what screen time limits do you set for a 14 yo?

[caedmyn]

I’m having a hard time figuring out what reasonable screen time limits are for my 14 yo.  She can easily spend 5 or 6 hrs a day on her tablet, between messaging friends, using nanowrimo, playing games, watching Netflix, etc.  That's not even counting time spent listening to music, which involves a fair bit of screen time too due to time spend searching playlists for songs, switching between songs, finding new songs, etc.  It’s nothing like the low-tech options we all grew up with which only involved switching out tapes or CDs and changing the radio station.  I’ve been giving her an hour a day of free time on her tablet and leaving her messaging apps and music unblocked during daytime, non-school hours (so they don’t count toward her free time).  But she’s been spending several hours a day messaging friends (not due to coronavirus as our schedule is very similar to the pre-coronavirus one we had) and I think that is excessive.  She wants nanowrimo unblocked also.  Even if I limit her to 1 hr of nano, 1 hr of messaging, 1 hr of free time, 1 hr of Netflix...that’s 4 hrs a day, not counting school screen time, and that’s just too much.  
 

What screen limits have you set (pre-coronavirus) with your younger teens?

[katilac]

Homeschooled or brick and mortar? 

We didn't set limits, we tried to format their day and requirements and activities such that they did not have time to endlessly be on screens. So school was a chunk of the day, outside time was required, they had chores, and so on. I would also try to up our level of fun activities when I noticed them (or all of us!) gravitating to screens too much. This is obviously much easier when one is not in quarantine 😁but you can still plan things she will enjoy that will get her away from screens. Every kid is different, but, at that age, mine enjoyed: games, coloring books, baking, crafts, maker stuff, walking and hiking, and then lots of things you probably can't do right now. Honestly, they were open to most things we suggested as long as we were doing them also. It's way more effective to model and participate than it is to say, Why don't you get off the computer and play a game?, y'know? 

If you have any exceptionally hard chores or big house/yard projects, you could offer her some money to get XYZ done. 

fwiw, this is not the moment I would pick to actively cut down on screen time. Four hours a day that includes a writing challenge/forum is not excessive imo. Certainly not during quarantine, lol. I think I'd be A-OK with 5-6 hours during quarantine. She can't go anywhere and she can't talk to her friends any other way. 

If she's homeschooled, I'd look toward less screen time in school before I'd look toward limiting screen time for a personal interest like writing. My kids spent untold hours on NaNoWriMo throughout high school, and I have no regrets. If she's distance schooling for her brick and mortar school, the semester is about over (and you can worry about the fall semester later). 

[Arcadia]

None. Both my teens have online classes. However I have to be able to see their screens so they are using their laptops and phones in the living room. They are allowed to play games and watch YouTube. Just not being sneaky about usage.