How does screen time really affect the kids? I don’t think it affects mine..

[Anonymous]

I have 3 kids (DD10, DD8 and DS5). We are not strict with screens. They watch shows (Netflix, Disney) every day in the morning (maybe 30 min) and at night (15-20 min).

On weekends they watch more (maybe 1-2 hours each day). They don’t play video games (aren’t into them yet), no access to YouTube. We watch documentaries together on weekends.They have activities and friends like most kids their age.

While my kids fight and are far from perfect, I don’t see a change based on screen time. I read on DCUM that screens are a huge issue and the reason many kids misbehave.

Why my kids seem to be immune?

[Anonymous]

I also have 3 kids and it doesn’t really affect mine either. They watch a bunch of tv but also have lots of outside times, independent play and organized activities.

[Anonymous]

So less than an hour a day during the week and 1-2 hours a day on the weekends?

Theyre not addicted! Thats why it doesn’t affect them. And I’m glad for you. Keep it like that for as long as you can. My kids did not use many screens when they were in elementary school, but middle and high school changed a lot of that. It’s a struggle now. Hope what you’re doing works for them as long as possible.

[Anonymous]

I remember when I was a kid I watched TV everyday after school and every Saturday morning. I binged Nintendo until I beat Mario Brothers and Tetris then never played again.

Today's equivalent is to watch TV on the iPad and play on the same device. My DD plays subway surfers. My older ones played roblocks when they were younger, now they shop online or text their friends (no social media).

I don't think it's harmful to folks without an addictive personality. People here think everyone is exactly the same and therefore should behave exactly the same. I just don't believe that's true.

BTW - I'm successful and never turned into a gamer etc. I have a PhD in STEM and make about 500k/yr as does my husband who had extremely restrictive controlling parents. Two end point same result. Don't parent out of fear - from my husband's family's experiences, I think it just causes anxiety and mental health issues.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that's a lot of screen time, although I wonder if you are forgetting the screens they get at school. In any event, if you can skip a day or a week without everything breaking down, you're fine. I think the more social media and tablet apps kids have, the harder that is to do.

My family has a similar schedule (a couple videos at breakfast to help kids get going, a show after dinner if time permits) but the school declared this week to be screen-freen week so we're doing music at breakfast, art and reading after dinner. It's fine and I would definitely have a harder time giving up my phone than they have giving up their TV. But, I am dreading the time when we can no longer avoid them having social media and texting.

[Anonymous]

I think some effects of screen time are harder to measure, at least in short term. It's not just behavioral issues; that's just the most obvious red flag. I am more concerned about them being used to constant stimulation, not being able to be comfortable with boredom and quiet. I think these more subtle things can have long term consequences on mental health and creativity. But I'm totally just going with my gut here, based on my own relationship with screens. I'm not addicted per se, but I remember a time before screens when I could focus on something intensely and that has become harder and harder and it's a feeling I deeply miss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I remember when I was a kid I watched TV everyday after school and every Saturday morning. I binged Nintendo until I beat Mario Brothers and Tetris then never played again.

Today's equivalent is to watch TV on the iPad and play on the same device. My DD plays subway surfers. My older ones played roblocks when they were younger, now they shop online or text their friends (no social media).

I don't think it's harmful to folks without an addictive personality. People here think everyone is exactly the same and therefore should behave exactly the same. I just don't believe that's true.

BTW - I'm successful and never turned into a gamer etc. I have a PhD in STEM and make about 500k/yr as does my husband who had extremely restrictive controlling parents. Two end point same result. Don't parent out of fear - from my husband's family's experiences, I think it just causes anxiety and mental health issues.

+1

[Anonymous]

My kids get 30-45 minutes before school and sometimes go into rages when it is turned off. Lots of angry and yelling. If we have that happen we take a long break from morning cartoons before trying again.

They have the same rage reaction at other times of day too, so we just don't do a lot of screens. Tablet time in the morning started when they were smaller so we could get ready for work and now it's a habit. I wouldn't mind dropping it but the kids really like it and it gives us leverage for other infractions that is useful

[Anonymous]

That's not a ton of screen time. It doesn't sound like much more than I had growing up in the 90s, and nobody was concerned about it then.

I think the bigger issue is on demand access to anything kids want. If a kid is bored of a show they can just stop it and find another. No having to wait through ads. Screens to fill in any time when kids should just be bored. Even as an adult I've noticed all of this having an effect on my attention span and my ability to handle boredom. It doesn't sound like you're using it that way but when phones come into the picture it will be a lot harder to control.

[Anonymous]

Huge difference between tv and the iPad/phones. People refer to both as “screen time” but they are not the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Your kids are still young and I think the real difficulty comes when they move out of Disney/kids programming into YouTube (which makes a short attention span worse), social media, games on their phone etc. The battle gets much harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's not a ton of screen time. It doesn't sound like much more than I had growing up in the 90s, and nobody was concerned about it then.

I think the bigger issue is on demand access to anything kids want. If a kid is bored of a show they can just stop it and find another. No having to wait through ads. Screens to fill in any time when kids should just be bored. Even as an adult I've noticed all of this having an effect on my attention span and my ability to handle boredom. It doesn't sound like you're using it that way but when phones come into the picture it will be a lot harder to control.

Bingo. People say oh I watched a ton of TV growing up so what's wrong with my kids doing it. Except, it's not the same because kids don't watch TV anymore. When we watched TV, we would get bored after a while. Between commercials and boring shows it just wasn't that interesting after your favorite show was over. But today's kids are watching streaming of their favorites one after another. It takes a much longer time, if ever, to get bored of that.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 kids who are wildly crazier and crankier after TV time or on the incredibly rare occasions that they do something like Khan Academy on an iPad or laptop. I have 1 kid who is blissfully unaffected.

Unless you have a kid who turns into a screen-crazed monster, you just won't see it. But if you do, you know. I think this is also true with sugar. It really doesn't impact any of my kids, but I believe that it turns some kids crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's not a ton of screen time. It doesn't sound like much more than I had growing up in the 90s, and nobody was concerned about it then.

I think the bigger issue is on demand access to anything kids want. If a kid is bored of a show they can just stop it and find another. No having to wait through ads. Screens to fill in any time when kids should just be bored. Even as an adult I've noticed all of this having an effect on my attention span and my ability to handle boredom. It doesn't sound like you're using it that way but when phones come into the picture it will be a lot harder to control.

Bingo. People say oh I watched a ton of TV growing up so what's wrong with my kids doing it. Except, it's not the same because kids don't watch TV anymore. When we watched TV, we would get bored after a while. Between commercials and boring shows it just wasn't that interesting after your favorite show was over. But today's kids are watching streaming of their favorites one after another. It takes a much longer time, if ever, to get bored of that.

The kids profiles should still have pauses/timing between epidodes. I dont let my kid FF through openings or skip to the episode without the countdown.

100% agree TV is different from Ipad/cell phones/interactive.

[Anonymous]

My 7 year old watches a ton of tv on the weekends (not so much during the week just because of how timing shakes out), and it doesn’t seem to affect her either. I think it’s very kid-dependent.