They were both spending hours on phones and computers after work and on weekends and their 10-year-old daughter, Lauren, was also starting to want to spend all her time in front of an iPad.

"It sometimes feels like every minute of spare time has to be spent on a screen," Mr Allison, 44, from Sydney's northern beaches, said.

"If the kids were unsupervised, the eldest would do it around the clock, watching Netflix, exploring the internet."

Mrs Allison, who is a year 5 and 6 teacher at the German International School in Sydney, said a similar pattern is emerging among her students, who are spending more time looking at their phones than running around the playground at recess and lunchtime.

School parents came to her with their concerns about technology, which led her to think more about her own family's use of devices.

Mrs Allison and her husband decided to slash their time on screens, along with that of their daughters Lauren and Jenny, 7, by joining hundreds of Australian families expected to take part in a digital detox later this month.

"I'll be honest about how much I'm doing and try to cut it down, it'll show the kids that the adults don't always get it right," Mrs Allison said.

"I'll have my kids trying to talk to me and I'm on my phone ... a lot of it is keeping in touch with people through Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat."

The four-week program led by the Australian Parents Council is aiming to help families look at how much technology they use, set out their goals and change their habits.

President of the council, Shelley Hill, said the problem of technology is one that many families are facing.

"They have seen a noticeable change in the way family units interact and engage, and what we're hoping to provide are some gentle strategies people can use to change their use of technology," Mrs Hill said.

Kristy Goodwin, a researcher in the field of parenting and technology who is providing advice during the program, said the detox is more about improving digital habits rather than completely cutting out technology.

"Whether we love it or not, technology is here to stay," Dr Goodwin said.

"Rather than saying don't use technology, it's about developing healthy habits so screens don't impact on their physical and mental health."

The push to take family-based action on screen time comes as digital device ownership grows among children of all ages.

About 94 per cent of Australian teenagers, 67 per cent of primary school-aged children, 36 per cent of preschoolers and 17 per cent of children aged under three have their own smartphone or tablet, according to the Australian Child Health Poll conducted in June this year.

Teenagers spend the most time in front of screens, with an average of 43.6 hours spent on devices every week, and parents spend about 39.4 hours a week on screens. This is about 31.5 hours for children aged six to 13, 25.9 hours for two to six-year-olds and 14.2 hours for children under two.

Dr Goodwin said that when used well, technology can have enormous benefits for children, and setting firm boundaries is important.

"Parents can look at setting boundaries around where screens are used, creating no-go screen zones in bedrooms, meal areas, play areas, ensuring they're not using devices around bed time," she said.

"For kids who are old enough, from three and up, try explaining why you're making the changes rather than just telling them to change behaviour, things like 'this will help you sleep better, make your body feel better as you get more active'."