How do you manage your child's "screen time"? *Update*

[sweetpea3829]

Specifically, how do you manage their internet/tablet/whatever electronic device screen time?

 

Do you give each kid 30 minutes a day?  Do you pre-plan what they will use the tablet/internet for?  Do you just give them free time whenever?  Do you have them earn it?  

 

Do you allow them to primarily only use the internet/tablets/whatever for educational purposes?  Or do you allow games that have no intrinsic educational value?  Do you differentiate between the two when determining how much time to allow?

 

 

I am SO new to all of this...lol.  Up until now, we have mostly kept ours off of the internet.  Aside from Khan Academy, which DS8 does for a half hour each day.  I'm still not sold on the idea but...the grandparents bought two tablets for them.  

[Hobbes]

No answers for you, but my ears are also wide open for advice!

[UCF612]

I give mine "tv tickets" that they can cash in for tv, kindle or video games. They share 4 tickets a day between the 2 of them. One ticket equals a 30 minute show, 20 minutes of a video game or 15 minutes on the Kindle fire. Any tv/apps/computer time I assign doesn't count towards their tickets but they usually get enough of a "fix" that they don't cash in their own tickets. I do take tickets away for out of control behavior but that is very rare. And I've occasionally given out free screen time for great behavior (usually times when I want a break!).

 

ETA I realize I probably give more screen time than many but it works for our family.

[sillymommy]

Summertime: each kid gets 30/day. They can use it all or save it up to watch a movie. We have 4 kids, so they usually collaborate, watch each other's shows, etc.

 

School year: 1 hr/week/kid, only on the weekend. None M-F. Again they can save up their time. If we're busy or out of town during the weekend, the time simply gets added to the next weekend. This is helpful when they want a movie marathon during a sleep over. :)

 

They don't earn their screen time, but it can be taken away. They are responsible for charting their time on a sheet that hangs on the 'fridge. My oldest is an "enforcer." He keeps everyone honest about the time they use and helps the 4 yr old chart hers. We don't differentiate between educational and just-for-fun screen time. Kids must get our approval before downloading a new app. Their screen time is usually ipad games, netflix, and occasionally the wii. Cutthroat Kitchen has been a fav this summer. I guess that's sort of educational. ;)

[Maela]

Besides a little Khan Academy and Duolingo, my kids have to earn their screen time.

 

We only just started this a couple of weeks ago, but it's been going really well. We had been having a horrible time on outings/errands. My son especially - his behavior was horrific.

 

So now for every place we go to, including family events, my kids have a chance to earn a rock (they have a rock jar, similar to marble jars). They have to be well-behaved the whole outing. And we don't talk about whether they've earned or lost their rock during the outing.

 

When we get back to the house, they find out if they earned a rock. Each rock is worth one hour of screen time. They can use it whenever they want - as long as they don't have something else they're supposed to be doing at the time (schoolwork/chores).

 

So far M has about a 75% success rate and j has about a 50% success rate. It's really helped though. Yes some days they end up getting 2-3 hours of screen time. But they've worked hard for it. And then there are 2-4 days in a row when we don't go anywhere. So I encourage them to save their rocks.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I've been flirting with the idea of "The List" which has been posted about here before.  Basically, the idea is: your kid gets unlimited screen time . . . after they have completed all the items on a list.  The list can be whatever you feel is important, and can include academic stuff, chores, creative projects, physical activity, etc.  The driving concept behind it is that how you begin your day is often how you go on: if you start out staring at a screen, it's easy to spend the whole day doing it. If you start out doing creative/outdoor/other things, some times you get absorbed in those projects and don't feel such a need for the screen time in the first place. Or if you do, you've at least accomplished a lot beforehand!

 

The key to the list seems to be the choice/autonomy involved:  you do not have to do the list - but you don't get screen time until you do.  Once you've completed the list, your screen time is unlimited.  This changes the conversation between you and the kids - instead of you policing how much time they've had, whether they've earned it, etc., all you have to do is ask one question: Is the list complete? Great, then yes, you can go online.  No?  Well, if you decide to finish the list, then you can go online.  If you choose not to, then no.  It puts the initiative in their lap and keeps you from having to count minutes.

 

We'll see how it actually pans out in real life. This summer we've been so busy it hasn't been too much of an issue. But I'm going to institute a List for my younger dd when school starts next week.

 

Some blogs about this concept:

 

http://narrowbackslacker.com/2014/05/13/how-i-limited-screen-time-by-offering-my-kids-unlimited-screen-time/

 

http://www.yourmodernfamily.com/no-screen-time-until-free-printable/

[Maela]

I've been flirting with the idea of "The List" which has been posted about here before. Basically, the idea is: your kid gets unlimited screen time . . . after they have completed all the items on a list. The list can be whatever you feel is important, and can include academic stuff, chores, creative projects, physical activity, etc. The driving concept behind it is that how you begin your day is often how you go on: if you start out staring at a screen, it's easy to spend the whole day doing it. If you start out doing creative/outdoor/other things, some times you get absorbed in those projects and don't feel such a need for the screen time in the first place. Or if you do, you've at least accomplished a lot beforehand!

 

The key to the list seems to be the choice/autonomy involved: you do not have to do the list - but you don't get screen time until you do. Once you've completed the list, your screen time is unlimited. This changes the conversation between you and the kids - instead of you policing how much time they've had, whether they've earned it, etc., all you have to do is ask one question: Is the list complete? Great, then yes, you can go online. No? Well, if you decide to finish the list, then you can go online. If you choose not to, then no. It puts the initiative in their lap and keeps you from having to count minutes.

