Do you allow electronics during play dates at your house?
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Anonymous
| If its a long playdate (more than 2 hours or a sleepover or something) I will allow Wii near the end, but not until then. And definitely no Youtube, etc. Either Nintendo games or movies/shows approved by me. Otherwise, no screens. |
Anonymous
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The likelihood of running into something inappropriate on YouTube is technically a zillion times higher than a child ever running into an unlocked gun. I remember as a kid messing with weirdos on aol at my friends houses. Screens can be more dangerous than most people think, both directly and indirectly.
I don't want to ask a parent a ton of details about what they filter on the internet or what their video games are rated, if they are first person shooter games, etc., so when someone we don't know well proposes a play date, I ask if it can be screen free, or more often if we really don't know them well, if it can be at a park. Thankfully I have nerdy sporty kids who like board games and chess or shooting baskets or playing soccer. they get bored watching friends play video games fairly quickly. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| Yes my kids and their friends game on our LAN. We have 5 computers because DH and I work in tech. |
Anonymous
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Yes! Almost everyday after school one child or another (sometimes 2 at the same time) come over for one hour and they can play Wii, usually Minecraft or just dance. They regulate their own time and turns. They stop here and there to play with the family pet, have a snack, read a book about tricks for Minecraft.
When the weather is nice outside, I tell them to go play outside for half hour before anything else. These “play dates” are never arranged by us, parents. The kids decide themselves and just ring the doorbell. However, the last two sleepovers involved a lot of Wii (here) but it didn’t say well with me, so I have decided to limit it a lot in the future for sleepovers. Thankfully the weather is getting better and they will be able to play outside more. |
Anonymous
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Absolutely. No rules - they can play with whatever/however they want. They usually play video games (XBox One, Switch) for a while, then move on to air hockey, followed by some sort of creative play (usually something to do with Pokémon), closing it out on the old-school arcade playing ‘80s video games. If it’s nice out, they may play basketball/nerf guns for part of the time.
This began around age 8 and my child is now 11 and it’s still, pretty much, the same. |
Anonymous
Us too. Before 8 it was none but it is fun to play video games with friends. They play outside, go to the park, have a snack, play around the house, legos, etc... Then the last 30min they can play video games against each other. No one person games taking turns. Multiplayer. We don’t allow tablets, tv shows, or Roblox. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
Why no roblox? |
Anonymous
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We do. My DD is 11. They usually do a mix of outside and/or traditional "play" and computers. I shut down the electronics after awhile. But, honestly, it's not like they're sitting there like zombies. They are talking, figuring out games, figuring out strategies through the different "worlds", and building things virtually. In short, they are talking, cooperating, and working together.
I'm ok with it. And, as I talk to my child a LOT about computers, social media, etc., she is very good about reporting weird things (the worst that has happened is her Roblox was hacked and her "robux" stolen). But, it was obvious it was happening and we dealt with it immediately. She also knows that she is not to accept friend requests or to have conversations with anyone she does not know personally. |
Anonymous
Because it is a one person game on a computer. I rather them play multi-player video games. Not a fan of one just staring at a screen while the other plays. Also, many parents forbid Roblox. |