What is a reasonable restriction on TV/screen time?

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I believe in restricting TV/screen for kids and adults:tongue_smilie: I let ds watch a little too much TV the past 3-4 months after school while we were packing/downsizing for our move. The past 3 weeks have been TV free since we moved it ahead of us:D I want to continue with limited TV/screen time. I am thinking that even 1 hour a day may be too much...

 

Any thoughts?

[ChristusG]

My kids get approx 1 hour per day. Each child gets to choose one show and they both watch that show.

[Homemaker]

My kids are 6,4, and 2 and they are allowed 30 minutes of tv time after nap/rest time (if they are terrible during nap, then no tv). Anyways, we get a couple DVDs from the library and so I put on 30 minutes of a

show or movie from those DVDs. Also most evenings we watch wheel of fortune together. The tv is off except for those times before the kids go to bed.

[In The Great White North]

If he's adapted to no TV, I would keep it that way.

 

If you're feeling particularly benevolent, maybe an educational documentary.

 

The dc do lots more reading, practicing their instruments, drawing, etc when there's no TV. It's a time sink, with no redeeming value.

[Pamela H in Texas]

For a 9yo, I'd say an hour. Well, I always said an hour, but my kids didn't do anywhere close to that on average when they were under 8 or 10 years old.

 

FWIW, Children's (Dallas) worksheet for preschoolers says to limit screens to 1-2 hours per day.

[aggieamy]

We might be an extreme but we do one movie that we all watch together every other Friday. Occasionally (about twice a week) we'll do the Wii for half an hour in the evening as a family. Otherwise our TV is off. DH and I don't watch TV much more than that either but when we do it's after Little Librarian has gone to bed. We had some electrical work done in our livingroom about a month ago and we just discovered that our TV has been unplugged since then so we aren't even watching as much as I thought we were. Our family enjoys our time together much more in the evenings now because we play games together, read aloud, play outside, go for family bike rides. It's been awesome.

Edited June 3, 2011 by aggieamy

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

If he's adapted to no TV, I would keep it that way.

 

If you're feeling particularly benevolent, maybe an educational documentary.

 

The dc do lots more reading, practicing their instruments, drawing, etc when there's no TV. It's a time sink, with no redeeming value.

 

It is tempting:D Limited educational TV and occasional family time movies would be exempt;)

[Carol in Cal.]

Only educational TV for littles. And only 30-60 minutes per day, toward the end of the day (before dinner is a good time.) And don't ritualize it--not "Now it's time to watch TV" but rather "You may watch one show now". Not every day. Not early in the day, and not right before bed.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Mine currently watch waaaay too much. My goal once school is over is for each kid to pick one show and all of us watch a movie in the evening. The show picks are earned by chores and will not be taken away, unless the chores are not done.

 

I will include a documentary around lunch just so they'll settle for a bit. Ds is underweight, so he usually picks the show while were eating. I don't like it, but it is what it is right now.

[Carol in Cal.]

BTW, screen time includes computer time. Even educational games.

[KrissiK]

The kids get an hour of tv a day. It's PBS, so your basic Clifford, Word Girl, etc. They get 15-20 minutes of computer time each, which adds up to an hour total because they all watch each other.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

BTW, screen time includes computer time. Even educational games.

 

:iagree: The only exception I am contemplating is a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes a day of rigorous exercise with Wii Fit as gym class for us:D

[Carol in Cal.]

:iagree: The only exception I am contemplating is a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes a day of rigorous exercise with Wii Fit as gym class for us:D

 

That makes sense.

 

You know, I observed when DD was very young that she had a wonderful imagination but that once she watched TV or played one of those early learning computer games her imagination was gone for the rest of the day. It was completely binary. She also picked up the smart mouth talk from Arthur, whether she watched it or did the computer game or had the books read to her. She just thought it was so killingly funny, and I thought it was so profoundly disrespectful/unacceptable. We never resolved this without banning it. I would talk with her about it--"You don't normally talk this way. It's not OK. I think that hearing the Arthur show doing it is putting this into your mouth. I think you can stop yourself from talking this way." She would try, she would fail epically, and finally we sort of mutually agreed to ban Arthur. So even PBS has some pitfalls. Anyone that says that TV has no real influence on the way kids act and think is crazy.