 

We'll see how it actually pans out in real life. This summer we've been so busy it hasn't been too much of an issue. But I'm going to institute a List for my younger dd when school starts next week.

 

Some blogs about this concept:

 

http://narrowbackslacker.com/2014/05/13/how-i-limited-screen-time-by-offering-my-kids-unlimited-screen-time/

 

http://www.yourmodernfamily.com/no-screen-time-until-free-printable/

I did something similar the year before last and it worked nicely. At that time M was just 6 and a good reader, so I even made school optional. It was on her list though. So if school work didn't happen, at least she wasn't staring at a screen.

[Gentlemommy]

Our older two kids have 30 minutes of fun screen time before bed. They do not have access to the Internet, and need to ask before they watch any new shows on Netflix. They may read on their kindle app or listen to audible/storyline online/ect during the day if their chores, school, and personal responsibilities are done.

On Saturday we have 'Saturday Screen Day' where they can watch during the day some. Generally we are busy doing fun stuff on Saturday (wink wink) so they rarely watch for too long.

We currently do not use any apps for educational purposes...I just don't generally remember and I'm not organized enough to keep track of what they are doing in each level. They have educational games available to them, I just don't count that for school.

 

Our kids are 10, 7, and 4.

[J-rap]

My last one graduated from high school two years ago, so it was probably a little different for my kids.  When they were young, we only had our big desktop computer!  But what we allowed was 20 minutes every 4 hours, and no computer time on Sunday.  We'd allow extra time for school assignments.  We didn't have a set limit on the TV itself (on those days, there weren't movies on the computer really -- just games and web searches), but we had only one TV channel, and it was Public Television.  Sooo, that helped!  They maybe watched one Public Television show every day, like Author or Wishbone.

 

Simpler times!  I'm sure it's all a little more complicated with everyone having their own device now, and movies available via streaming.

 

 

[Syllieann]

Mine get 30 minutes of TV before bed, but it can be lost for bad behavior. They sometimes use apps for school on child safe mode with the timer on, typically set for 5-20 minutes, depending on what it is. Ds uses rocket math, math evolve, and dragon box. Dd uses the loe app and little writer (letter formation). Movies are a treat that happen about once every other week from late fall to early spring. During those months they can also play unlimited wii as long as they are standing. If they sit down it must be turned off. I also let them veg with the tv when someone is sick-not the sniffles, but puking, not eating, running a fever sick.

[Ellie]

The only screen in our house when my dc were at home was the TV. :-) Our rule at that time (and believe me when I tell you that even the TV was a problem for some people back then) was no TV until dc were dressed and had breakfast and then it had to be off by 9 a.m.; no TV until 3; no TV during dinner. As it happened, dc were usually busy doing something after 3, we ate dinner at 4:30, and there might have been church so we'd left the house at 6:30...there just wasn't much time for TV. :-) I suspect that I could come up with similar rules today that would be easy to follow and sort of self-limiting.

 

There would be no screens at the dinner table, of course; I'm thinking I wouldn't allow them in the car, either, unless we were taking a long, boring car trip.

[Flowergirl159]

No screens until school is finished. I have found that any amount of screen time can alter their ability to do school and affect their attitude toward school. So no screen til school is over. And chores need to completed before school work. After school is done, they usually want to play outside or be creative in some other way, or read some more. So usually when they ask to watch something or use a screen device, it getting close to dinner time.

 

The only screen time during school is Xtramath which takes about 5mins daily.

 

We watch family movies whenever we decide to ;) when daddy is home from work. And sometimes, when we have had a really busy week and I need a rest, I will put a DVD on for them during or after lunch. Usually its slightly educational.

 

Saturday is pretty much the only day we don't have limits. They may watch some shows or play games to begin the day with or we may do a family movie in the afternoon. But if they have bee sitting in front of a screen for more than 1-2hrs, I will ask them to play outside or do something else for a while. They usually don't come back to the screen because there is so much other fun stuff to do :)

[Coco_Clark]

Screens in our house are open for business from 3-5, Monday-Friday, AS LONG AS you've completed your checklist. Checklists are a hodgepodge of things like: finish a math sheet we started together, practice the piano, read for a half hour, copy out some copywork, pull some weeds, Ect. I fill it in every day and it changes. The 7yo has 5 items, the 6yo has 3. Sometimes they make sure they have checklists complete well before 3, sometimes they go "oh man it's 3, better finish my checklist", and sometimes they neither finish their checklist nor get any screen time that day. The 3yo doesn't have a checklist but he also waits until 3 o clock to watch his beloved Daniel Tiger.

 

"Screens" include the computer (aka minecraft machine), the TV (netflix and a wii), and an iPad. IMO screen time is screen time so an animal documentary doesn't get more leeway than Magic School Bus which doesn't get more than He-Man. The only exceptions are if I actually ASSIGNED said documentary. As in, we are actively studying this subject and will all be discussing it. Same with educational games. Unless I assigned it, it waits for screen time. Ive used Kahn and Dreambox but I have yet to ever assign Minecraft, much to my 7yos dismay.

 

Sunday's are a screen free haven. Saturday's depend. If we are home they get the 3-5 without any checklist requirement, but often we are out of the house.

