adjusting this screen time management - run around the block

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My preschool aged children do very well with thinking about screen time being the thing we can do to "take a break" after doing things that are more important. some days thats cleaning up, other days getting exercise, etc. They'll drag their feet on something and as soon as I say "the way we'll have time for tv tonight / this afternoon is to make sure we've cleaned up from the day (been active to keep our bodies healthy....whatever)" they are eagerly doing whatever it is and often end up doing it more and for longer than i'd required

i personally think that thinking of screen time as something we can do to relax after we get done what we need to is a good lifelong mindset. Of course it'd be great if they read or did crafts or whatever instead as adults, but neither dh or i are that way and most adults i know aren't so i'm realistic about it

Kids brains are different than adult brains though. Kids don’t need screens, especially young children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My preschool aged children do very well with thinking about screen time being the thing we can do to "take a break" after doing things that are more important. some days thats cleaning up, other days getting exercise, etc. They'll drag their feet on something and as soon as I say "the way we'll have time for tv tonight / this afternoon is to make sure we've cleaned up from the day (been active to keep our bodies healthy....whatever)" they are eagerly doing whatever it is and often end up doing it more and for longer than i'd required

i personally think that thinking of screen time as something we can do to relax after we get done what we need to is a good lifelong mindset. Of course it'd be great if they read or did crafts or whatever instead as adults, but neither dh or i are that way and most adults i know aren't so i'm realistic about it

Kids brains are different than adult brains though. Kids don’t need screens, especially young children.

I'm a NP and of course brains of all ages don't need screens. But sometimes I need to take care of something without a chorus of tiny voices demanding my attention and I don't have a helpful spouse or family or an on-call sitter that can come tend to my children so I can take care of the things I need to do. So I let them have screens because it's not going to harm them to be entertained by the lights and sound and whatever but having a cranky mom that can never get anything done because she has committed to some idealized version of how her mothering was going to look in her head before the children even arrived? That's likely to cause harm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like your kid would be getting the message that exercise is boring and something you need to be bribed to do, combined with a ton of screentime.

If you want to take a walk with your child, then say "Oh, screentime is up. Let's go take a walk! That will be fun!"

Yes, exactly my thought. The point is not to “use up” the afternoon. The kid should be doing hands-on activities. Unless you also have a newborn. Then whatever works for those 3 months.

[Anonymous]

Many of you dramatically overestimate how much influence you’ll have over your child’s eventual screen and exercise habits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many of you dramatically overestimate how much influence you’ll have over your child’s eventual screen and exercise habits.

I disagree. My youngest is now 7 and is extremely athletic and watches very little tv and doesn't own an ipad or any video game systems. Because that's how we raised our kids. We instilled joy in being active and noted that screens were a boring last resort activity. We didnt fill our time with screens. We filled our times with bike rides, walks, balls, trampolines, scavenger hunts, sports teams, and other movement. We used books, music, and toys for "down time" when too tired from physical activity or when an adult couldn't interact with them.

Of course I have no idea what they will think or do at age 30, but I definitely have an influence over their elementary years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My preschool aged children do very well with thinking about screen time being the thing we can do to "take a break" after doing things that are more important. some days thats cleaning up, other days getting exercise, etc. They'll drag their feet on something and as soon as I say "the way we'll have time for tv tonight / this afternoon is to make sure we've cleaned up from the day (been active to keep our bodies healthy....whatever)" they are eagerly doing whatever it is and often end up doing it more and for longer than i'd required

i personally think that thinking of screen time as something we can do to relax after we get done what we need to is a good lifelong mindset. Of course it'd be great if they read or did crafts or whatever instead as adults, but neither dh or i are that way and most adults i know aren't so i'm realistic about it

Kids brains are different than adult brains though. Kids don’t need screens, especially young children.

I'm a NP and of course brains of all ages don't need screens. But sometimes I need to take care of something without a chorus of tiny voices demanding my attention and I don't have a helpful spouse or family or an on-call sitter that can come tend to my children so I can take care of the things I need to do. So I let them have screens because it's not going to harm them to be entertained by the lights and sound and whatever but having a cranky mom that can never get anything done because she has committed to some idealized version of how her mothering was going to look in her head before the children even arrived? That's likely to cause harm.

This is why you teach them to entertain themselves, without screens. Small reward now for you means larger headaches later.

Your life though, screen away their childhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My preschool aged children do very well with thinking about screen time being the thing we can do to "take a break" after doing things that are more important. some days thats cleaning up, other days getting exercise, etc. They'll drag their feet on something and as soon as I say "the way we'll have time for tv tonight / this afternoon is to make sure we've cleaned up from the day (been active to keep our bodies healthy....whatever)" they are eagerly doing whatever it is and often end up doing it more and for longer than i'd required

i personally think that thinking of screen time as something we can do to relax after we get done what we need to is a good lifelong mindset. Of course it'd be great if they read or did crafts or whatever instead as adults, but neither dh or i are that way and most adults i know aren't so i'm realistic about it

Kids brains are different than adult brains though. Kids don’t need screens, especially young children.

I'm a NP and of course brains of all ages don't need screens. But sometimes I need to take care of something without a chorus of tiny voices demanding my attention and I don't have a helpful spouse or family or an on-call sitter that can come tend to my children so I can take care of the things I need to do. So I let them have screens because it's not going to harm them to be entertained by the lights and sound and whatever but having a cranky mom that can never get anything done because she has committed to some idealized version of how her mothering was going to look in her head before the children even arrived? That's likely to cause harm.

This is why you teach them to entertain themselves, without screens. Small reward now for you means larger headaches later.

Your life though, screen away their childhood.

+ 100 I'll never understand people that think they couldn't function without having their kids on screens. LOL there have been kind of a lot of people that somehow managed to raise their kids and "get things done" without them. It's just completely funny to me

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I wouldn’t do this. It just seems like it’s not teaching the right things — a bit too arbitrary and kind of meaningless. It’s like, eat one vegetable and then one candy bar. You’re sending the message that as long as you eat one vegetable you can eat one candy bar, is that true? As long as they walk around the block once then it’s fine to watch 30-45 minutes of TV?

If your kids are toddlers, they shouldn’t be watching anything. Age 3 is a bit tricky but by 4/5 they should be able to be engaged by books on tape. If you have to put a meal on the table, better to use a documentary show or something with slower camera movements as the rapid cuts and emotional pay offs in cartoon shows train you for a short attention span. Hopefully by 6 or 7 they can read or draw to entertain themselves.

[Anonymous]

Terrible idea.