[KrissiK]

So even PBS has some pitfalls. Anyone that says that TV has no real influence on the way kids act and think is crazy.

:iagree: I wish I didn't let my kids watch tv. I know, I know, I am in charge, but... I do use tv as a babysitter at times. My kids are all close in age and they bicker and fuss constantly. They absolutely do not play by themselves, they play together all the time, but that also leads to almost constant conflict. When they are watching tv, they are quiet. Is that bad? It saves my sanity.

[mazakaal]

I think an hour a day sounds reasonable. My little ones are allowed 45min each and they can watch each other's picks. So they have an hour and a half. And they can't start watching until after 5pm on school days.

[Carol in Cal.]

Mitten Strings for God (which is not Christian, BTW) is a great book about a Waldorf-oriented family with two youngish boys. I haven't read it in a while, but it was a wonderful portrait of the creativity that can shine when screen time is minimized or eliminated and when good materials, active imaginations, and kind speech are promulgated. I recommend it; it's a really beautiful book.

[Laura in STL]

We have always done one hour per day, usually in the late afternoon/before dinner time. It used to be pbs, but they aren't interested in that anymore. Ds11 usually plays wii and dd9 likes a couple of disney shows. They arent necessarily my favorite, but I explained to her that if any of that attitude spills over into real life, then she has to stop watching. So far it's been ok, but we keep it in moderation.

 

DS does an online class and typing practice that I don't count in his hour. At his age he will start spending a little more educational time in front of the screen. That used to bother me, but now I realize it's a trade off for what he gets in exchange.

[Truscifi]

DS gets 2 hrs a day total screen time, which includes tv, computer, wii, dsi, etc. Some of my friends say I'm a softie for letting him have so much, but he's an only and there are only so many games of Dino-opoly I'm willing to play.

[Laura in STL]

One thing I forgot to add, usually once a week during the summer I let him watch a whole baseball game if it fits into our schedule, which is definitely more than an hour. Being a baseball fan is a pretty serious thing where we live.;) The thing I dislike most about that is the commercials.

[Laura Corin]

My boys get an hour on each of the weekend days, so two hours in the week. We sometimes watch 'worthwhile' things as a family in addition. They also get three hours of screen time a week for computer/game time.

 

During school holidays, they get an hour of overall screen time per day - they choose whether it's TV or computer time.

 

Laura

[Mrs_JWM]

We do roughly an hour a week. Family movies are an exception. TV has never become part of my daughter's routine. I do need to limit my own ipad time, though...

[rwjx2khsmj]

I don't set limits because my children are legalistic. If I said an hour a day, they'd hold me to it. Some days we don't turn on the t.v. We watch when we watch. There's no set schedule or limit. It doesn't come on unless I say it's okay. Sometimes we play Wii, sometimes we watch movies, less often we watch t.v. It probably averages to an hour or two a day but that can take place in the form of two movies and an hour of Wii.

 

DH is a different story. He loves t.v. He could (and sometimes does) spend 4-5 hours in the evening in front of the t.v. As a reader, I don't get it. I don't limit his t.v. time any more than I'd want him to limit my reading time.

[KrissiK]

I don't set limits because my children are legalistic. If I said an hour a day, they'd hold me to it.

This is exactly why we have to watch tv. My children are so structured (and I'm not sure it's exactly because of me. I'm pretty structured, but I try to be open-ended and flexible) but they have to know exactly what is coming next and what we are doing and if we have toast for breakfast this Monday then we have to have toast for breakfast every Monday. It drives me nuts, but it's easier for me to just maintain the schedule and keep their lives predictible than to deal with "do we get to watch tv today?" "when do we get to watch tv?" etc. etc. etc. all day long. If at 2:00 we watch tv then their little minds are at ease and we can go on to other things.

[Ellie]

Well, you could set limits on when the TV is on, rather than exactly how much it can be watched. Sounds like the same thing, but it isn't exactly.

 

In our house, dc could watch TV in the morning...after they were dressed, made their beds, and had breakfast, and it had to be turned off by 9. No TV until 3, but turned out that dc were either usually busy doing their own thing or we weren't home. No TV during supper, which was 4:30ish, and afterward we weren't always home because of church and whatnot. Dc's bedtime was 7:30-8, which meant baths before, so there wasn't much time in the evening, either. What a shame.

 

Sometimes we had jammy day and hung around watching movies, rarely broadcast TV, though.

