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[superdeluxe]

My kid does play games, but he also plays coding games and things like OSMO on his iPad.

He also is in cub scouts, plays soccer and takes swimming lessons, and reads books for an hour every night (his choice). He has a good balance

People automatically assume. Screen time=mindless games.

 

[One Eyed Willy]

Both my 5 and 8 year olds do this. But, priorities first and foremost are met. Both of my kids are in sports year-round, sometimes overlapping two in one season. Also, when they get home they must complete all of their homework and I have to sign off on it. Nights we have games or practices are generally filled doing that, other nights the kids can watch TV or their computers/tablets. None of the options in the poll should be selected.. nothing needs to be taken away from kids. Fill the rest of their life in with physical activities instead.

Also, my son is involved in cub scouts and living in a suburban neighborhood they both go outside daily to play basketball in the driveway or ride their bikes around the neighborhood. When its hot (most of the year) they go in our pool 2-3 days a week too.

Its 100% a non issue in our house, and my kids play/watch a lot of TV/games. But it's all balanced. I know people personally who have kids the same age, who aren't in sports who live cooped in apartments and who are overweight, overstimulated or both. Sucks for the kids but I'm not their parent.

 

[superdeluxe]

What are your thoughts on creative mode Minecraft in regards to time limits for kids. I'm torn because it does use their creativity, but its still screen time. The reason I ask is I generally limit screen time for both my kids (8 & 9) but do give leeway if I see them building stuff in Minecraft. They both also love cooking and craft shows. I don't give leeway here but wondering if I could be looser given the context.

If there is learning (which I feel minecraft is), to me makes it worthwhile screen time, and not The stereotypical 'screen' time negative connotation

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

My kid does play games, but he also plays coding games and things like OSMO on his iPad.

Which coding game? That's a great idea.

 

[Calamari41]

It's hard in this day and age to keep kids from screen time, but I plan to do whatever I can to at least make it worthwhile. I'm toying with the idea of having screen time consist of shows/games etc in a foreign language, does anybody have any experience with this kind of strategy? I've done a lot of research on teaching kids multiple languages, and the one big disadvantage in my specific case is that I myself am not multilingual so the whole "immersion" aspect would be lost.

 

[Nirolak]

I suppose I won't be opposed to sharing. I of course understand that this makes me ripe for judgement, but whatever. Obviously things vary every day, but if I had to kind of encapsulate an average, it would look something like this:

7AM - 8:30AM - Get dressed/brush teeth/help make breakfast/eat breakfast
8:30AM - 10AM - Indoor play time. Toys/coloring/playdough/legos/puzzles/activity books/worksheets/etc..
10AM - 12PM - Outdoor activities. Parks/swimming/walks/playing in the yard/etc..
12PM - 1PM - Help make lunch/eat lunch
1PM - 3PM - Social time. Hang out with cousins/neighbors/friends/visit grandparents/etc.. Either indoors or outdoors
3PM - 5PM - Errands. Laundry, picking up house, doing dishes, grocery shopping/etc..
5PM - 6PM - Help make supper/eat supper
6PM - 6:30PM - TV time. Sesame Street/Magic School Bus/whatever
6:30PM - 7:30PM - Bath, story time, and finally bed time.

This would be an average day that my child doesn't have school, of course.

Thanks. I was just kind of curious what people who felt this way might decide to fill the time with, and this helps a lot.

 

[bionic77]

Yeah, no. My 3 year old gets an hour a day on his iPad, and it is limited to activities to help him learn different things. Honestly if it wasn't for that I doubt he would be able to read as well as he can at his age. My wife and I obviously try to do as much hands on teaching as we can but when you both work, this shit helps immensely. Just like anything else in life moderation is the key, and making sure it's being used for something productive not to play fucking Minecraft. Saying it doesn't teach them anything is asinine.

Edit: Actually even Minecraft would be okay as it is a creative tool, but you know what I mean.

If you monitor and manage what your child is doing, whether it is on the iPad, computer, a book or just being outside I think that is always going to be good for your child.

But in my personal experience that is not how most people use tablets and phones with their kids. Most people just use them as free and shitty babysitters and just give them a tablet to shut them up so they don't have to interact with them.

I used hyperbole in speaking to tablets and obviously they can be used for good, but in my own experience it has been mostly a negative force for children.

Maybe I just socialize with shitty parents but I think that is the norm.

 

[superdeluxe]

Which coding game? That's a great idea.

