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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?

#21

Post by chez17 »

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

The problem is that TV and computers can be used for far more than 'creativity and learning' and, in my experience with kids, the majority of use is mindless. Kids get hooked on games.

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

#22

Post by carleeto »

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 she did sometimes. Her allowed TV time went up to 20 minutes a day, but she didn't know that- for her, it was either 2 peppa pig episodes or one yo gabba gabba. However, we did not make a big deal of increasing her screen time. We made a big deal about the fact that because she is 4, she now gets two bedtime stories. At 5, her screen time has not increased. But, if she is a really good girl, she can ask for 3 bedtime b stories. How's it working? Well, she isn't bothered about TV that much, she loves books and she knows ads are really about getting you to spend money. So I think she's on the right track.

I try my best to answer all her questions and encourage her to ask more. When I don't know the answer, she and I do the research together.

I think the approach is working really well and we're going to do the same with our one year old too.

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

#23

Post by walterbell »

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.

How many pixels of resolution and what latency of screen refresh does your imagination offer? That's what stories offer - a personalized virtual reality with higher resolution than all current tech. Books are a delivery mechanism for stories. Poems offer even more - the brain fills in the blanks.

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

#24

Post by petercooper »

No limits so far; my eldest is 5. My parents didn't limit my TV watching or computer use as a kid. It never did me any harm, although my kids, like me, seem not to get addicted to things and naturally shift between different activity types often (indeed, to my wife's annoyance, it is more difficult to get them - or me! - to pay attention to an entire movie without opportunities to multitask ;-))

But would I get strict if my kids did want to watch TV or an iPad for hours to the detriment of their health or wanting to do other stuff? Yes.

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

#25

Post by lurcio »

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.

Each have their use cases/advantages. & Im not sure that people cling to print solely due to nostalgia/habit.

We have just returned to the UK after three years in a small country that had hardly a bookshop, where we've been relying on ebooks.

First day in UK we took our 5yo to Hamleys (Toy Shop) and Foyles (book shop). It was a revelation to her. But I can't tell you how enthused we all were by the variety and quality of print books.

For me the ebook/interactive app doesn't really offer yet the immersive experience of print (especially for childrens books). Even for technical books/literature, I find it difficult to get wrapped up in an ebook (perhaps because there are so many distractions a swipe away).

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

#26

Post by 0942v8653 »

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…

How did you block youtube?

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

#27

Post by mkempe »

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…

A couple of other things I've done with her: when she was 2 I'd sometimes ask her what pictures she wanted to look at (usually an animal) then I'd show her the results of Google Image search on a tablet or laptop. The color filter was fun, especially for starfish.

Now she also knows about Wikipedia and will ask every other week whether we can look something up on the iPad, e.g. why do camels have humps; we end up learning a lot of other things. She's not yet able to comfortably read at the level of Wikipedia, maybe next year.

I can see in her eyes she doesn't quite grok it when I say this access to images and explanations did not exist when I was a child. I loved the depictions of The Diamond Age. Wish we were closer to it by now.

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

#29

Post by ferrari8608 »

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 know what you mean about the Youtube access. Just a few days ago I blocked it on my four-year-old's PC. Anytime she watched Youtube, she would throw a fit when her time's up. So it's best to just avoid it all together. All she would watch on there anyway were videos of kids playing with toys and Minecraft commentary. I would rather she just played Minecraft or with her toys.

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

#30

Post by mhurron »

chez17 wrote: post #21
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

The problem is that TV and computers can be used for far more than 'creativity and learning' and, in my experience with kids, the majority of use is mindless. Kids get hooked on games.

And they also tend to read shitty fiction, if they read at all. So again, do you also limit 'paper time'?
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