How much screen time to allow children

Herbyme

Hi,
Now we're all back to school etc the slack holiday system is over and I am limiting my kids (11 and 14) to 2 hrs screentime a day, much to their frustration (younger in particular would be on it all the time, literally, if I let him, preferably COD or similar). I worry not so much about the screen stuff (including tv) but about the things they're not doing cos so much of their life would be, if allowed, spent stuck in front of a screen.

What do others do? Am I the only meanie parent around?! Any negotiations/compromises/ideas that others have found helpful in keeping domestic harmony?

aliasojo

We have a similar issue with our 10 year old except it's online time. She sees nothing wrong in being online as often as she can be and for as long as she can be which is where the conflict comes in, because we see plenty wrong with it.

We curtail her as much as poss but it's difficult when ALL (and yes I do mean ALL) her friends and most of her classmates are glued to their pc's too and they all talk to each other and go to the same sites etc.

Do your kids have other interests or hobbies? Do they go to any after school clubs or go out with their pals etc. I sometimes think a standalone figure of x amount seems quite a lot until it's taken in context and balanced with whatever else they do in their day. If they really only watch telly as their leisure pastime then that's more of an issue I would say.

Edited to add: I think there isn't a perfect parent alive and no-one has it all sussed or does an absolutely perfect job, we all just have to balance things as best we can for the people in own own world. We will all have opinions about what's right and wrong, but the balance for one family may not be the same as what's suitable for another. Kids make life so hard sometimes dont they?

Herbyme

hi aliasojo, i agree about us all being different and no one right way. Yes, he does other things, climbing and (!) rifle shooting at a local club, and has friends round at least once a week, so it's not as black as he's painting it at the mo. Certainly he would be happy to come home, turn a tv/pc on and sit in front of one or the other til bed time, which is an idea I hate cos he already has issues concentrating at school, tho he is clever.

Your situation is a bit different from us as you say, ours is less about socialising than gaming and The Simpsons. How about more face to face friend time as opposed to online friend time? Or are they not nearby? The other thing that's hard, I find, is not making plans but sticking to them in the long term. It can feel like a constant battle, which is not how i imagined parenthood (duh, naive or what?!)

aliasojo

carolinerunner wrote: »

. It can feel like a constant battle, which is not how i imagined parenthood (duh, naive or what?!)

:rotfl:

My 10 year old is my 3rd, I still wonder why it doesn't just all go according to plan. It all seems so simple in theory, you think I'd have learnt by now.

Herbyme

:rotfl:
I just don't think kids read plans...in fact, they are plan-thwarting devices on legs

Dontknowanymore

My 6 year old would stay on the laptop all day if I let him.
He's a proper IT wizz, his teachers are amazed at what he can do on the computer, I did let him on it probably far to much than he should of over the school holidays.
I'm torn at the moment weather to let him go on it after school, etc.
He goes to 1 after school club and next week is starting another 3 days a week, so I guess it wont be as much of an issue, but it's just the weekends.

hoobydoobydoo

carolinerunner wrote: »

Hi,
Now we're all back to school etc the slack holiday system is over and I am limiting my kids (11 and 14) to 2 hrs screentime a day, much to their frustration (younger in particular would be on it all the time, literally, if I let him, preferably COD or similar). I worry not so much about the screen stuff (including tv) but about the things they're not doing cos so much of their life would be, if allowed, spent stuck in front of a screen.

What do others do? Am I the only meanie parent around?! Any negotiations/compromises/ideas that others have found helpful in keeping domestic harmony?

Definitely not! My DS (also 11) would spend all of his time attached to some electronic equipment if he was allowed. He cannot keep his eyes off a screen if there is one in the room and now that he is at "big school" all homework is supposed to be accessed via the VLE (virtual learning environment) online, giving him an excuse to be on the internet for most of the time. I regularly insist that both he and his sister turn things off and play instead, and at the moment they are fairly good about doing so.

Good luck with yours
Hooby

Herbyme

Thanks Hooby! Kids are good at making us feel llike the unreasonable ones sometimes. Or is that just me?!

kegg_2

I must be an awful mother as i dont give them set allowances for time online, watching tv or gaming.
My boys are now 14 and nearly 13 and i dont see the need to as they seem to regulate their usage of these thinks fine without he having to tell them.
My youngest is a bag of energy and rarely sits still long enough to watch a whole tv program and would rather be out and about playing sport or meeting his friends.
My older boy is a bit different as he is sen but he splits his free time between watch tv, some of it educational as he loves history, nature and such programs, the internet and gaming. But he also still loves his lego and will spend hours building huge constructions.