He loves lightbot, basically you program this little guy to move around the map. There is a free version to try out

There is also a free 'building' game called Toca Builders that he uses sometimes

 

[Hippopuncher12]

If you monitor and manage what your child is doing, whether it is on the iPad, computer, a book or just being outside I think that is always going to be good for your child.

But in my personal experience that is not how most people use tablets and phones with their kids. Most people just use them as free and shitty babysitters and just give them a tablet to shut them up so they don't have to interact with them.

I used hyperbole in speaking to tablets and obviously they can be used for good, but in my own experience it has been mostly a negative force for children.

Maybe I just socialize with shitty parents but I think that is the norm.

Oh, I agree with you on that a lot of the time they are being used as a babysitter, and that shit pisses me off. I was more just pointing out that if they are used like they should be used, and moderated the way they should then they can very much help them in a positive way. I still very much prefer to do things hands on, and no help from a screen if possible. I do get pretty irritated when I see a family out to dinner, and one or more of the children are just buried in a tablet or phone or whatever especially if they are then being completely ignored. Ugh.

 

[superdeluxe]

Also getting him a Dash/Dot robot for Christmas, you can program the robot using your iPad using Apple swiftgrounds and I think there are other programs as well

 

[captive]

The problem with this comparison is that you couldn't take CS or WoW with you anywhere you went.

and? i would still sit for hours, sometimes 4+ 8+ playing. cue "thats not healthy"

 

[Metalgus]

My 4 year old watches tv in the morning for 1,5 hour (he gets up at 6 am sharp or earlier) and then 30 minutes after returning from daycare. That totals 2 hours on average per day. The programming is for his targeted age. I guess he watches the tv a bit more on the weekend, let's say 2.5-3 hours.

I guess I should feel bad about this but I don't much because:
- he socialized all day long at daycare + he always wants to make friends when we're at the park
- he speaks at an excellent level for his age
- he's able to play alone using his imagination to make up scenarios (usually with his toy cars and trucks)
- he enjoys books (because we've been reading to him daily since he was 4 months old)
- he has a normal weight
- we play outdoors about 2-3 hours each day on the weekend
- he plays indoors and outdoors all day at daycare
- he has actually learned a lot from the educational shows he watches, just like he has learned a lot from the books we're reading to him

The way I see it is that he seems fine to me. I will of course adjust if I see new issues poping up, but for now, I think we're fine.

 

[SmackDaddy]

My kids will not.

And I play games for like 3-4 hours a day.

I feel bad for little tykes these days. When I was growing up all the kids in the neighborhood would bum around together . Feel like that doesn't happen anymore .

 

[Poppy]

pfft, rookie numbers

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

My kids will not.

And I play games for like 3-4 hours a day.

I feel bad for little tykes these days. When I was growing up all the kids in the neighborhood would bum around together . Feel like that doesn't happen anymore .

Just because you feel like it doesn't mean it's true.

 

[captive]

We have been weening our 7 year old off Netflix, and now severely limit screen time. It has had an awesome impact.
Our daughter is now asking us when its time to take the dog for a walk, what can she do to help out around the house, and loves to hang out with us while we exercise.

Some of the shit I see out in public disgusts me. A few weeks back while we were out at a restaurant the family next to us had the kids order then immediately plunked phones in front of them for the duration of the meal [they even watched cartoons while eating].
I actually got a look when I asked them to turn the volume down.

quit being judgemental. you have no idea about those kids or the parents. you're seeing a small window into their lives.

 

[partime]

Elementary kids have Chromebooks AND IPads at school nowadays. Only give him an extra hour of playtime on his IPad at home. It's hard not to pass the 2 hour mark on a typical day.

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

5 years olds are learning block code on Chromebooks these days.

 

[One Eyed Willy]

My kids will not.

And I play games for like 3-4 hours a day.

I feel bad for little tykes these days. When I was growing up all the kids in the neighborhood would bum around together . Feel like that doesn't happen anymore .

They do in my neighborhood.

 

[Lombax]

Seems like they were judging you just as you judged them.

no judgement, it is rude to blast a cell phone in a public place. An expectation of baseline manners is not me casting judgement.

 

[Kareha]

Do kids not play outside anymore, I was never in the bloody house when I was that age.

 

[RDreamer]

Do kids not play outside anymore, I was never in the bloody house when I was that age.

Society got paranoid as fuck the last decade or two and now kids can't be without some sort of adult supervision like 24/7.

 

[Keri]

I don't think screen time is inherently bad, it's how it's used. If you are placing your child in front of a screen and leaving, that's not great for their development. If you stay with them and interact with them and the screen, it's not much different from staring at a book and reading to them (although definitely do this too).

