I would be grateful if the smart members of this group would share:
--their policies for screen time for their kids, i.e., how much time do you allow them to spend (weekly or daily) on the computer, playing video games, or watching t.v. and at what age? (Any related hints or tips are welcome.)
--recommendations for a timer that my son and I could use, ideally one that counts down, to monitor his screen time.
We have limited total screen time to an hour per day for weekdays
during the school year, We don't use a timer, though, which is a pain
since the adult becomes the time monitor.
an inexpensive digital kitchen timer should work fine. As long as the
is no need to be concerned about someone resetting the time.
We use the old fashioned spring driven kitchen timer for the times we
use a time limit for getting ready to go somewhere.
> I would be grateful if the smart members of this group would share:
> --their policies for screen time for their kids, i.e., how much time do
> you allow them to spend (weekly or daily) on the computer, playing
> video games, or watching t.v. and at what age? (Any related hints or
> tips are welcome.)
> --recommendations for a timer that my son and I could use, ideally one
> that counts down, to monitor his screen time.
> Many thanks.
-- :: Norm ::
bringing you uninspired signatures since 1995
On school nights, I limit my 8.5-year-old daughter to a half hour of total screen time (tv,computer,game boy) but sometimes if she doesn't have any homework the two of us will watch something together. Since I work and she's in afterschool care until quite late, there isn't usually much extra time.
On Shabbat (Friday Sundown to Saturday Sundown) we turn off the TV and computers *entirely*, with the exception that we might watch a movie together. I do this, not because I'm an Orthodox Jew but because to me, turning the screens off makes it truly a day of rest and a time to reconnect with each other.
My daughter's with her dad half the time, and so usually Sunday is her catch-up-on-screen-time day (after Sunday school and when there's no soccer or homework)
In the summer we've become a bit more lax but I still limit the time, and keep an eye on what she's watching.
We have a great kitchen timer which I got at Walgreen's. Brand name is Kitchen Gourmet. Although it doesnt' say so ANYWHERE on the box, the nice thing about this timer is that it has 5-minute and 2.5-minute warning beeps, which really help with transitions.
I don't want to insult those of you who limit the time their children spend behind the computer/TV/console/etc, but I was raised differently and would like to submit the method my parents used. I rather liked it.
I was allowed to watch as much TV as I wanted, spend as much time on the computer as I wanted, game as much as I wanted. The only rules were simple: I was to finish my homework properly, and I was to arrive for dinner on time and stay for the duration - no matter what game I was playing or TV show was on. Failure to do so would mean that (temporary) limits would be applied as punishment.
This meant: If I wanted to watch TV or use the computer, I would have to plan it in such a way that I still had time to finish my homework and spend the requisite 2 hours at the dinner table with my family (I think I was better at planning when I was an 8 year old than I am now as a 24 year old with a whole GTD system at my disposal). I was responsible for how I spent my time. This taught me to be independent and take responsibility for my own choices. If I failed to finish a report, I'd screwed up and I'd have noone to blame but myself.
That aside, I consider that most of the applicable skills I have as a young adult come from the many hours I spent behind a computer, using graphic and DTP software or programming. Most of my language skills come from watching TV (but that's probably a dutch thing, since we get so much foreign language programming here). And though I really hate bringing it up, my hand-eye coordination probably got one helluva boost from all those computer games I played. I have an edge over the other kids I knew in those days because I'm technologically adept. I embrace technology because I was raised to use it as a normal part of life. These days that's inevitable, tech is everywhere around our children, but I still think it's a valid point. I'd prefer to have my kids be on the rising part of the tech curve, instead of dragging behind it with the bulk of the population.
It is (supposedly) designed to let you know when your tea is steeped,
but you can set the timer for hours, minutes, seconds; or you cen set
it for a time of day. It counts down, and Big Ben sounds when your time
is up. There is also a "tea timer for lefties" included, for fun.
I use it even in preference to the very nice Presto timer I bought at
Amazon, because I get such a smile out of Big Ben instead of the
annoying and persistent beeps and buzzes of most timers.
Interesting question, and one which I deal with regularly. I am the
father of six (and a half, currently) children, which adds a rather
complex element. With such a variance in ages and needs, monitoring
television for time, content, and making sure that everyone has her or
his homework done is a huge task.
Our solution is pretty straightforward, because non-straightforward is
unworkable. Even in smaller families, I suspect, good intentions get
lost in the busyness of family life. Plus, I've got enough of my own
stuff to do to keep track of how many hours Teddy has spent playing
Metroid. We have tried it and failed.
During the school year, there's really no TV or mindless computer time
after school. There's hardly time, anyway. Once we eat dinner and do
homework, it's quiet time for the little kids and so the tube stays
off. It was not an official rule, but it has become how our family
operates. They don't even ask.
