What do you think of kids having screen time?

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AL_1323

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I as a Tweenager love playing video games and watching TV , checking emails and text messages,
but I want to see what the parents on CAF think.
I know that parents think that screens are turning the worlds children into screenaholics and video game addicts
and dislike their children having screen time regularly. Others are fine with giving their children in exchange for them doing chores, being quiet etc. Yet others are fine with their kids having screen time and don’t even bother monitoring their children. Thoughts!?!?!?
 
Screen-free is pretty unrealistic unless you’re in very specific circumstances. There are many benefits to limited screen time; I unashamedly used phonics apps to help teach my kids the basics of reading, and there are educational TV shows out there. Every family must negotiate screen time according to its values and circumstances, but maybe should be asking themselves questions such as the following:
  1. What is my kid missing out on with screen time? Is he getting enough physical activity, reading, unstructured free time without screens, real-life social interaction with family and friends?
  2. What sort of supervision does he have? Is it appropriate to his age and maturity level?
  3. How does screen time affect him? Does it have beneficial, neutral, or adverse effects on his mood?
There isn’t any one answer, but it is good for parents to be thoughtful and careful about how and how much their kids use screens.
 
Happy to say I did not have to experience screen time very much when my children were young.
On their phone now mostly, it is just an annoyance to me when trying to spend time with them.
 
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Hi, AL-1323

My husband and I raised two daughters.

Both of them are now in their thirties and have good jobs (one is in the entertainment industry and one is a physical therapist/ice skating coach).

They often say that they are so glad that the screen opportunities that exist today didn’t exist in the early 2000s when they were teenagers.

We had computers, and they played “Tetras” whenever they were on the phone.

Everyonein the house had cell phones (flips, which I still have!) that enabled them to text their friends and parents.

But thank GOD we didn’t have the social media and gaming opportunities that are around today!

My daughters were busy throughout their teenaged years–they usually spent at least 2 hours a day, usually more, at the skating rink working on their figure skating tests (which take a year or more to prepare for at the higher levels), or participating in synchro teams (which earned medals at Nationals which came with the opportunity to compete in several countries around the world). They were also very committed to doing well in school and participating in many school activities like sports, music, theater.

Both girls took piano lessons, and my younger daughter also took violin and voice lessons (voice when she turned 16). My older daughter took ballet classes from the time she was three years old until she graduated from high school.

Both girls had boyfriends, and my younger daughter ended up marrying the boy that she dated for seven years, from the time she was 14 until she turned 21!

And both girls had many friends that they often spent time with.

Finally, both girls were involved in the church that we attended at that time, although my younger daughter was afraid of the church and wouldn’t go in unless someone was with her (parents, her sister, or her boyfriend). That church turned out to be pretty awful and we were actually kicked out by a “tribunal.” This event was devastating to our entire family, but it led to our becoming Catholic.
But the point is, while we were attending the church, the girls were active in the youth group as much as they could be–the figure skating obligations kept them out of quite a few activities, especially the ones that happened on the weekends.

Oh, and there were family activities–dinners, potlucks, visits to great grandparents and grandparents. During the last few years of my mom’s life, she was in a nursing home down the street from our house, and the girls would try to visit her at least once a week and bring her some Kentucky Fried Chicken. We also did a Family Get-Away every year around Christmas, and our family hosted it at a farm house that we rented out, and the girls did a lot of the work of preparation, cooking, and hostessing with me.

It was a rich, full life for the girls. And it was a REAL life, not stinkin’ screen life.

So my answer to your question is that I do NOT approve of kids having more than a few minutes of “screen time” every day. I think it is a complete waste of time and a squandering of a life that God gave.

Sorry, I’m definitely not Mrs. Cool Mom. And my daughters constantly rise up and bless me because of that!
 
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All things in moderation. Video games/tv are fine here and there, but kids shouldn’t be sitting in front of them for hours on end.
 
