What Is Your Screen Time Policy for Your Kids?

No screen time before school. After school, and after sports practices, homework must be completed first and then any household tasks. Then he can have screen time. Weekends are more relaxed, but then he is also usually hanging out with friends, playing his team sport, or watching football, but he is allowed more freedom on weekends as long as homework is done.

When mine were that age the "in the morning thing" would have never worked. We'd never have made it out the door. They only got to have the computer when chores and all school work was finished. Even then, I think it was only 30 minutes at a time.

That doesn't even make sense. I would encourage my kid to get OUT of the bathroom, not sit in there all day. lol

Mine are older but basically if they are done with homework and chores, then they can be on electronics. If we do something else then we do. Like we have bible studies and do some things with friends, other activities.

However, they cannot have ANY electronic device upstairs at all, ever. And they put their phones and tablets in a basket at 8pm and I plug everything in our bedroom to charge so they are not tempted by them at night.

As long as they get other activities in, I don't put specific times on them. Good luck.

my kids were young before there were smartphones and a screen in every room so my perspective is probably different.
i went through a phase where i was the screen police, and had a slew of rules and hoops to be jumped through surrounding video games and tv.
then i got tired of being Enforcement Mom.
so long as the school work and chores got done, and they were spending some time outside swimming or playing basketball or riding bikes, i gave up setting timers and standing there tapping my foot.
they got to spend their leisure time how they chose.
i won't say i didn't kvetch about sometimes.
but legos and stuffed animal warfare and board games still got their due, so long as i resisted the urge to micromanage.
khairete
S.

Mine range from your son's age to teens.

I'm not super strict about it - so long as they get physical exercise, go outside part of the day, chores and homework done, and have fun with each other and friends - I'm ok with some tv or YouTube or games.

I'm kind of like my mom was. If she walked by and noticed we had been on TV too long, she'd tell us to get off and go outside. That's kind of how I am.

So there's no set times or limits. For me, if I notice my kids are on it too much I tell them to have a friend over. I just prefer if they actually hang out with their friends rather than chat with them online.

I never know if people mean to include TV in electronic use. We as a family watch a few family shows (Amazing Race, Survivor, etc.) together during the week too. And the odd movie night.

I don't get the using it in washroom comment though - I wouldn't think that would be a great habit to get into. Also not super sanitary (sorry I have a germ thing...). Ours aren't allowed to take them into washroom.

If I allowed screen time while they were pooping they would be on the toilet all day!

When my kids were younger they were allowed video games on the weekends if chores and homework were done. We usually did family activities on the weekends, so they weren't having a whole lot of screen time. I also allowed one day a week after school for an hour. Now that they are older they can have screen time after chores and homework are done, but because they have activities every day of the week they aren't spending a ton of time on screens. We do have a regular family movie/tv night.

I don't think I would allow screen time in the morning before school.

So, you allowed a lot of media time in the summer and then did a complete 180. I think you need to see that you are creating problems in this manner-- you aren't being consistent and you aren't giving him any way to earn the privilege in a way that is healthy. He gets upset when it's time to stop because he doesn't know when he'll get time again.

No media in the mornings. Kids are going to fuss about going to school if you are taking away something infinitely more fun than school in the process. So, I agree with everyone below: media time happens when the work/homework/obligations are done. If there's a fuss about getting off the game, no media time the next day.

We homeschool at our house, so my usual rule for school days is this: I give him a checklist of things he needs to do for the day, including his learning activities. At 3:30, if he's completed his list, he may have some video game time. I've learned that, for our son, he does better with 20-40 minute chunks (he has the ability to hyperfocus and really lose track of time... he's often cranky if we let him play for more than an hour and a bear to get off the game). So, he might play for 40 minutes, take a break, help with dinner or get his room ready for bed, go outside to play-- and after dinner, might take a bit more time. We try not to make a huge issue out of it. The times he gets restricted from play is when there's anger and fuss about getting off the game. We did take a break for a week a while ago and it helped. We notice that he's generally happier when he has about 1-2 hours max. Balance is the most important thing for us.

son is 6. in first grade. he is allowed video games only on non school nights. watching a show... he can do that in the morning if hes ready early, and in the evenings if homework is done and the weather is not nice enough to be outside. we usually make pizza and watch a movie together on saturday nights.

Our son's screen "rules" are a lot like the one's my husband and I have for ourselves. DH and I watch one hour of Netflix every night at the end of the day. Similarly, DS gets one hour of screen time at the end of this day: after homework, dinner, chores, etc.

What about school starting has necessitated going from 'feast to famine' in regards to videos? Whether or not it is harsh would be determined by your reasons for doing it.