 

We do occasionally have a family movie night.

[sweetpea3829]

I've been flirting with the idea of "The List" which has been posted about here before.  Basically, the idea is: your kid gets unlimited screen time . . . after they have completed all the items on a list.  The list can be whatever you feel is important, and can include academic stuff, chores, creative projects, physical activity, etc.  The driving concept behind it is that how you begin your day is often how you go on: if you start out staring at a screen, it's easy to spend the whole day doing it. If you start out doing creative/outdoor/other things, some times you get absorbed in those projects and don't feel such a need for the screen time in the first place. Or if you do, you've at least accomplished a lot beforehand!

 

The key to the list seems to be the choice/autonomy involved:  you do not have to do the list - but you don't get screen time until you do.  Once you've completed the list, your screen time is unlimited.  This changes the conversation between you and the kids - instead of you policing how much time they've had, whether they've earned it, etc., all you have to do is ask one question: Is the list complete? Great, then yes, you can go online.  No?  Well, if you decide to finish the list, then you can go online.  If you choose not to, then no.  It puts the initiative in their lap and keeps you from having to count minutes.

 

We'll see how it actually pans out in real life. This summer we've been so busy it hasn't been too much of an issue. But I'm going to institute a List for my younger dd when school starts next week.

 

Some blogs about this concept:

 

http://narrowbackslacker.com/2014/05/13/how-i-limited-screen-time-by-offering-my-kids-unlimited-screen-time/

 

http://www.yourmodernfamily.com/no-screen-time-until-free-printable/

 

Man, I'm not sure if that would work here...lol.  I can see mine getting through their "List" and then spending the rest of their time with their faces glued to a screen.  Particularly two of mine.  

 

I could always modify it though, to allow for free screen time between a set timeframe during the day.  The other problem would be the fact that we have FOUR kids and TWO tablets.  

 

 

 

***Minecraft***  Can somebody explain to me how exactly this is "educational"?  Because I've seen it mentioned as educational and I know that some schools even have after-school Minecraft clubs, etc.  But when I looked into it, I didn't say any educational value to it.  Dig up a block, build a structure.  Repeat.  

 

 

 

 

[SeekingHim77]

My kids were allowed 30 minutes of screen time a day in elementary school and an hour a day from middle school age up. All school work and chores must be done first.

 

If my husband were on board I wouldn't allow any screen time except family movie night and rare treats.

[TeaCookiesBears]

As far as Minecraft goes I have yet to figure out the educational value let alone allure of the game. That said I use the the " No Srceen Time Until" by yourmodernfamily.com with a few tweaks. Monday through Thursday there are no video games or computer use. However, I do allow no more than 2 hours for their favorite tv shows if they choose. Most of the time they don't as they usually choose to read, play or go outside.

Weekends I allow Dd to have no more than 4 hours a day (with no more than 2hr on the gameboy) as a deal with Dh for no game time during the week with the knowledge that I WILL limit her time as her responsibilities grow (like school work) or if gaming continues to be a problem.

 

So far so good.

[Reefgazer]

My kids (13 and 10) get 2 hours of free-for-all screen time per day, but only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  There are no screens (iPad, computer, iPod, TV) during the week, with the exception of school work/research, which gets free reign anytime.  They are allowed to contact their friends via Face Time or text if it is for a specific reason, but mindless chit-chat has to use the phone or face to face contact.  This system works for me because I don't have to monitor coupons, screen hours earned, or time their screen activity every single day (only on weekends).  I am afraid if I instituted a "do your work and then you get screen time" rule that they would rush through their work to get to Minecraft, or completely abandon other non-screen activities for mindless YouTube clips.  They bitch about it because all their friends have free screen reign, but I do this because I want my kids to develop interpersonal social skills and other interests, and I think screens inhibit and destroy that ability.  I so can't stand the behavior of some of the teens I see who cannot string together a coherent sentence when faced with an actual human, and who cry like drug addicts in withdrawal when their phone is taken away, so I've determined this will never be my kids as long as they are under my roof.

 

As far as enforcement goes, I collect the devices in a cloth bag Sunday night (except for the desktop computer!) and they are out of sight until Friday.  The kids (nor us) have no electronics in their bedrooms, so that's not an issue for us.  I expect to give my kids more freedom in using their judgment on such things as they move into mid-late teen-hood, but right now, they have not shown the maturity to limit their own screen time, so I have to be the enforcer.  It gets more difficult as they get older, because the line between "mindlessly screwing around on a screen" and what I consider "legitimate use" of screens blurs.  DD (13) can probably be given freer reign over this sooner, as she is better at modulating her behavior, generally speaking.  But DS might never get there.  *sigh* 

[Wabi Sabi]

No screen time during the work day (so roughly 9-5) unless it is school work, but I don't really put many restrictions on it during their free time. If they've been glued to a screen for hours I'll suggest they play outside or go find something else to do for a little while, but otherwise their free time is their own. 

[sweetpea3829]

As far as Minecraft goes I have yet to figure out the educational value let alone allure of the game. That said I use the the " No Srceen Time Until" by yourmodernfamily.com with a few tweaks. Monday through Thursday there are no video games or computer use. However, I do allow no more than 2 hours for their favorite tv shows if they choose. Most of the time they don't as they usually choose to read, play or go outside.

