Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
DD is a "traditional" kid; she plays video games or watches Youtube or Netflix series when she has screen time. She reads books but prefers comics and manga.
DS is different. Very different. He is glued to all forms of media, from graphing calculators to novels to technical manuals to android phones and everything in-between. He immerses himself in paper media as well as electronics.
He has literally explored almost every function on a TI-89, which I thought was physically impossible. He doesn't understand exponents, imaginary numbers, trig, or calculus yet, because he's 9 and hasn't been taught, but he knows the functions.
If given his druthers, he would spend every waking second programming in python, C++, or javascript. Or learning maths from Kahn academy, or reprogramming a raspberry pi. So long as it's computers/robotics, he's in--no matter how complex or boring. He also plays video games, but only for perhaps 10-20% of his allocated half-hour of daily screen time (at home). School obviously uses hours and hours of screens.
The AAP sets limits for "non-educational screen time" with a blanket guideline after age 6 or so. I think it's an exceptionally lenient 2 hours a day. However, we count all screen time equally; from watching a movie to programming, and we try to keep it under an hour a day. We don't count time spent playing with calculator functions.
We live in a nice climate where it's easy to keep kids off screens because we can go play outside year-round. Overuse of screens isn't really an issue. I'm more concerned about limiting DS's skills due to counting programming, movie-making, setting up security cameras, etc. as "screen time."
Watching a movie has a definitive end to it. Binge-watching a series or playing a video game could go on for hours and hours if unchecked. Using technology in furtherance of a hobby, while I would still put a cap on the amount of time, I would separate it from educational screen-time during the school day and not lump it into the same category as passive screen time. (Does that make sense?)
Watching a movie has a definitive end to it. Binge-watching a series or playing a video game could go on for hours and hours if unchecked. Using technology in furtherance of a hobby, while I would still put a cap on the amount of time, I would separate it from educational screen-time during the school day and not lump it into the same category as passive screen time. (Does that make sense?)
Yes, we can't track school screen time, so we don't include it.
Entertainment time is limited to 30 minutes or the duration of a movie if we watch as a family. We let the kids decide if they want to trade 30 minutes of their choice (currently youtube minecraft machinima, or Netflix Sailor Moon) for a 2-3 hour movie of their choice.
Lets just say they haven't seen a lot of movies.
Programming is the tough one. Usually we decide on a case-by-case basis. If we judge DS has finished his chores, piano, homework, and done enough reading/playing/etc, and really has nothing better to do, then we allow it within a set limit under an hour.
Grandma is in the "don't bother to track it" camp. That's a problem.
We didn't put rules on screen time as if it were a goal. Rather we measured by what was done during the day (not counting what they did in school of course:
a. Outdoor time/sports/play. (Naturally age and season/sunset dependent.) We didn't force anything specific but did require something of their choice.
b. Scouts or other activity (Youth group, choir, volunteer work).
c. Homework.
d. Chores.
f. Bedtime.
Whatever time they had left over they could use for screentime. We never had a problem with them getting homework done. Both played sports, got good grades, and as they became older took on more activities of their choice. By the time they were driving, they were pretty much managing their own daily schedules. We let them make a few mistakes and learn from it (Oh, you stayed up all night playing games? Well, you're still going to school and your tail's going to be dragging by the end of practice tonight, isn't it? Too bad.) When they left for college, they were already able to manage their time wisely and didn't have as much of a transition problem as so many kids.
Personally I don't see an issue with your son's screen time since he is using it to further his education/hobby. With that being said I do think there needs to be some time away from it, even if for a few hours, each day to go outside and play. With our kids as long as they have finished their homework, studied, etc then have at it. If my son was in school all day, came home did his homework, went to baseball practice and wanted to spend the remaining time playing video games with his friends until it was time for bed we have no issues with it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