Fridays after school and Saturdays are free-for-all. We don't limit
quantity at all (except for the general, "It's a beautiful day, turn
off the TV and play outside for a while!"), though our family
standards remain intact.
Sundays are our Sabbath, and we also do not watch TV much at all.
Occasionally we'll do something family-oriented, but it's almost
exclusively recorded media. I'll check the score of the Red Sox game
and check my email before bed to make sure no students have sent in a
desperate plea for help, but otherwise it's pretty silent. As Betsy
mentioned above, it's a great time to connect with each other. The
kids know it's how we operate and don't complain. Really.
We do have very specific and unvariable standards for quality. We do
not watch R-rated films, and no kid under 13 may watch a PG-13 without
explicit parental approval. Most PG movies are OK, though we reserve
the right to veto anything.
I've eliminated the channels I don't approve of my kids watching. It
was easy, since there's so many crap channels anyway. They don't have
the money for QVC, etc, and don't speak Spanish, so there's no need
for Univision. Along with those went any station I didn't like for my
kids. At our house, there's no Cartoon Network, though Nick is OK. We
recently put Disney back in the rotation, but it's about to get kicked
off out of sheer annoyance (More overacting tweens! Make them stop!
Self-referential commercials! Argh! Lip-syncing Pseudo Pop Stars!
EEEEiieeeee!). You get the idea. ESPN stays in despite questions about
Viagra because, hey, I have needs too.
Basically, for our family we have open windows for screen time when
they have free reign (within prescribed limits) and closed windows
when they have to find other amusements. Our rules are logical (and,
importantly, the kids also understand, accept, and share the logic)
and generally consistent. Plus, it's always satisfying then to see my
kids playing outside on a Saturday because, "I just didn't want to
watch anything."
--jw
(These work for the school kids. Those too young for school wind up
with some TV time every day, but it gets sandwiched in between chores
and the general chaos of large family life, and is always before
school gets out.)
> I would be grateful if the smart members of this group would share:
> --their policies for screen time for their kids, i.e., how much time do
> you allow them to spend (weekly or daily) on the computer, playing
> video games, or watching t.v. and at what age? (Any related hints or
> tips are welcome.)
> --recommendations for a timer that my son and I could use, ideally one
> that counts down, to monitor his screen time.
I have 3 daughters, ages 15, 12 and 9, all of whom enjoy the computer as well as other things. However, the computer is so seductive that without limits they could stay there for a looooooong time. We used to use the kitchen timer approach, but it didn't work that well, partly because they'd sometimes want to take their time in a few chunks, and partly because my wife and I didn't want to have to police the timer.
I ended up buying a program called MacMinder (Mac OS X only), which is not too expensive and has a lot of flexibility. You limit each user account--you can restrict which programs they can use, as well as total time per day(or time on specific programs, I think--I don't use this feature). There are warning beeps as the time limit approaches.
We created a "homework" account which allows full access to a word processor but no browser. If they need to go online to do research, they have to check in with one of us.
Their own accounts are unrestricted with regard to programs, but they have a 30 min daily limit which they can slice and dice as they want. So my 9 year old, who likes to play games, usually does it all in one chunk. My 15 year old, who likes to IM and email, tends to go in several short chunks, coming back to recheck the IM and email periodically.
The program also allows you to extend the time on a given day (if you want to give them a treat). I've found it very easy to use and very useful.
We don't have video games, so that's out of the mix. We don't explicitly limit TV time, but they don't often spend too long there; if we notice that one or more of them has been in front of the TV for a longish chunk of time, we boot them out.
This was a great question, Judine--thanks for bringing it up! Ben
Judine wrote: > I would be grateful if the smart members of this group would share:
> --their policies for screen time for their kids, i.e., how much time do > you allow them to spend (weekly or daily) on the computer, playing > video games, or watching t.v. and at what age? (Any related hints or > tips are welcome.)
> --recommendations for a timer that my son and I could use, ideally one > that counts down, to monitor his screen time.
Some of the stuff on TV is pretty vile. The only show that is formally banned at our house is Josh and Drake (the Amanda show is on sufferance) but I hate how the Disney channel portrays pre-teens and I keep a close watch on it. I'd probably be laxer about computer time if my daughter were programming, but mostly she's doing point-and-click games, or hanging out in Runescape where there are a lot of boys who like to try to talk dirty (to an 8-year-old!). So I don't think screen time is doing that much good for her. I've let her spend a little extra time with the Sims sometimes, or doing things with me.
When my kids were younger we used a poker chip system. They earned
chips (of various time denominations: 15, 30, and 60 minutes) through
doing chores, completing homework, grades, performing household
routines-- and they could redeem those chips for computer, television,
and telephone time. On the whole, they ended up with between 6-10
hours per week they could spend. Sounds like a lot, but spread between
internet, telephone, playstation, and television, it's not a lot.
Exempt from the time recording was legitimate student work,
educational computer use, and family movie times...