Weekends I allow Dd to have no more than 4 hours a day (with no more than 2hr on the gameboy) as a deal with Dh for no game time during the week with the knowledge that I WILL limit her time as her responsibilities grow (like school work) or if gaming continues to be a problem.

 

So far so good.

 

 

I really don't see the allure of Minecraft either...especially as an "educational" tool.  My DS8 was introduced to Minecraft on the baseball field.  The boy who introduced it to him had a younger brother playing on our youngest son's team and showed my eldest son a Minecraft book...and ever since, DS has been, "I really want to try it mom, can't I?"  I looked into it...because I had heard that it had an educational value to it but I really don't see it.  It seems mindless to me!  I mean...even Angry Birds has SOME kind of strategy value to it.  

 

 

As homeschoolers....we have a bit of a unique challenge, I think.  Classroom kids ARE going to be introduced to technology, and much younger than our homeschooled kids generally are.  So how do we make sure our hs kids are up to par as far as technology goes, but not sucked into the technology trap?  I don't know!  I'm struggling with this!  *I* easily get sucked into the technology trap...and I don't want that for my kids.  

 

 

Many thanks to everybody for the ideas and suggestions...keep them coming.  I'm going to sit down later this week (mine are at day camp, all day, all week...*le sigh*) and come up with a strategy/plan on how we're going to handle all of this.  And then I need to take these tablets up to Best Buy and sit with somebody who can show me how to lock them down and make sure parental controls are tightly in place.  

[ScoutTN]

We are light on screens most of the time. Just a parenting choice. Totally understand those who choose otherwise.

 

We watch an hour or two of TV together as a family on the weekends. Often sports or Nature.

My kids generally don't watch any tv or play any on the ipad on a regular school day, though we might watch something for school once a week. If the weather is bad or someone is sick, we watch a movie.

WildKratts and Odd Squad are on back to back here and are great for keeping fussy kids busy the hour before dinner. ;)

 

I use games on the ipad for doctor's offices or other places where we might have an extended waiting period when it is important for Ds to be still, quiet and not touch a million things.

[Alice]

We don't have strict rules. I'd say in general about an hour a day is the max that they do stuff on a screen. They do have Kindles given to them by grandparents but we keep them in a general location, not in their room to use whenever they want. Typically they ask before doing anything "electronic" which could mean TV, movie, computer games, Ipad, etc. Depending on what else we are doing that day or what else they need to do I'll say yes or no and then I'll tell them when it's time to be done. I don't consider stuff they are doing for school to be screen time. 

 

I know as they get older and in the teen years that they will need to have more independence about screens soI try to look at it more as modeling a balanced life for them and teaching them how to use screens in moderation. I like to play on the computer a bit but if they see me sitting here all day, then they will see that as the norm. I try to make it so that we all do something outside every day, do something physical with our bodies every day, do chores every day, work on studies of some kind every day, read something every day and have some kind of playtime every day. Sometimes that playtime is screens, sometimes it isn't. 

[Seeking Squirrels]

If it's not a school day, they're allowed to watch a show in the morning, provided we also don't have something else important to do or somewhere to be.

 

Most school days and some non-school days they watch something educational over lunch. (Liberty's kids, Bill Nye....things like that). Honestly this is just as much for me as by lunch time I need to check out for a little bit.

 

They both got Kindles this summer from grandma. I have the parent controls set so that they can't be on them after 8 and can't exceed two hours per day. A lot of time, I know. But a lot of the things they do on them are educational or at least not bad. DD7 reads on hers and DD3 likes to do puzzles. They never actually hit their limit. (OK, DD7 has hit hers once, but it was a day we'd spent over 3 hours in the car) When we start up our school year I will change the shut off time to 7, the max hours to 1, and they won't be allowed on them until all school work and chores are done.

 

Movies just depend on when they ask. We do family movie nights every few weeks. If they've had a day running out in the sun a lot then I'll let them chill to a movie.

 

I've found that it's less of a deal when I'm a bit more lax with the screen time. When I lock it down to next to nothing, it seems it's all they want and ask for. But since they know they can get on their kindles later if they want to, or know that they can watch Bill Nye at lunch, they don't sit around begging for screen time. In fact there's many days they don't even touch their Kindles, even though they are sitting in plain sight and they're allowed on. DD7 can lose hers to bad behavior.

[SilverMoon]

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Edited October 18, 2023 by SilverMoon

[macmacmoo]

Last place we lived, to get anywhere was a bet of a drive, so we had a "for not in the house" use policy on the iPads. However we rarely leave the house so they are out all the time. We have a strict one charge per day, and if you fail to put away for it to charge tough luck.

 

Eldest just turn 7 and with it came some responsibility. I wanted him to be more liable for homeschool lessons. He could have care less if I got to caught up in everything else to get to his lessons. He loves Minecraft but he was grounded from it for about three months. When he got it back it came with the stipulation of: He can play for one hour a day if he does his lessons before the public school kids get home from school.

 

To earn using the TV he has to clean up the area between the sofa and tv. specifically picking up dishes, putting away laundry, throwing away trash, and picking up toys (the area in front of our sofa is a magnet for messes)

 

To earn his ipad he has four apps he as to work through. The first is a leveled book reader and he has to read a book. The second is a math drills app. Third is a watch a free Brain Pop video. Fourth is to draw a picture about the video. Occasionaly he forgets and just needs a reminder. However he is a very bad sneak so when he is sneaky about it then he looses the ipad for the day.

