How much computer time?

[Teachin'Mine]

This is sort of a spin off from Faith's thread on computer games. My dd isn't into computer games, but I definitely have to limit her time on the computer. It's hard to keep accurate track of her time, because she does need to be on for some of her school work.

 

I guess my question is, how much time do you allow, during the school year, for "fun" computer time? For my dd, the contact with her friends is a great stress reliever, so I don't want to eliminate it entirely, but I need to come up with an acceptable time limit. Are your time limits on the weekend different?

 

Also, any ideas on how to keep track of the time on. I'm thinking of maybe making a time limit for the week, and then she can decide when to use that time. I know I haven't been setting a good example for her, especially since finding this amazing forum. :tongue_smilie:

[Mom0012]

I've been allowing my kids a couple of hours of screen time in the evening. It could be a computer game or a television show. My son had taken to using his ds during this time and watching a show at the same time. This was bothering me because I think doing things like that shortens your attention span. (I know because I often have the television on while playing around on the computer in the evening.:tongue_smilie:)

 

Anyway, I took both kids to the eye doctor recently and found my son is becoming nearsighted after always having 20/20 vision. It may just be the age and genetics, but I am strongly suspecting his time on that little ds screen is affecting his vision. With that in mind, I've restricted computer/ds time to 30 minutes a day. They can use the rest of their screen time to watch a movie or something.

 

I still feel like it's more time than I'd like them to have (especially because we visit my parents once a week and all my dad wants them to do anymore is sit in front of the tv or play computer games). I may be making some changes in the fall and just allowing 30 minutes - 1 hour on weeknights and then laying down some rules at my parents house. (Though that will be painful, I'm sure.)

 

I just can't decide what a reasonable amount of time really is, though, so I'm going to be interested in hearing the other responses as well.

 

Lisa

[J-rap]

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Edited March 1, 2023 by J-rap

[laurad1125]

We allow screen time between dinner and bedtime each evening. It works out to several hours. They do sometimes use the computer for school but I've never had a problem with them trying to do non-school stuff on it during the day. That may be because the computers are all in the office where I spend most of the school day.

[Tullia]

It's hard to set a definite time, and it would vary with the age/maturity of the child and your family circumstances/expectations. We had a family computer for a long time but once ds got his own laptop it did become a problem for awhile. However, he really needed time to interact with friends online so we didn't want to restrict him too much. Here's my list of things you might want to consider based on some issues we dealt with:

 

1. Is time spent on computer use interfering with schoolwork? I would suggest that you have a wrap-up conference daily just not only to confirm that work is, in fact, being done but also to what standard.

 

2. Is computer time interfering with family mealtimes,other activities with the family, or IRL interactions with friends?

 

3. Is computer time interfering with sleep?

 

4. Is this child venturing onto dangerous ground in terms of websites viewed or forum participation.

[ouzel]

My 14 YO checks e-mail/Facebook in the morning, at lunch, and after dinner. Each session is about 5 minutes. Additionally, he might chat with an out-of-state friend once a week for 20 minutes. My 12 YO has little interest, but checks his e-mail about once a week. They use the computer for some school work and research. Their computer is in a common space and has internet controls. We try to stress that the computer should be a tool, not a distraction to the real work and enjoyment of life.

~Renee

[mjbucks1]

We implemented a system this past May and it is working wonderfully!! Each child gets 14 tokens each week (they made their tokens out of pearler beads :)). The tokens are worth 1/2 hour of screen time (tv, computer, or DS game), so 7 hours each week. They can use the time as they please, but they must still ask permission (sometimes I have something they must complete before they get to use their token). Once their tokens are used, that is it. Many times they do have tokens left over at the end of the week, but the tokens do not carry forward to the next week. I should also add that occasionly we will watch a movie as a family and the children are not required to use a token for this. We decided to implement this over the summer, as the kids only do a minimal amount of schooling over the summer. Once we get back into our full school mode, the kids will have little time for "screen time" between school and swim team :).

