You have to let him play video games. He’ll be a social outcast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone watch Minimal Mom on YouTube? I’m a very casual viewer and she recently had a guest on from an org called Screenstrong. The guest basically said there is no healthy amount of video games and the more you delay or eliminate them (and smart phones), the better. She recommended getting the kid into an instrument. I laughed, but it’s true so far for me. Mine takes strings and between weekly lesson and daily practice, he isn’t really siting around to be able to bemoan the missing video games.

My kid plays an instrument, a travel sport, a rec sport, is in scouts, is in advanced classes at school, plays lots of pickup sports with friends, takes lots of family vacations, etc. and … plays video games. I don’t understand the mindset that being busy with activities is the antithesis to video games because plenty of well rounded kids can do all of the above.

In fact I think screen time adds positives to our lives because my kid has been learning some beginner computer coding through games on the computer. He also uses the iPad to make his own stop motion films, some using story lines from his video games (where he is collaboratively building online worlds with friends).

Gaming can be incredibly creative and it is a huge industry with lots of career opportunities (I mean even something like composing the music for them). I will continue to encourage my kid to explore lots of interests.

Then your kid isn't practicing his instrument sufficiently or isn't getting enough sleep. There just... isn't enough time in the day. Unless you mean he is playing 20 minutes of video games here and there. That I believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone watch Minimal Mom on YouTube? I’m a very casual viewer and she recently had a guest on from an org called Screenstrong. The guest basically said there is no healthy amount of video games and the more you delay or eliminate them (and smart phones), the better. She recommended getting the kid into an instrument. I laughed, but it’s true so far for me. Mine takes strings and between weekly lesson and daily practice, he isn’t really siting around to be able to bemoan the missing video games.

My kid plays an instrument, a travel sport, a rec sport, is in scouts, is in advanced classes at school, plays lots of pickup sports with friends, takes lots of family vacations, etc. and … plays video games. I don’t understand the mindset that being busy with activities is the antithesis to video games because plenty of well rounded kids can do all of the above.

In fact I think screen time adds positives to our lives because my kid has been learning some beginner computer coding through games on the computer. He also uses the iPad to make his own stop motion films, some using story lines from his video games (where he is collaboratively building online worlds with friends).

Gaming can be incredibly creative and it is a huge industry with lots of career opportunities (I mean even something like composing the music for them). I will continue to encourage my kid to explore lots of interests.

Then your kid isn't practicing his instrument sufficiently or isn't getting enough sleep. There just... isn't enough time in the day. Unless you mean he is playing 20 minutes of video games here and there. That I believe.

He plays on the weekends (more so when games are rained out) and occasional early release or random holidays. It probably adds up to 2 hours or so per week.

He’s gone about 8 hours per day for school, sleeps 8:30/9 (maybe a bit later if he is up reading) until 6:30 which is 9-10 hours of sleep. That is still 6 whole hours per day for self care, chords, and extracurriculars + free time. And entire days on the weekend. So I don’t really understand how there isn’t enough time in the day?

[Anonymous]

*chores not chords

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Gaming can be incredibly creative and it is a huge industry with lots of career opportunities (I mean even something like composing the music for them). I will continue to encourage my kid to explore lots of interests.

OK, but in fairness, those opportunities are for careers that mostly suck, because lots and lots of people want to get into the gaming biz, and, well, you know what they say about supply and demand.

This does not mean that one can't leverage the *skills* into something else -- e.g. programming for gaming when a teen supports programming for web services when in one's twenties. But the gaming industry, while not as awful as Hollywood, is not where you want an adult child to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone watch Minimal Mom on YouTube? I’m a very casual viewer and she recently had a guest on from an org called Screenstrong. The guest basically said there is no healthy amount of video games and the more you delay or eliminate them (and smart phones), the better. She recommended getting the kid into an instrument. I laughed, but it’s true so far for me. Mine takes strings and between weekly lesson and daily practice, he isn’t really siting around to be able to bemoan the missing video games.

My kid plays an instrument, a travel sport, a rec sport, is in scouts, is in advanced classes at school, plays lots of pickup sports with friends, takes lots of family vacations, etc. and … plays video games. I don’t understand the mindset that being busy with activities is the antithesis to video games because plenty of well rounded kids can do all of the above.

In fact I think screen time adds positives to our lives because my kid has been learning some beginner computer coding through games on the computer. He also uses the iPad to make his own stop motion films, some using story lines from his video games (where he is collaboratively building online worlds with friends).

Gaming can be incredibly creative and it is a huge industry with lots of career opportunities (I mean even something like composing the music for them). I will continue to encourage my kid to explore lots of interests.

Then your kid isn't practicing his instrument sufficiently or isn't getting enough sleep. There just... isn't enough time in the day. Unless you mean he is playing 20 minutes of video games here and there. That I believe.

She’s embellishing what this kid does obv

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Gaming can be incredibly creative and it is a huge industry with lots of career opportunities (I mean even something like composing the music for them). I will continue to encourage my kid to explore lots of interests.

OK, but in fairness, those opportunities are for careers that mostly suck, because lots and lots of people want to get into the gaming biz, and, well, you know what they say about supply and demand.

This does not mean that one can't leverage the *skills* into something else -- e.g. programming for gaming when a teen supports programming for web services when in one's twenties. But the gaming industry, while not as awful as Hollywood, is not where you want an adult child to be.

Loser kids want it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone watch Minimal Mom on YouTube? I’m a very casual viewer and she recently had a guest on from an org called Screenstrong. The guest basically said there is no healthy amount of video games and the more you delay or eliminate them (and smart phones), the better. She recommended getting the kid into an instrument. I laughed, but it’s true so far for me. Mine takes strings and between weekly lesson and daily practice, he isn’t really siting around to be able to bemoan the missing video games.

My kid plays an instrument, a travel sport, a rec sport, is in scouts, is in advanced classes at school, plays lots of pickup sports with friends, takes lots of family vacations, etc. and … plays video games. I don’t understand the mindset that being busy with activities is the antithesis to video games because plenty of well rounded kids can do all of the above.

In fact I think screen time adds positives to our lives because my kid has been learning some beginner computer coding through games on the computer. He also uses the iPad to make his own stop motion films, some using story lines from his video games (where he is collaboratively building online worlds with friends).

Gaming can be incredibly creative and it is a huge industry with lots of career opportunities (I mean even something like composing the music for them). I will continue to encourage my kid to explore lots of interests.

Then your kid isn't practicing his instrument sufficiently or isn't getting enough sleep. There just... isn't enough time in the day. Unless you mean he is playing 20 minutes of video games here and there. That I believe.

He plays on the weekends (more so when games are rained out) and occasional early release or random holidays. It probably adds up to 2 hours or so per week.

He’s gone about 8 hours per day for school, sleeps 8:30/9 (maybe a bit later if he is up reading) until 6:30 which is 9-10 hours of sleep. That is still 6 whole hours per day for self care, chords, and extracurriculars + free time. And entire days on the weekend. So I don’t really understand how there isn’t enough time in the day?

So you guys figured out how to teleport to/from school and activities? That’s wild. Seriously though, I don’t understand your math. There’s travel to and from school, if he gets up at 6:30 he still has to eat breakfast, get ready for school, and I don’t think there’s enough there for lots of screens. After school there’s either waiting for bus arrival or else time spent in carline or walking home, plus driving to activities. Add in 30-60 minutes of instrument practice, 20 minutes of homework, dinner, and free play with friends… Weekends yes, but I think almost everyone has said they allow regular weekend screen time of some kind.