[Amber in SJ]

Each of my kids gets 2 hours of "screen time" per day; broken down into 30 minute blocks. This includes all pre-approved TV shows, educational computer games, pre-approved websites, facebook, wii games, hand held games or movies.

 

I started out with each child getting 4 counters of their color at the beginning of the day and when they used a screen time a counter went into the bowl. Now they are just used to it and keep track of it themselves.

 

If a child is in the room while another child watches the TV show of their choice then it counts as one of their blocks, too. Only 2 blocks can be used for actual TV.

 

The living room is the only room with a TV and the homeschool area is the only place with a computer. We don't allow either of those things in bedrooms.

 

Friday is pizza/movie night, which doesn't count as their screen time. Hockey games do not count as screen time, either, particularly at this time of year. :D

 

There is too much going on on Saturday so we very rarely turn the TV on, and Sunday is the Sabbath so there is no screen time of any kind.

 

This is just what works for us. My kids are 16, 13, 8 & 6

 

Amber in SJ

[Carol in Cal.]

When son was pre-9, he had no clue that there was a regular schedule for shows. Zaboomafu just showed up once in awhile by accident. And we watched together.

 

Ha, this is funny.

Before DD was about 6, she didn't know that there were videos and you could play them whenever you wanted. I would say, "Oh, Teletubbies is on" and she would watch the video. I never let her see me put it in.

[happypamama]

My kids each get 20 minutes a day of screen time, more for DD if she finishes a chapter book (which means the others also end up getting a bit more along with her). I allow more occasionally, in bad weather or if they've just gotten a new game or movie, but 20 minutes is the general standard. I deliberately set it very low so that one, DD would have some incentive to finish books (as I've mentioned before, she tends to start tons of them and not finish) and so that I'd be more comfortable with allowing more on occasion.

[DawnM]

We don't have to limit TV much as they don't watch a lot, but computer games are a problem. They can play after dinner only for the most part. However, I have been known to cave earlier when they were driving me bonkers. :tongue_smilie:

[Julie Smith]

My kids don't really like tv. They do like computer gaming. We have two computers in the kitchen, they play a game together over the network.

 

They get about two hours, twice a week. They think the rule for gaming time is, if it's pouring rain, or someone got hurt Badly enough....

[LaxMom]

I think it depends on the kids. Mine exhibit behavioral issues if they have too much screen time - impulse control, inability to follow directions, infighting, etc. How much is "too much"? I haven't figured it out. So we mostly keep the tv off, excepting a Friday night family movie or the rare show while preparing supper at the end of a long day out.

 

Including those, the kids probably average about 2.5 hours a week.

[Jenny in Florida]

Well, you could set limits on when the TV is on, rather than exactly how much it can be watched. Sounds like the same thing, but it isn't exactly.

 

 

This is closer to how we handle it.

 

In our house, the TV has never come on weekday mornings, except during the summer if there's nothing else happening on a given day.

 

It doesn't get turned on until after schoolwork is done for the day, unless I allow an hour or so of something educational (directly related to our current studies) over lunch.

 

And it never gets turned on without permission.

 

Nowadays, my son is pretty busy and has places to go most afternoons. So, as a practical matter, the TV rarely gets turned on at all on weekdays until after dinner.

 

My daughter watches very little regular TV, although she does follow a number of YouTube bloggers. Because she was away for most of the last four years and because she now has no schoolwork to worry about, we don't have any firm rules for her screen time. As long as she takes care of her responsibilities and is available to help when I need her, she's free to do what she wants in terms of viewing.

 

We've always been more active in limiting what they watch than in how much. Especially when my son was little, we noticed that certain kinds of programs and movies had a huge affect on his attitude and how happy he was on a daily basis. So, he was never allowed to watch anything until we previewed and approved it.

 

He's older now and doesn't need as much monitoring.

 

The reality is that they both watch more than I'd really like in my idea world, but it doesn't seem to have done them much harm. They're both happy and healthy, bright, good kids, good students and involved in lots of activities at home and outside. If it were a problem, we'd work harder to limit more.

 

Edit: I should also probably say that it is extremely rare (probably just things like Jeopardy) that we watch a program "live." Almost everything we watch is from the DVR, and we zap commercials.

Edited June 4, 2011 by Jenny in Florida