[Teachin'Mine]

I've been allowing my kids a couple of hours of screen time in the evening. It could be a computer game or a television show. My son had taken to using his ds during this time and watching a show at the same time. This was bothering me because I think doing things like that shortens your attention span. (I know because I often have the television on while playing around on the computer in the evening.:tongue_smilie:)

 

Anyway, I took both kids to the eye doctor recently and found my son is becoming nearsighted after always having 20/20 vision. It may just be the age and genetics, but I am strongly suspecting his time on that little ds screen is affecting his vision. With that in mind, I've restricted computer/ds time to 30 minutes a day. They can use the rest of their screen time to watch a movie or something.

 

I still feel like it's more time than I'd like them to have (especially because we visit my parents once a week and all my dad wants them to do anymore is sit in front of the tv or play computer games). I may be making some changes in the fall and just allowing 30 minutes - 1 hour on weeknights and then laying down some rules at my parents house. (Though that will be painful, I'm sure.)

 

I just can't decide what a reasonable amount of time really is, though, so I'm going to be interested in hearing the other responses as well.

 

Lisa

 

Lisa I do the same thing! I've got my laptop going all day, and am often doing something else while I'm on here. I think you're right about the attention span shortening. I find it frustrating to just sit and watch a movie without doing something else at the same time. Another good reason to limit time.

[Teachin'Mine]

We were a big family with one computer, so part of it was related to that! We all wanted time on it! So our policy was 20 minutes for fun (non school) every 4 hours, and nothing on Sunday. Sometimes there were exceptions, or if two of our children were playing a game on it together, then that would combine the minutes to 40 for that 4 hour period. Our computer is in a central location right off the kitchen, so our kids knew they had to be honest... I was always there! We also had a timer next to the computer, but it was rarely used. Usually the kids were the best supervisors because they were anxious to have their turn, so they would make sure the person before them was not on longer than their 20 minutes!

 

Now several of our kids are older (out of high school), and set their own time with their laptops. I think they have pretty good habits and are not on for too long, but one of them sure loves her computer and sometimes I miss those 20-minute limits!

 

My dd has her own laptop and uses it in her room mostly, unless if we've got a movie on and she's chatting at the same time. I'm torn between letting her set her own limits, and imposing them. But it looks like imposing limits is what I need to do, because if left up to her, too much time is spent online. I'm hoping for her to be able to monitor it herself within another year or two and certainly by her senior year.

[Teachin'Mine]

It's hard to set a definite time, and it would vary with the age/maturity of the child and your family circumstances/expectations. We had a family computer for a long time but once ds got his own laptop it did become a problem for awhile. However, he really needed time to interact with friends online so we didn't want to restrict him too much. Here's my list of things you might want to consider based on some issues we dealt with:

 

1. Is time spent on computer use interfering with schoolwork? I would suggest that you have a wrap-up conference daily just not only to confirm that work is, in fact, being done but also to what standard.

 

No it's not interfering with school work. She's very motivated on her own to get her work done. It does interfere with time spent reading. Before she got involved with the computer this year, she often had a book with her wherever she went. Now she does the required reading for school, and that's about it. I've assigned two hours per day of reading this summer to help establish a reading habit again. I think we'll continue with that this coming year, but for a shorter time - maybe an hour. I'm hoping that she ends up spending more time just because she's enjoying the book. ;)

 

2. Is computer time interfering with family mealtimes,other activities with the family, or IRL interactions with friends?

 

We've had a couple of times when she was involved in chatting with a friend and got up from the table to check on the computer - but we quickly put an end to that. :D She doesn't have many IRL friends where we live - or at least they all seem to have such busy lives. She's gotten involved in volunteer work and other interests, so hopefully there will be more IRL interaction. I know the draw to her computer friends - some she knows IRL too - will be a lot less once she's more connected locally.

 

3. Is computer time interfering with sleep?

 

Not usually, but she has taken liberties with being on later than she should. :tongue_smilie: It's hard to monitor because she also does a lot of writing on her computer, and it's okay for her to write before bed.

 

4. Is this child venturing onto dangerous ground in terms of websites viewed or forum participation.

 

I consider ALL teenagers to be dangerous!!! :lol: No, thankfully she's careful about that. :)

 

Good questions!

[Tullia]

Good questions!

 

Sounds to me like your daughter is very responsible. I'd be inclined to give her fairly general guidelines and let her manage computer time within them. My son enjoys gaming and it's amazing how much time just "disappears" without him being aware of it. ITA, though, the teen years are apt to be dangerous :tongue_smilie:.