Every parent of gaming enthusiasts has heard it before: “I don’t have time for chores!” Meanwhile, their gaming PC hums away for hours on end. As both a parent and a tech enthusiast, I found myself wondering if there was a way to quantify just how much time my kids were spending online. The solution I developed not only provided interesting insights but also added a touch of humor to our household discussions about time management.
The Parenting Challenge
It’s a classic scenario in modern households: kids immersed in their gaming worlds while household chores remain undone. The standard response to parents’ requests? “I don’t have time!” As a tech-savvy parent, I decided to put my home network infrastructure to work to bring some transparency to this situation.
The Technical Setup
At the heart of this solution is the Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro, a sophisticated network management device that provides detailed insights into network activity through its API. Here’s how the system works:
- The UniFi Dream Machine Pro logs events whenever devices connect or disconnect from the network
- These events can be filtered by MAC address to track specific devices (in this case, the kids’ gaming PCs)
- A custom Go script processes these events and stores them in InfluxDB
- The data is visualized using Grafana dashboards
Implementation Details
The system operates on a daily cycle, tracking gaming sessions between 5:00 AM one day to 5:00 AM the next. This unusual timeframe was chosen deliberately to account for late-night gaming sessions that sometimes stretch into the early morning hours.
The core logic focuses on two specific event types:
CLIENT_CONNECTED_WIRED_
CLIENT_DISCONNECTED_WIRED_
These events, filtered by MAC address, provide accurate tracking of when gaming PCs are online and active.
The Infrastructure Stack
- Data Collection: Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro
- Processing: Custom Go script running in Kubernetes
- Storage: InfluxDB
- Visualization: Grafana
- Automation: Kubernetes CronJob (runs daily at 7 AM)
Real-World Impact
This system has brought an interesting dynamic to our household conversations about time management. When faced with the usual “I don’t have time” excuse, we can now refer to actual data showing exactly how much time was spent gaming the previous day.
The dashboard has become something of a family joke, but it serves a serious purpose too. It’s helped create more awareness about time spent gaming and has led to more honest discussions about balancing recreation with responsibilities.
Conclusion
While this might seem like an elaborate solution to a common parenting challenge, it demonstrates how modern technology can be leveraged in creative ways to address everyday family dynamics. The system provides objective data that helps both parents and kids better understand and discuss time management.
The next time your young gamer claims they don’t have time for chores, you might consider implementing a similar solution. After all, sometimes the best parenting tools come with an API and a dash of technical creativity.
Remember: the goal isn’t to shame or strictly control gaming time, but rather to promote awareness and encourage better time management skills. Plus, it adds a tech-savvy twist to the age-old parent-child discussion about responsibilities and recreation.