying up really late and not getting good sleep and being unbearably cranky the next day. It was just like, this isn’t healthy.”
In fact, she described her kids as “little addicts” when it came to their devices.
Although she and the “Amazing” singer initially wanted to wait until Naleigh was 16 to give her a phone, it wasn’t possible “in the world we live in right now.”
“She was just taking friends’ phones and they were letting her use their phones,” Katherine—who gave Naleigh a phone at 12—said. “Then I have no idea what she’s up to. And then if she wasn’t on at all, she couldn’t participate in cafeteria conversation and didn’t have any idea what other kids were talking about. So I was like, ‘OK, let’s find a balance.'”
A part of that balance for the couple, however, included enforcing stricter boundaries around screentime.
“They don’t get their devices at all on Tuesday, Thursdays or Sundays,” the 27 Dresses actress explained. “Saturday, they get it after lunch. And they would only get them Monday, Wednesday and Friday after school, after homework, until bedtime—we start that process at 8 p.m.”
She noted that the kids can’t take their phone into their room at night and instead, put them on charge in her and Josh’s bedroom.
Although it was initially a difficult transition, Katherine previously revealed to E! News that the decision has made their kids “far more creative.”
“Naleigh has started baking and cooking a lot because I now have a rule about the phone: They don’t get it three days a week and they only get it after school,” she explained in April. “Adalaide, she talks about wanting to be an actress.”
And it has also allowed their family to grow a deeper bond, especially between Adalaide and her little brother.
“She and her brother have been starting to play music together,” she added. “Adalaide is playing the electric guitar, Joshua’s playing the drums—and they’re actually really good. It’s really kind of beautiful to watch them do this together, and watch them be excited and interested in something other than their devices and their phones.”
For a closer look at Katherine and Josh’s happily ever after, keep reading.
2005
Before they were married, the duo hit up the The Ringer premiere in Los Angeles on Dec 14, 2005.
2007
Katherine and Josh were all smiled when they attended the premiere of Knocked Up on May 21, 2007.
2008
The cute couple arrived together at the premiere of 20th Century Fox’s 27 Dresses on Jan. 7, 2008 in Los Angeles.
2010
Josh loves up on his lady at the 44th Annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 10, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee.
2014
Sporting big smiles, the married twosome attends the TrevorLIVE LA Honoring Robert Greenblatt, Yahoo and Skylar Kergil for The Trevor Project at Hollywood Palladium on Dec. 7, 2014 in Los Angeles.
2014
The proud parents have fun with their daughter Naleigh at the L.A. premiere of The Nut Job at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live on January 11, 2014.
2016
The pregnant star and her husband were spotted in Los Feliz, California on October 8, 2016. They got lunch during their day out.
2016
The proud parents couldn’t hide their joy during their baby shower.
2017
Josh could’t keep his hands off his wife at her Unforgettable film premiere on April 18, 2017.
2017
The couple paired up to go to the 2017 CMT Music Awards together at the Music City Center on June 7, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee.
