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Ask HN: How much screen time do you let your kids have?

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Re: Ask HN: How much screen time do you let your kids have?

#81

Post by dsr_ »

scroy wrote: post #80
Ezodev wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, they could use computer only on weekends. How your kid could become, for example, programmer? Where would you be if you would be treated as that?

According to their rules, "screen time" is not equivalent to "using computer". It seems like a reasonable way to limit unproductive, pure-entertainment computer use. A parent with some common sense should be able to identify what is productive.

Yup. If they want to program, that's different from watching other people play Minecraft on Youtube.

I also expect these rules to change along with the kids, not remain static. If we're successful, then by 16 or so I expect that the rules will be down to "Don't wake up sleeping people."

Re: Ask HN: How much screen time do you let your kids have?

#82

Post by jmccree »

dsr_ wrote: post #81
scroy wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to their rules, "screen time" is not equivalent to "using computer". It seems like a reasonable way to limit unproductive, pure-entertainment computer use. A parent with some common sense should be able to identify what is productive.

Yup. If they want to program, that's different from watching other people play Minecraft on Youtube. I also expect these rules to change along with the kids, not remain static. If we're successful, then by 16 or so I expect that the rules will be down to "Don't wake up sleeping people."

Ok, I'm glad you clarified that. It looked above as if programming would count as screen time. My parents never limited my computer access since we got a 286 when I was two, but I also never had youtube as a temptation. At age 11 I was spending every night working on my website, hanging out on freenode, and playing TFC. As long as my grades were good, my parents didn't impose any time limits or even bed time. I was expected to manage that myself.

I often wonder if those of us who first experienced computers in the 90s (And remember DOS->Win 3.1->95->98->XP) are the last generation for who a computer was a fascinating thing to learn, as now things seem to be moving to computers/tablets/smart phones merely being consumption and social sharing devices. There were several of us that learned HTML in elementary school for our angelfire pages. I can't understand the fascination people have now at watching other people play games on youtube/whatever that other site is. Oh well, C'est la vie.

Re: Ask HN: How much screen time do you let your kids have?

#83

Post by oldbuzzard »

ceejayoz wrote: post #41

We treat the interactive stuff - Angry Birds, puzzles, drawing - as we would their physical equivalents. I don't see an enormous difference between a puzzle on the iPad and a cardboard puzzle. We limit non-interactive things (surfing YouTube) as we would television time.

The problem is that some "interactive stuff", like Farmville and Candy Crush and to some degree Angry Birds, is more similar to a Skinner Box than any true interactive environment. Books and puzzle are much less likely to push those buttons.

Also I think there is a worthwhile kinesthetic element on puzzles that is lost online. That could vary from learning to precisely line up puzzle pieces to other things. For instance my younger DS enjoys both the ipad and physical versions of Rush Hour/RHjr. Honestly, setting up the board in physical version is more of a sequencing challenge than solving the puzzles... I know... that makes no sense... however I've seen it again and again. The physical version teachs a superset of the sequencing, planning, and visual skills of the app.

Re: Ask HN: How much screen time do you let your kids have?

#84

Post by c1sc0 »

teddyh wrote: post #18

“ What other tools for creativity and learning do you arbitrarily limit? Do you have a hard rule on “paper time”? ”¹ ① http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2014/06/30/quantification Edit: Related blog posts: http://penny-arcade.com/news/post/2014/06/30/quantification http://penny-arcade.com/news/post/2014/06/30/screen-time

I just happened to have read this & it kinda unequivocally says "Cut out the TV". It interferes with your infant's brain's learning. (early ages) http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8445273-brain-rules-for-b...

Re: Ask HN: How much screen time do you let your kids have?

#86

Post by carleeto »

benologist wrote: post #2

I would like to add one other small question for a soon to be 3 year old, how to encourage books over tech?

Read to your child and make it fun. Do different accents. Do funny voices. Read with expression. Read a page backwards. Read it to a beat. Best of all, hold your kid when you read to them. Also, use stories as rewards.

Re: Ask HN: How much screen time do you let your kids have?

#87

Post by carleeto »

ceejayoz wrote: post #37
carleeto wrote: post #22

My daughter is 5. She had zero screen time till she was 2. After that, it was a case by case basis. 5 minutes a day when she was 3 - which is one peppa pig episode. The only computer time she was allowed were for drawing using paint or Photoshop. At 4, on special occasions, she got to ask for a few YouTube videos - usually Dora, peppa pig, or something educational. She was also allowed to ask to watch the news, which…

Peppa Pig is awesome (check out Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom, by the same team). Whatever you do, don't ever permit Caillou. A couple episodes of it and our kids were mimicking bad behaviours - "hrmph" to any requests, whining constantly, etc. We banned it and everything went back to normal. http://www.sbnation.com/2014/3/26/5549908/arian-foster-caill...

Thanks. Will check out Little kingdom. Whatever she watches, I make sure I watch first.

Re: Ask HN: How much screen time do you let your kids have?

#88

Post by carleeto »

iLoch wrote: post #3
benologist wrote: post #2

I would like to add one other small question for a soon to be 3 year old, how to encourage books over tech?

Do you really think there is an advantage to books over tech? I tend to think most people are attached to books for nostalgic reasons.

Kids get distracted easily. With a book, there are no buttons to distract them.

Re: Ask HN: How much screen time do you let your kids have?

#89

Post by carleeto »

Ezodev wrote: post #72
Mz wrote: post #44

I never limited "screen time." I only took their stuff away or denied them things for very specific problems. So, they learned to stop behaving in a problematic way. Example: Their dad would take their video games as punishment for something totally unrelated and it bred resentment. I took their video games only if they were fighting about a specific video game and I only took that specific video game and lectured th…

"I just cannot fathom why parents feel some need to be so controlling about this stuff. It just does not compute for me." Especially on hackernews. We're (mostly?) programmers, right?

Personally, it's about teaching a child to actively seek out information vs passively consuming it. I love programming because it is interactive and I learn continuously. I want to teach my kids the joy of learning by doing. Hence the limitation on passive forms or consumption, like the television and the emphasis on activities like story telling, Lego and drawing.

Re: Ask HN: How much screen time do you let your kids have?

#90

Post by parag_c_mehta »

mkempe wrote: post #9

My daughter is 5. We've done several things: 1. Blocked youtube on all iOS devices. This has been the most significant, positive action. She was rabid and unhappy whenever she used youtube, even for 20 minutes. The mental unbalance would sometimes last for hours. 2. NO live TV (no ads), unless we're watching a special event, e.g. a tennis tournament or other major cultural happenings (usually via BBC/VPN). The TV scr…

I am sorry but I don't agree with your excessive controls. You may end up raising very mean and materialistic kid. I have 5 year old daughter too, but strongly disagree with your methods.
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