 

There was a point when I took everything electronic and hid it for two weeks and let it all slowly trickle back. I also learned which switch on the breaker box turns off the living room power.

[Gil]

I add the educational use of technology to the "To Do" list of that day/week/month. We are early risers and after we do our exercise and cool down, we watch a documentary (6:45-8:00) and discuss it over breakfast. During the after breakfast cleanup we listen to Spanish audio (radio/lesson/song/podcast/whatever) and then we switch to mostly Spanish for a couple of hours.

 

 

I strictly limit junk media. The boys are allowed 60 minutes each week of frivolous internet time. They can use this pretty much at their discretion, some restrictions apply.

 

They are loving the new Nintendo but they aren't allowed to play it when they want to. I manage their Nintendo time through the week by giving them a list of short/quick task to do each afternoon  and 45 minutes to do them in. If they get all of their work done before that block of time is over then they can play Nintendo until that time block is over--so if they complete the list in 20 minutes, then they have 25 minutes to divert to Nintendo. BUT

If they do a sloppy rush job on their chores than no Nintendo for 2 days.

If they whine, complain or are unpleasant when that time block is over, then no Nintendo for 3 days.

 

It was a bit of a rough start but once they verified that I was, in fact, serious about the rules its been working out beautifully ever since. It helps a lot that they only games that they have can be played in 3-5 minute bits so they are able to make good progress in the game even though they are playing for ~20 minutes a day.

 

They get the privilege of 45 minutes of shared Spanish videos each day--and they can lose the privilege of watching that cartoon if they are ill-behaved.

They can have 1 hour of Nintendo and 1 hour of Spanish cartoons on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

[AmandaVT]

DS watches an episode of curious george most mornings - it comes on at 8am here. After that, TV is off until 3pm. He's not a huge TV watcher, although he loves watching weather (I was the same as a kid and still love weather) and we watch Jeopardy as a family after dinner most nights. We also have the occasional movie night - we watched Willy Wonka a few weeks ago after DS and I finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory together. 

 

ipad time is harder. I wish it had similar parental controls as kindle. I'd  give him 30 minutes of app time, but unlimited time to imessage or facetime. The only people on his contact list are DH, me, my parents, my brother and my sister in law. I love that he can message and facetime with family, but I don't want him on the ipad all the time. So for now, it's limited to 45 minutes on some nights after school and activities and before dinner. He also plays chess and stack the states and stack the countries, so even though he has a few mindless apps, he also has some good educational ones.

[Coco_Clark]

As for the minecraft question.

 

I don't see minecraft as school, but I do see a somewhat educational angle. In much the same way as I see Legos or snap circuits as somewhat educationally angled- my sons have built both block Lego-style buildings and electric circuits in minecraft. They have designed farms, historically accurate castles, working elevators, roller coasters, lighting systems with switches for their houses, and laberynths complete with puzzles and boobytraps to challenge their dad with. Granted, they've also spent quite a bit of time fighting zombies and fishing and endlessly endlessly mining. Is it a better use of time than reading Peter Pan or climbing trees outside? No. Is it a better use of time than reading my little pony books (gag) or watching cartoons? Yes.

 

I'm not going to let if replace lessons. I'm not going to push it hard and sign them up for a minecraft club. I'm not going to let them play for hours on end until they've lost interest in all other things. But I think it's a bit short sided to think Legos and snap circuits are going to create our next STEM generation and minecraft isn't.

[mamiof5]

Most of our screen time is educational so I don't keep track of it (doesn't mean they are glued to a screen all day long though). They like watching an episode of magic school bus or wildkratts while having lunch (I have been able to skip many science readings or experiments because they saw it on these shows and can explain it), they also do state capitals and us presidents apps. We are not too big on mindless shows or videogames

[Moonhawk]

We do Accountable Kids, so the kids earn tickets throughout the day as they complete their tasks.  We deem each ticket as half an hour of screen time (mostly Netflix or iPad games).  Typically the kids can earn 3-4 tickets a day, though they can't usually spend that many in a day.  So tickets pile up onto the weekend, and they can watch up to 2 full-length movies on weekends (ie use 8 tickets), but not in a row.

 

We also have daily set activities on the iPads: 

- Reading Rainbow while I am making lunch

- math drill apps and games while I am making dinner

- music learning apps while the other kid is doing piano practice

 

All iPad games are educations or semi-educational.  Netflix doesn't have to be educational, but I still veto some things due to dumbness level, lol.  We don't treat educational vs non-ed differently under the ticket system.  

[Karen in CO]

Easy, No screens on school days (or Sunday after dinner if Monday is a school day).

[mommy5]

We have made a to-do checklist for each kid.  This includes items in different time blocks.  The first section are chores (1-2 per day) to be done in morning, independent school work and work with mom, meals and a quiet time where they can work on a craft, hobby (drawing), or read a book for 1 hour.  After those things are completed they get an hour of screen time.

[Tawlas]

My kids have an hour of screen time every day at 5 oclock, if they want it. It can be games, youtube, netflix, DVDs. i've been toying with the idea of crafty how-to youtube videos for quiet time. My dsd8 would love to watch youtube videos about how to make this or that item on her loom band. . . Also, during quiet time they're allowed to listen to their play lists of music or audio books - all of which are uploaded by me. Any violation (such as movies) of screens during quiet time would result in NO SCREENS for a week. So far, so good.