 

[shandy706]

Well, when it comes to 3D space and moving through them my 4 (now 5) year old beat Super Mario 3D World.

Blew my mind watching her play at times (and of course we played together here and there). I think it can be a great teaching tool, and excellent for hand/eye coordination.

A friend brought her kid over, 6, and he couldn't get through the first couple of levels. She reads at 5 and is pretty darn smart. Big vocabulary too.

She has been way too hooked on games lately though, so I'm looking to move her and her sister outside more.

 

[clemenx]

I have a 1yr old (just turned) son. Due to space (and money) issues we share the room with him.

I don't know if it's normal or a blessing but so far he pays 0 attention to either the TV or tablets and phones. Maybe it is because the TV has always been there as a background on his life and he doesn't see it as novelty? I know he's still young and he will realize that tv is fun soon enough but I have friends that get surprised at the fact that he doesn't really watch tv.

So far he's more interested in throwing around the cellphones when he grabs em instead of paying any attention to the screen lol.

He plays with physical toys and outdoors a lot. We have certainly prioritized that.

 

[Always-honest]

Oh there is NO doubt in my mind that most kids spend more than two hours a day on a mobile device like an iPad or an iPhone.

 

[NeonBlack]

So the amount of time I spent on games/tv.

 

[Prodigal Son]

I probably spent way more time than that when I was 8.

 

[serenewarfare]

Maybe I am misattributing things here, but I feel like I wouldn't have the same level of intelligence (not a great word as I don't want to give the wrong tone) that I have without the hours and hours I spent with educational games like Cluefinders and Reading Rabbit. Those things were all over my childhood and I played them all the time. Hours and hours. That combined with video games at the time I think cultivated my desire to explore things and learn more.

Another aspect here is that I grew up in the deep South. Pretty much everyone around me when I was growing up (most authority figures) perpetuated racist stereotypes and I see it reflected in pretty much all my siblings. The only difference between me and them really is the amount of time I spent away from that culture and instead playing games that mostly represented multiculturalism well and encouraged inclusion. So in that respect I am kind of really thankful that technology and games "saved" me from that.

I am not saying that anything that I did as a kid can be applied to any other kid, as I think every situation is unique. And of course today's technology culture is much different and more mindless IMO. But I truly believe I'd be a worse person in every regard if not for my many hours with technology as a kid.

 

[UnluckyKate]

At that age I was sitting in front of TV 3+ hours a day...

 

[captive]

no judgement, it is rude to blast a cell phone in a public place. An expectation of baseline manners is not me casting judgement.

sorry, but thats not what you said, nor is it how your post reads

Some of the shit I see out in public disgusts me. A few weeks back while we were out at a restaurant the family next to us had the kids order then immediately plunked phones in front of them for the duration of the meal [they even watched cartoons while eating].
I actually got a look when I asked them to turn the volume down.

if it was just the noise that bothered you wouldnt have said "some of the shit i see disgusts me" and then even with brackets "they even watched cartoons while eating" as if this is somehow a bad thing. thats called judgement.
I let me 3 year old watch his ipad when we go out to eat sometimes cause its an entire crap-shoot as to whether or not he's going to want to sit still and color or want to get down and walk around the restaurant.

 

[ostrichKing]

It's fascinating that so many people seem to make outdoor "play" as always being good, and indoor screen "play" as being inherently bad...

 

[RenditMan]

If you monitor and manage what your child is doing, whether it is on the iPad, computer, a book or just being outside I think that is always going to be good for your child.

But in my personal experience that is not how most people use tablets and phones with their kids. Most people just use them as free and shitty babysitters and just give them a tablet to shut them up so they don't have to interact with them.

I used hyperbole in speaking to tablets and obviously they can be used for good, but in my own experience it has been mostly a negative force for children.

Maybe I just socialize with shitty parents but I think that is the norm.

You can't socialise with parents of young kids who don't have anyway to keep them occupied whilst they socialise.

Sorry but you can't.

 

[captive]

no judgement, it is rude to blast a cell phone in a public place. An expectation of baseline manners is not me casting judgement.

It's fascinating that so many people seem to make outdoor "play" as always being good, and indoor screen "play" as being inherently bad...

whynotboth?.jpg

both can be good or bad. If your outside getting eaten alive by mosquitos i would hardly consider that a good experience. And if you're inside watching garbage cartoons thats probably not the best either.

 

[TheOddOne]

Computers were created by Satan.

