Raising your kids screen-free (or minimal screens) -- experience from parents with older kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not here. Parties have soda.

I grew up in Philadelphia in the 80s and soda was served at birthday parties but I was not allowed to have it. Didn't really bother me. When I was 12 my mom reluctantly said I could have it at parties but when I tried it, I didn't like it. I still don't, and i've persuaded DH to drink it only in restaurants and not to mention it to our kids. I don't really restrict sugar otherwise -- they get a small dessert every night if they've tasted everything on their plate -- but it's just too easy to drink your calories. Starbucks drinks, fruit juice, soda, etc. Too easy to drink a huge amount without realizing it.

Like another PP I was also raised without popular shows and music. We saw movies and we watched TV with our parents on weekends, but it was TV shows they liked, like Star Trek. I know a LOT about Star Trek. It didn't put me at that much of a social disadvantage; I excelled in school and hung out with the nerdier kids anyway. Toward the end of high school/college I trained myself to read the headlines of magazines and newspapers so I could feign knowledge or at least understand what people were talking about. That helped a lot. In college I could have watched these shows but honestly I didn't want to, and still don't. I watch plenty of screens but it's Netflix mostly, not anything current.

My kids are still young (5 and 2). The 2 year old gets way more TV than the older one did at her age but we try to limit for both. 30 mins on weekend mornings and evenings; about 10 mins on our phones during bedtime routine the rest of the time. I would like to phase out even that but DH disagrees. And we watch with them so that it's a family activity. Baby shark is burned into my brain.

[Anonymous]

A friend of my DD’s was forbidden to watch any Harry Potter. She knew every line of dialogue and friends couldn’t stand her becoming obsessed with what she couldn’t have. She now has a degree in creative writing and produces her own fan fiction HP novels. Did you see the article in the NYTs about the parents who refused to allow a TV in the house and rented one only for the mission to the moon? One kid became a cartoon producer for TV. Planning minutiae for your kids seems to be a tricky thing for some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not here. Parties have soda.

I grew up in Philadelphia in the 80s and soda was served at birthday parties but I was not allowed to have it. Didn't really bother me. When I was 12 my mom reluctantly said I could have it at parties but when I tried it, I didn't like it. I still don't, and i've persuaded DH to drink it only in restaurants and not to mention it to our kids. I don't really restrict sugar otherwise -- they get a small dessert every night if they've tasted everything on their plate -- but it's just too easy to drink your calories. Starbucks drinks, fruit juice, soda, etc. Too easy to drink a huge amount without realizing it.

Like another PP I was also raised without popular shows and music. We saw movies and we watched TV with our parents on weekends, but it was TV shows they liked, like Star Trek. I know a LOT about Star Trek. It didn't put me at that much of a social disadvantage; I excelled in school and hung out with the nerdier kids anyway. Toward the end of high school/college I trained myself to read the headlines of magazines and newspapers so I could feign knowledge or at least understand what people were talking about. That helped a lot. In college I could have watched these shows but honestly I didn't want to, and still don't. I watch plenty of screens but it's Netflix mostly, not anything current.

My kids are still young (5 and 2). The 2 year old gets way more TV than the older one did at her age but we try to limit for both. 30 mins on weekend mornings and evenings; about 10 mins on our phones during bedtime routine the rest of the time. I would like to phase out even that but DH disagrees. And we watch with them so that it's a family activity. Baby shark is burned into my brain.

You sound high maintenance. And not really normal.