 

the five oclock time began when I had a houseful of young(er) kids and it was dinner and the baby was crying and I was ready to join her. Put on a movie and I could juggle the baby and dinner prep - add in a few preschoolers and I was quickly overwhelmed. It's stuck. The two eldest would watch TV all day if I let them, always would have, even when they were very small. My younger two only choose to use screens about half the time - they prefer the sand box or the water table :)

[KateHW]

My son is 6. He has a list of morning chores that he has to complete before any video game/tv time. This is new, because he was being really slow about getting through the list. To be fair I made a list of my morning chores that I need to do before I turn on my computer too. :) Hopefully both our mornings will be more productive now.  

 

All electronics are off an hour before bed and I also make him stop at least a half hour before school. He needs to get out energy after watching tv or playing video games so that he can focus on school. Seriously, he needs to run, jump, dance to get all that stored up energy out. He'll often pause games and shows just to take an energy release break.

 

Other than those rules there are no limits. As long as we don't have other commitments (places to go, school work to do) he can play games or watch shows as he pleases. Sometimes he marathons cartoons (Scooby Doo, My Little Pony, & Ninjago are current faves), sometimes he spends hours at the computer building his town in Minecraft. I only stop it if he is getting cranky and usually all I have to do is suggest a break. While he does have marathon sessions he is really good about self regulating, still loves to play with toys, and plays outside almost every day.

 

Losing video games is usually the punishment for bad behavior. He loses them for a set amount of time and then has to complete a Mom made To Do list to get them back (example of things on list: read 5 books with Mom, draw a picture for Grandma, spend 15 minutes picking up bedroom, help clean living room).

[Chrysalis Academy]

This morning dd9 said to me, "Should I do some Dreambox and a typing lesson to earn my Poptropica time?" So apparently we have some system by which she earns screen time.  I was not aware of the system, but sure, I'll play along!  ;)  :001_tt2:  :D

[alisoncooks]

I am pretty permissive when it comes to screen time.

 

My kids can watch a cartoon or two over breakfast; we turn it off to do school.

Sometimes we watch a show during lunch break ~ 30 min. or so.  

After we finish school for the day, they are free to do...whatever.  They might watch tv, and they have limited iPad time, but they also play a lot.

 

They use Veritas self-paced for history -- I don't count that as screen time.

 

[Caviar]

We try real hard not to put the TV on until after 6pm.  Unfortunately we got into a very bad habit when two of my dc were small and I had to give them breathing treatments every morning and every night, and sometimes during the day - in order to get them to sit still enough I turned on the TV.  Well, that got ingrained into all of us, and now that we don't have to do nearly so many breathing treatments we have to wean ourselves off of TV.   My dh grew up with TV as his babysitter, so he's learning along with the rest of us.  For computer time, school work must be done first, XtraMath on the computer needs to be done for the day, and chores need to be done.  Computer time is 30 minutes/day.  Sometimes, however, Mom forgets to turn on the timer and they get lucky with 1 hour.  If I have had to deal with whiny behavior or the "I don't care about anything" behavior, or I'm not doing my work behavior, then no computer time for that child that day - sometimes they work themselves into such a tizzy about that one day, that it then becomes two days, etc....  Yes, we've had to go for a whole week with no computer time for a child.  I don't download games on my phone, so that they can't play anything when they're out with me.  None of them have kindles.  None of them have cell phones.  None of us have TVs in our rooms.  In a perfect world, I would not have any screens!  However, that said, I did really like the science we did last year which included a short talk online first before we answered questions in the workbook.   AND, I'm going to have my oldest two design their own games with Youth Digital this coming school year - I want them to use their creativity, not just act like zombies in front of someone else's creativity.  This will likely become their screen time for the day - they've already asked me about that and how it's going to work.   I also just bought a Bible study titled "Taming the Techno-Beast" by Todd Wilson.  Not sure when we'll go through this, but we need to do it soon!  Before teen years hit. 

[Caviar]

When they were in school, the school had a "No screen week" every year.  Needless to say, we never made it.

[Shellydon]

Roughly an hour of screens each day.  No video game system in the house. We had one for 4 months and it was a nightmare.  Pitched it.  As soon as it was gone, sanity returned.

[deerforest]

None of us watch TV; we don't have cable either. DD has access to her iPod and laptop. We raised her completely electronic free until about age 5. That's when she discovered cake decorating videos on YouTube. To date (6 years later), that's her true online love--DIY videos on YouTube.

 

She really doesn't use her iPod much for it. She tends to use it for music, and she sometimes emails and texts friends. But, she is generally just not that interested in devices. She will ask if she can use it and if I tell her she's been on too long (based on some arbitrary mom time assessment), she says okay and does something else.

 

Only child who seems to have no tendencies towards being screen addicted makes it pretty easy around here.

[kentuckymom]

My son goes to school, so things might (or might not) work differently if we homeschooled. On school days he gets half an hour. He can spend this however he wants. Often it's playing minecraft, but sometimes it's watching mindless YouTube videos (usually Let It Go parodies these days) or a DVD. On weekends and school breaks he gets 2 hours a day. None of this time can be carried over. You don't use it you lose it. Oh, and on days when he has homework he doesn't get his screen time until that is done.