 

[Lilalaunebaer]

I had a gameboy at that age so i can´t say shit.

 

[Tater]

Computers were created by Satan.

If I were creating the world I wouldn't mess about with butterflies and daffodils. I would have started with lasers, eight o'clock, Day One!

 

[Emwitus]

Ehem, they teach you a lot if you make it so.

They don't. They are is a study that shows kids learn from real time feedback rather than a stream of moving images. Don't know where to pull up the study from so someone help me out.

 

[Elfstar]

Remember when older generations (including "our" one) were raised by television, because parents were too busy or too lazy to actually educate their children?

This is basically the modern version of that. Every 4 years old now has his own tablet or a smartphone, mainly because it will make them silent and occupied.

Is this that much worse or different than what we got?

The biggest problem in all this is if they have an unrestricted access to the internet, that would be way, way more dangerous than any kind of tv showtime ever.

 

[ostrichKing]

whynotboth?.jpg

both can be good or bad. If your outside getting eaten alive by mosquitos i would hardly consider that a good experience. And if you're inside watching garbage cartoons thats probably not the best either.

That's what I'm saying...a lot of people here seems to think screen time play = bad...and outdoor play is inherently better...

 

[kess]

It's a tool, with thousands of different outcomes. If mobile phone and television engagement were an indicator of scientific and political enlightenment, America would be number one in virtually every metric.

I'm more concerned about how this will affect the inherent isolation of suburban and rural life.

 

[GodofWine]

I built my 6 and 8 year old matching gaming (budget) PC's, we just skipped the whole mobile thing, and now they are whooping grownups in Paladins (their plastic minds just picked up KBM controls like they were nothing, while I still fumble around in PUBG after decades of console gaming).


Like others, my kids read, do sports, play with friends, do guitar, If they happen to come home from school and play Roblox / Minecraft / Paladins / Youtube etc for an hour until 4pm, then do home work, play, read, go to a sport or an instrument, and managed to somehow squeeze in another hour before bed, so be it.


To me, playing a game that requires thought, or creativity, is far better than watching TV. My kids haven't sat down and watch a TV show / cartoon (they do like outrageous acts of science and some cooking shows like the halloween baking stuff) in I have no idea how long.

 

[RenditMan]

They don't. They are is a study that shows kids learn from real time feedback rather than a stream of moving images. Don't know where to pull up the study from so someone help me out.

Load of old bollocks mate.

 

[Bakercat]

The only reason I wouldn't want my child to have a smartphone is because I don't want them using the internet without parental supervision. I don't my child using YouTube or Facebook or whatever until i think the are mature enough to be using it.

 

[Cotton McKnight]

My kid uses an iPad 100% of his day. Now before you lose your mind, my child has autism, is non verbal and his iPad is his AAC device which he runs the following program 90% of the day: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/proloquo2go/id308368164?mt=8

But if he did not have the need for his iPad, he would get 1 hour per day, until he could choose for himself.

Now we don't let him watch a program for more than an hour a day.

I could see kids using their devices for 2 hours plus, especially if they are using their devices for school work.

 

[TheContact]

My daughter turned 4 recently and she’s been using a tablet since she was less than 2. At first I thought YouTube kids was OK for her to watch but there’s A LOT of really bad content on there. The only apps I have on the iPad are pbs and Netflix with kids profile.

 

[curls]

"They haven't used it. We limit how much technology our kids use at home." - Steve Jobs

 

[OrangeGrayBlue]

I probably spent way more time than that when I was 8.

Yeah, I was watching tv/surfing the web back when we still called it that/playing video games for several hours a day through my childhood. I would also ride my bike and play basketball with friends and had a pretty good social life. I think I turned out fine. I don't think there's much to be concerned about regarding screen time unless your kid wants to use one from waking up until going to sleep every single day and has trouble socializing with other kids.

 

[SamVimes]

"They haven't used it. We limit how much technology our kids use at home." - Steve Jobs

I'll take just about anyone's advice on raising kids before Steve Jobs

 

[mrkgoo]

Why? It's as essential as books are.

The notion that technology is a necessary thing in modern society is debatable, but it's probably true that being able to operate and understand it is important - however, the thing is, tablets and iPhones are super easy to learn to use.

A 1-2 year old can pick it up rapidly. In that vein, it's easy even for an older child to pick up so it's not as essential to introduce earlier on I life as something that takes longer to pick up like books, especially when things like iPad stuff can easily overshadow them.

There would be a detrimental effect, I would think, if you introduced iPads early on and left books until later.