Have you ever limited your child's reading time

[Halcyon]

in favor of, say, exercising? (let's assume said child is reading 5 hours a day or more and not exercising those days)

[regentrude]

Yes. I require daily exercise. When my kids were younger, we would simply accomplish that by going to the park every day as a regular part of our routine. Now with teens, I have to remind them and nag a bit to get them outside in addition to their organized sports activities. And it does not matter whether they were playing video games or reading - go outside they must.

I make an exception only if it is really cold and yucky, or if the kid is not feeling well (or if older teen has stress studying for university exams, in which case I encourage going outside, but don't require.)

[Mommyof4ks]

Yes, I have limited my dd's reading time to 3-4 hours a day in part because she was too sedentary.

[CupOCoffee]

Yes, For the same reasons as stated by the others. I've also made them (well mostly Dd) take a break after 2 hours or so, to do something else and come back to said reading later. I know what it's like to not want to put a good book down; so after she does something else for a while, she may go back to it if she wants. And exercise is mandatory in our house; it's written into their schedule.

[crazyforlatin]

Yes! Not exactly for exercise, but just to rest her eyes.

[Stuart]

I do set limits because it's dangerous to read while walking in a parking lot :)

Sometimes you just have to put the book down. I always feel guilty for doing it but I guess its a good problem to have.

[Cosmos]

Absolutely. Mine is one who would read all all times (except when there's a friend available). It's worked out best for us when exercise is just part of our daily routine. Right now during the winter, we are both going to the gym together when we finish with school each day.

[Truscifi]

Yes, though not specifically for exercise. Ds gets migraines and reading for too long can trigger them. Also, I require him to at least pretend he's paying attention to the world around him during family meals. Oh, and like a pp, I see it as a safety issue in a parking lot!

[PachiSusan]

When she uses it as an excuse to not do schoolwork that she should.

[EmilyGF]

Definitely! In school, the school requires children go outside at recess.

 

At home, we have play-in-the-yard time. I don't tell them what to do in the yard, so sometimes they don't exercise, but I still think they need to spend time outside.

 

Emily

[Rebel Yell]

Yes. I have even hidden new (from the library) books.

[Mukmuk]

No. But from about a year ago, ds started liking some sports activities. The number of activities have increased (snowballed?) and he's spending more time out the house, which naturally took away reading time (although he brings his book around). We have a family habit of reading before bedtime too. I think he's got a great balance now.

[TracyP]

I wouldn't hesitate to limit reading in the situation you're describing. I never have in their free time because my kids are pretty good about balancing themselves. But I have made them put their books down so we could start school, do chores, eat, etc. I give a warning like "5 minutes" or "find a stopping point" and I make exceptions for "but I'm almost done".

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Yep. I have actually told my son he could not read for the day because he needed to do other things. I have even threatened to take the books from his room and his library card.

[Arboreal TJ]

This thread is cracking me up!

[AndyJoy]

Definitely! In school, the school requires children go outside at recess.

 

At home, we have play-in-the-yard time. I don't tell them what to do in the yard, so sometimes they don't exercise, but I still think they need to spend time outside.

 

Emily

 

Ah yes, but my school didn't object when I took a book to the playground with me! :laugh:

 

Andrea, a 5+ hour-a-day childhood bookworm.

[hsmom2011]

We take short study breaks throughout the day to take walks or play Wii sports games, but I have never had to cut back on reading time.

[mamamindy]

I have tried to limit them, say for outside time, but then I found the books in the treehouse! But they're 5 & 6 and reading has opened a whole new world to them, so I won't worry about it right now. ;)

If I didn't put a limit on reading at bedtime, young ones would stay up to all hours, and everyone would be grumpy all day long.

[sewingmama]

I wish I had that problem -I'm still encouraging them to read more. My kids are so active it doesn't occur to them to pick up a book and sit and read it -they are always doing. I do read a ton to them but they don't usually do it on their own.

 

My DD has started to read in bed. She has a terrible time falling asleep and I thought it might help. Yeah -not so much. I have to set a a timer or she is still reading at midnight. Obviously she didn't inherit my genes -I fall asleep after the first sentence lol.