 

We added a way to earn extra screen time this summer and will keep it up in modified form this school year. For every 1-3 pages he read (depending on whether it was a traditional book or a graphic novel with a small amount of text per page) he earned a marble for one minute of screen time past his limit. These could be saved indefinitely. The system worked remarkably well. There were many times when he had 4-6 hours of marbles in his jar, so it was obvious he wasn't just reading to earn extra screen time, and, if he'd had more than three hours that day I'd suggest he do something else and he usually did it.

 

This school year the rules are changing  bit. He won't earn marbles until after he's done the required 20 minutes of reading for school. On school days he can use marbles to go beyond his half hour, but he can only use an hour total no matter how many marbles he has. This allows him to watch a full episode of Doctor Who, which he is currently obsessed with.

 

DD (4) gets two hours of screen time a day period. It cannot be saved, but it doesn't change even on days she has preschool in the morning. This was the same with her brother when he was in preschool. She has been asking for a way to earn extra minutes, so I've decided on the following system. About six months ago I bought a copy of The Reading Lesson, hoping to teach her to read before she starts kindergarten. She's already learned all the letters and sounds on her own. She had no interest and I didn't think it was something I needed for force. So the new policy is that, for every page of The Reading Lesson she works on with me, she earns a marble for an extra minute. So far she's earned ten minutes for this and is now sounding out words like "cat" and "sat" out of context of the lesson, so I think we're making progress.

[Meriwether]

My kids are not allowed to turn on screens until Dad is home for the day. They have activities at least three days per week, so that leaves two days. On those two days and on weekends they have to ask permission. When they have permission to use them, they use them until I get sick of seeing them glued to the screens. That might be half an hour or four hours depending on the day. They will sometimes barely get any screen time in a week. Sometimes they will get 10-12 hours per week. I am too unorganized to manage it any other way.

 

[KrissiK]

During the school year they get 20 minutes each of.... whatever a day. Wii time, or watching videos on Amazon Prime, whatever. And then they get an hour of tv time a day - 2 kids get to pick 1/2 hour each on a rotating basis. For this they watch stuff like Brady bunch, Gilligan's Island, they've been getting into Adam-12 lately. In the evenings, the last half hour before bed we've started letting them watch clips on the computer (DS likes baseball clips, other DS has been watchng basketball dunking clips, that short of thing) if they are completely ready for bed - showers, teeth, nighttime chores. This little thing has really give us leverage, since they like the time on the computers and we don't have to nag them about getting ready for bed.

[sweetpea3829]

Many thanks to everyone for your suggestions!  We adopted a few of your ideas and created what I think will be an efficient Screen Time Policy for our family.  

 

In case anybody might be interested:

 

 

We have two tablets...one will primarily have educational apps/games.  The other will have whatever games/apps they want that really don't have much educational value.  It will also have all of the educational apps/games.  

 

They will be able to earn 15 minute play time tickets by reading books.  The older two will be required to fill out a short book report (content to be determined, but likely including title, author, main characters, two new vocab words and their definitions, etc).  For each book report they complete to my satisfaction, they will earn either one free play tag or two educational tags (so 15 minutes of free play, or 30 minutes of educational play).  

 

The younger two boys will need to read for an hour before they can earn play tags.  They can read in 15 minute increments.  Once they have an hour, they will earn play tags.  

 

They can also trade in their behavior coins for play time.  

 

They can redeem their screen time tags whenever they do not have other responsibilities (ie school work, chores, etc).  They may redeem a max of 1 hour per day, except for Saturday, where they can redeem up to two hours (but only an hour at a time so siblings don't have to wait too long).  

 

All screens except our family TV off by 8pm.  No screens except our family movie on Sundays...and this includes Mom (yikes).  

 

We have a red, yellow, green behavior chart that we've used for several years.  They must be on green level to EARN and REDEEM tags.  In other words, if they are on yellow, they can still do their reading and even complete their report...but they won't earn the tags until they are off of yellow.  

 

Land on red and lose all of your tags.  Every single one.  (Red is very rare but it does occasionally happen).  

 

 

I'm hoping this will encourage them to read more.  They are pretty good about reading but a few of them will start many books and never finish any of them...so I'm hoping this will curb that.  

 

Thanks again for the suggestions folks!  

[go_go_gadget]

I set both of mine up StayFocused on their browsers (they each have Chromebooks), and they get 30 minutes/day on school days to do whatever they want on the internet. I set it up so that their Gmail and calendar, Todoist, and online class sites are unrestricted. Since we started that, there have no arguments about how much time is spent on YouTube or game wikis, and they've been much better correspondents through email. When their 30 minutes are up and they've caught up on their email, they move on to non-screen things. They get an hour on non-school days, and they also get 2 hours of game time once a week. It's a lot more screen time than they used to get, but it's a comfortable compromise for us right now.

[SeaConquest]

No limits as long as school is done. Any griping and the electronics go away.

[J&JMom]

OT, but y'all would freak at our house, lol.  My younger son sets his alarm on his ipod (yes he takes it to bed) an hour before school so he can get some game time in on his computer. Each of the 4 residents in the house has their own computer and device.  As long as school, piano and chores are done then have at it. Lots of school is computer/video based including AoPS videos and Alcumus. We don't limit 'screen' time except for appropriateness.  Husband is a computer nerd (pays the bills!) and we are both gamers.  We get out of the house for exercise/fun almost every day and are actively involved in Scouting including electronics free monthly campouts.  They have friends who have media black outs, but that's not how we chose to live. Now if work isn't done, fighting or whining sets in - you are unplugged!