I’m not a parent but a teacher. IMO screen time for s grand. It’s parents who allow their children unfettered access to smart devices who are causing problems for their kids.
 
This is admittedly hypothetical for us right now. That said, I don’t think screen time is a single issue. At the very least I’d divide it into media, and social media. The two have dramatically different effects on children and need significantly different approaches.

Things like shows and video games can be a pitfall (they certainly were for me growing up) but are also an opportunity to help children learn to balance aspects of their lives. In most circumstances they represent the same dangers many of us grew up with.

Social media, though, is a completely different beast. Right now it is tailored to be psychologically destructive. It teaches people, especially kids, to put the wrong kind of value on themselves. It plays havoc with people’s perceptions of activity, risk vs reward, and social pressure. I think it is important not just to limit how much time kids can spend on social media, but also to ensure there are “safe” time periods where they have to put it down and do something else.

Note: I am specifically leaving out the issues of violence and sex in the media, and internet porn. Both of them are very serious issues but handling them requires a lot more effort and thought than limiting or allowing screen time.
 
I totally agree @Inquiry.

Porn is a total new topic for another forum and is extremely serious problem in our society
 
I am not a parent, but I was a nanny for a traditional Catholic family for almost nine years. They were very strict about screen time, and I was quite impressed with how they handled it. TV was a treat a couple of nights per week as a part of their family time, and the shows/movies they viewed were age appropriate…a lot of old classics. Cell phones/ipods were earned as the kids got to the age where they could use them; if they could save up, they could have them. But again, the activity was still monitored and limited, as their parents always had them active with extracurriculars (music, dance, sports, etc.).

Again, I don’t have children of my own, but what I saw go on in their home, I liked very much. They were some of the best behaved children I’ve ever encountered, and I really think a lot of this had to do with not having constant stimulation and influence from these devices. Personally, I think TV is okay in small doses, as a treat. But I also think reading especially should be encouraged, because not only is it a great form of entertainment and distraction, but it stimulates the intellect in a way that television cannot.

Anyway, that’s just my two cents lol.
 
My mum says that I can have a phone when I can afford it.🙁

P.S. I love reading!!!
 
My technological philosophy is that technology is a tool. The kids can have the technology necessary to do the things they need to do. Until fairly recently, they only really needed it for viewing appropriate films and videos, so their access was fairly limited. This year, my eldest needed access to a device for online schooling, so she was allowed that, but she wasn’t given free reign of it. I think that most of what we use technology for, even as adults, is harmful more than beneficial, so I think it’s important to avoid an attitude of “technology for technology’s sake” or “technology as a status symbol”. Obviously, we need to protect our kids from predators and scammers, as well as teach them to protect themselves. I really appreciate the new show on PBS, “Molly of Denali”. It does a good job of demonstrating for young kids how to use technology to do amazing things, how to not use technology, and important things for them to be wary of when using the internet. These are important lessons that I think that we have somewhat failed to provide as tech has progressed so quickly along with the risks associated with it.
 
Too many kids are living far too entrenched inside an artificial, virtual cyber world and are disconnected with the real world, including real life experiences which they haven’t learned how to handle, and aren’t as connected with loved ones as they could be and should be, because they prefer social media contact over live, one-on-one personal interaction, which is much more tangible, and which everyone needs.

We are losing our youth in an electronic and video world, and this isn’t healthy on many levels. A classic example is the couple walking together, more content to text each other than to communicate verbally, even thought they are side-by-side. They are constantly looking at their screens, and not seeing the world around them. They aren’t even seeing each other!

Our super-advanced, incredibly complicated technology is taking over our world more and more, and quite often, instead of simplifying our lives it makes our lives more complicated and frustrating.

I would limit kids’ screen time to just a couple of hours every other day, and spend the rest of their time living REAL life to its fullest and most fulfilling. Kids would be healthier and better adjusted, over all.
 
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