As long as my kids' homework and other responsibilities are handled first and properly, as long as screens are not negatively impacting other areas of life, and as long as there are no related behavior issues, then they are in charge of what they do in their free time. Because I don't have any reason for it, monitoring times and durations would not the best use of my own time.

The only rule I have is not in the mornings before school. No electronics of any kind, be it tv, radio, games, etc. It has proven to be a distraction and slows things down. My kids wake up and are ready to head out the door 30 minutes later because we keep on-task.

If they don't have school work or chores to do I don't care what they're doing with their time.

Why?

I have a friend who limited her kids TV/screen time. When they'd come over to my house ours was always on. I like to watch TV and it's always on. The kids also have TV's in their rooms or in the family room. Her kids would sit and watch like zombies. My kids would stop and watch for a few minutes then they'd be off playing something.

By not having limits on it the whole "it's restricted" stuff went away. To this day I can have the TV on cartoons and the kids will stop for a few minutes and then they're off on their way to go ride bikes or play outside. They just don't have issues with it because it's there and they don't have to sneak around to see it.

My grandchildren can watch as long as they want AFTER homework and chores are done aND before bedtime. Business before pleasure. They must stop before bedtime. Of course they whine when told to stop.

When they're at my house, I don't pay much attention to screen time. My teen granddaughter lives with me and often reads books on her phone. She doesn't usually use screen time until 6 or later. She is physically active. My teen grandson is in special ed. He doesn't like reading. By looking up his interests on the Internet, he reads. Computers at school are used as a part of learning.

I believe that there are many beneficial ways to use screen time. "Experts suggest limited use. I believe by the time my grandchildren are adults we will be needing to use the computer for most things. What is important is to provide a range of experiences. So being on the computer all the time is not beneficial.

When my grandson is with me, he falls asleep easily after having used the tablet. So do I, after reading a book on an electronic reader. The amount of time and when to allow screen time depends on what works for your family.

I suggest that it is better to not allow screen time in the morning when getting him off the screen is unpleasant. I would allow screen time after school for the amount of time seems reasonable to you. He'll still protest getting off the computer but he doesn't have to be anywhere else so can be ignored. Both my daughter and myself tell children to go to their room until they can be pleasant. Or take away screen time until they are able to get off the computer without a fight.

Just as many of us use ways of parenting that work for us, so is using the computer based on what works for us. I believe the idea of only allowing our children to use the computer for a limited time such as 30 minutes to an hour is not necessary for some children and some families. I use what works for my grandchildren and me.as long as I can see that using the computer as helpful.

Ours can play in the morning from the time they get up until breakfast is ready. Then in the evening after all homework is done until bedtime.

My kids are early risers, so that works out to about an hour in the morning. In the evening, it's anywhere from zero time to an hour, depending on how much homework they have and if they got it done right after school.

But, I also have a rule that if anyone gets upset or tries to ignore me when it's time to quit, they lose all electronic privileges for 24 hours. And I follow through by IMMEDIATELY removing the ipod from their hand and putting it in the time-out spot. So my kids know better than to say a single word other than "ok mom" when I say breakfast is ready/time for bed.

My son is 10bit he has had the same issue for a while. Got the point he didn't get TV in the mornings because he would get distracted and forget things he needed to do. He now only gets games on the weekend and on Thursday. Which is our family junk food night. He does his home work after school, then his chores and if he is done with everything he gets a hour or two of TV before bed time. Has work alright for us.

My son is 12, so he is allowed to play video games or you tubing only after he completes his homework on week days, up to an hour. On weekends, I'm more lax unless he takes it for granted. He plays around 2 hours ..

My rule - Sunday night, it goes in my room. She doesn't see it again until Friday evening. She has it for fairly unlimited use on the weekends but is asked to put it away for reading time or help around the house time.

Very rarely, on weekdays, she gets it for a 1/2 hour when the stars and moon align and everything is done for the evening, she been very good and she has a little spare time.

ETA - we went feast to famine when school started. It's the family rule.

Policy in our home is a maximum of one hour a day for electronics activities. If my children complain too much about limits I would take away from them all the devices for some days or weeks.
I would be worried about what he is watching online. We have parental control active on pc, phones and tablets that limits inappropriate web sites and other stuff, in addiction to an automatic preset limit of time to spend each day in preset hours (dinnertime app is a good one for this purpose). We have all the passwords and we check online activities with software and directly on the devices. Then screen time is only after homework and all the chores made and not an hour before bedtime.

He might need a 'detox' period for awhile by going totally without for a week or two.
In our house - the quickest way to fun is to get the work and chores done.
THEN they have earned some screen time - and it's not infinite - no more than an hour or so.