[LMCme]

Let me start by confessing that my husband and I are recovering screen-a-holics, and so part of our rather drastic strategy is due to our own inability to control our screen time in the midst of temptation (screens plus exhausted parent results in watching television).  Basically, we got rid of all the screens (computers, smart phones, everything) in our home, except for a computer that is kept in a closet in the guest bedroom, which is used very rarely by anyone, and then really only for house tasks like budgeting using online banking or looking for things on Craigslist.

 

Because of this, our kids don't get any screentime in an average day.  A while ago, we had a laptop and during a time of family difficulty it came out as an electronic babysitter, and our kids' behavior deteriorated drastically on any day when the screen was out (correlation? causation?  who knows.).  So we got rid of the laptop and went to our current lifestyle about six months ago with good behavior ever since.

 

All of that said, our kids are young (2 and 4) so complex systems wouldn't work.  We tried in the past, and the day degenerated into "can I watch X?" "Can I play Y?" all day every day pestering.  Also, there is rather limited educational value in screen time at this age.  Lately we've been having family discussions about how to introduce educational screen time (e.g., Veritas Press History, which I watched some samples of and really liked) without completely upending something that has worked very well for us.  It was interesting to read all of the different perspectives above.

 

In the end, I'm rather ambivalent about the educational value of a screen.  Even educational video games and shows are really entertainment, and don't reinforce the discipline of rigorous qualitative thinking that we'd like to encourage.  As far as STEM, we're pretty sure that you can introduce the more rigorous aspects of STEM thinking after a person has learned to think rigorously in other areas that don't involve screens -- i.e., yes they need to learn MATLAB or equivalent in late high school/early college, but playing Minecraft now doesn't help that; yes, they need to learn calculus, linear algebra, and diffyQs at some point, but all the Bill Nye in the world doesn't help with that.  With regard to interest in a STEM field, the beginning of that is wonder at natural phenomena, not giggles with an 'experiement' on a screen.  Generations of excellent STEM thinkers have been generated without screens, just time and energy to stare, wonder, and think. 

 

Will continue to follow... again, still considering how to introduce in a limited fashion where they are useful.

[cintinative]

OT, but y'all would freak at our house, lol.  My younger son sets his alarm on his ipod (yes he takes it to bed) an hour before school so he can get some game time in on his computer. Each of the 4 residents in the house has their own computer and device.  As long as school, piano and chores are done then have at it. Lots of school is computer/video based including AoPS videos and Alcumus. We don't limit 'screen' time except for appropriateness.  Husband is a computer nerd (pays the bills!) and we are both gamers.  We get out of the house for exercise/fun almost every day and are actively involved in Scouting including electronics free monthly campouts.  They have friends who have media black outs, but that's not how we chose to live. Now if work isn't done, fighting or whining sets in - you are unplugged!

 

My husband is a major gamer and so I have a really hard time controlling my kids time on Xbox or the computer in the evenings for that reason. Also on the weekends my husband wants to just lie on the couch and watch baseball or football and/or play Xbox. I have no idea how to counteract this--when i bring up that the TV has been on for a long time he gets mad and yells at me.  When I read threads like this I get discouraged because I feel like we don't have limits in our house like we should.  

[SporkUK]

Each of ours get to pick a show. As they watch Netflix and Youtube, this tends to be 15-20 minutes each. They all like it and the only one to cause a problem is my eldest who will try to sneak extras if I am not in the room. So now they also watch when I'm working in the living room when before they'd watch when all 4 came down in the morning on days off lessons or as soon as they were done all done. This has had the added bonus recently of them playing cards together while I'm finishing up other stuff.

 

Video games caused us a lot more problems as they fight more over what to do. This has brought about the opposite of TV - they cannot play until I go upstairs. This has had the added bonus of them stop asking when they can as I don't go up until their father, who works nights, is close to getting up when before I could get asked repeatedly by all. And now we have a rota so the big kids can't constantly control play: Tuesday they have to pick something to play together, Wednesday is F's pick, Thursday is M's pick, Friday is family play where we take turns, Saturday is A, Sunday is O, and Monday is screen free. Currently they get an hour, adjusted with behaviour or other things that come up. 

 

So far its working, but it has been a long tweaking process that I imagine will continue into the future. 

[tori729]

This is something we have really been battling lately. Our problem is that our two older kids are very different from each other and react in different ways. Generally, screen time is limited to after lunch and up to 2 hours per day but that's when I'm being lax. We have tried using it as something you earn or can get taken away, but hubby doesn't like that idea, although I think it works well. He has also suggested just not doing it for weeks on end to see if it affects our kids' behaviors. 

My oldest DS loves screen time but also does a good job at being creative and self-play. I feel like he doesn't need super-limited screen time but whenever he watches or plays, his siblings watch as well.

My daughter, on the other hand, is moody and irritable often and doesn't do well finding things to do. She often complains of being bored. She really doesn't need screens at all because I think they affect her but again, that means no one else gets them either.

 

I'm considering doing something like the "unlimited screen time as long as:" lists or modifying it to restrict it to certain hours of the day. Tickets and charts and complex systems that require writing too much down don't work for me. We don't even have a chore chart - just alternate days of the week that each kid is my personal helper and have a few chores that they are required to do when it needs to be done. Anyway, these are some good ideas, but keep them coming!