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Ask HN: How do you protect your children from internet addiction?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you protect your children from internet addiction?

#51

Post by christkv »

We have no online games and no YouTube as base rules. We pick games that have some meaningful interaction to them. Games like Minecraft, Jurassic Park Evolution 2, Cities Skyline, old Sierra games, puzzle games. It's time boxed and only after responsibilities are taken care of like homework and helping out. I prefer they game over watching tv passively.

I am considering getting rid of consoles and just getting them steam decks instead as their first computers and then do some modding with them.

Re: Ask HN: How do you protect your children from internet addiction?

#52

Post by mercacona »

shp0ngle wrote: post #37

I don’t know if I will. I was a computer addicted kid since I was about 8, when parents bought me a computer in 1995. When faster internet came, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I was on the internet nonstop. And later on social media - LiveJournal, Blogger, Flickr, YouTube, but also some local servers that people here won’t know. I don’t think it hurt me that much? Now I am a developer and making more money than m…

You can’t compare writing blogs or early YouTube to current trends: short videos, addictive productions, irrelevant contents, etc.

My son has a friend who can watch YouTube and Tiktok for hours without supervision. When he comes home I freak out: he gets bored watching a movie, music videoclips are too long, and if you try to read a short story at bedtime he doesn’t even listen to you.

It’s not about using computers and participating in online communities but undermining their attention, vocabulary, etc.

Re: Ask HN: How do you protect your children from internet addiction?

#53

Post by christkv »

adaml_623 wrote: post #21
theonething wrote: post #10

My kid's almost three. From day one, we've implemented a zero screen policy. That means no phones, tablets, computers, TV (don't own one), etc. We've read to her since day one and she loves books now and her spoken/listening language skills are way ahead for her age. Wife speaks to her in her native language so she's growing up bilingual too. Wife takes her to parks, mommy and me classes where they have story time, s…

What do you do with her when you are out with friends? Restaurants, etc?

Bring card games, dominos or board games like carcassone junior. The kids will entertain themselves. Set is also very popular.

Re: Ask HN: How do you protect your children from internet addiction?

#54

Post by m463 »

shp0ngle wrote: post #37

I don’t know if I will. I was a computer addicted kid since I was about 8, when parents bought me a computer in 1995. When faster internet came, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I was on the internet nonstop. And later on social media - LiveJournal, Blogger, Flickr, YouTube, but also some local servers that people here won’t know. I don’t think it hurt me that much? Now I am a developer and making more money than m…

I think things have become MUCH more addictive as monetization and engagement have evolved.

In the your era there just weren't the sort of a/b tested hooks to get you in, behavioral techniques to keep you engaged and dark patterns to prevent you from leaving.

gotta watch out for your kids. Get them outside, with fresh air and exercise.

Re: Ask HN: How do you protect your children from internet addiction?

#55

Post by mercacona »

adaml_623 wrote: post #21
theonething wrote: post #10

My kid's almost three. From day one, we've implemented a zero screen policy. That means no phones, tablets, computers, TV (don't own one), etc. We've read to her since day one and she loves books now and her spoken/listening language skills are way ahead for her age. Wife speaks to her in her native language so she's growing up bilingual too. Wife takes her to parks, mommy and me classes where they have story time, s…

What do you do with her when you are out with friends? Restaurants, etc?

Paper and color pencils. Speaking to them, listening to their stories, asking about the place, playing to “guess what I’m watching to”, etc.

If friends expect my son to act as a dog, it’s their wrong.

Re: Ask HN: How do you protect your children from internet addiction?

#56

Post by mhss »

agentwiggles wrote: post #23
bcrosby95 wrote: post #15

For our kids the big problem was youtube. Give them a game on their tablet and they are quickly collaborating on it. Give them a show and they will go see what the other person is watching. After not too long (an hour or two) they are completely done and doing something else. But youtube is different. They can sit alone, in a corner, slack jawed, for 8 hours per day, only watching youtube, as they respond to all ques…

Youtube has been essentially banned in my house after seeing the effect it had on my kids. The problem, in short, was that Youtube continuously feeds them new content. Sadly - especially given the huge amount of actually great content on Youtube - everything that it wants to show my kids is absolutely dogshit garbage. A bunch of Gen Z kids with obviously wealthy families just acting like idiots. I couldn't stand it a…

I largely agree, but I've not banned it. I just have explicitly told them they can only watch from the subscriptions we've curated. It requires monitoring of course, so they'll watch it on tv (Apple TV) when I'm present. My kids are young enough that they're never alone. Once they're not, I've been thinking if I can write a MITM proxy at home for youtube that somehow only allows content from explicit channels.

Re: Ask HN: How do you protect your children from internet addiction?

#57

Post by speg »

bcrosby95 wrote: post #15

For our kids the big problem was youtube. Give them a game on their tablet and they are quickly collaborating on it. Give them a show and they will go see what the other person is watching. After not too long (an hour or two) they are completely done and doing something else. But youtube is different. They can sit alone, in a corner, slack jawed, for 8 hours per day, only watching youtube, as they respond to all ques…

We just added YouTube to my son’s iPad. In addition to a daily time limit we also locked his account down so he can only see videos that we explicitly add to his account.

Re: Ask HN: How do you protect your children from internet addiction?

#58

Post by jackson1442 »

SpeedilyDamage wrote: post #7

You teach them about moderation, you give them the tools to make their own choices, and you protect them from the obvious/bad outcomes that would cause irreparable harm. So like, add a network filter for gore/porn up to a certain age, and try to do a good job of showing how to invest their time as a reward function rather than the instant gratification path. But ultimately, babying them will prevent them from growing…

Strongly, strongly agree.

I think of it similar to the issue of college students and drinking. Freshman with highly restrictive parents are at a greater risk of getting alcohol poisoning because they try to "make up for lost time" or something when they move out.

My parents tried to limit a bunch of stuff in our house while I was growing up, and it never ever worked. Once I figured out self-regulation I was much better off.

Re: Ask HN: How do you protect your children from internet addiction?

#59

Post by dudul »

I just don't let them use screens. I have a 5 and a 7 years old. To them a phone is used to call people, a computer is what Dad uses to work, a TV is used 30 minutes a week to watch something as a family and they don't know what a tablet is.

They've never used an "app".

They have books, blocks, Legos, dolls, coloring pages, and a ton of random trinkets to play creatively. It probably requires being more hands on than when you can use the TV set as a babysitter, but it's well worth it so far.

Re: Ask HN: How do you protect your children from internet addiction?

#60

Post by slothtrop »

koalaman wrote: post #9

After having spent a fair amount of time using various different tools to attempt to control their screen time, my conclusion is that it was a mistake to have any screens in the house in the first place. A library of great books, good games, craft and art materials, and a collection of musical instruments would have been the best thing for my kids I'm thinking. Screens just make them addicted and miserable.

> A library of great books, good games, craft and art materials, and a collection of musical instruments would have been the best thing for my kids I'm thinking. Screens just make them addicted and miserable.

Are these mutually exclusive? If those items are around, and kids are taught how to make use of them, they will use them. Restricting screen time might be a necessity but it's less of a sore spot if it can easily be substituted and the habits are ingrained.

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