AIBU not to let my DD year 6 go on her iPad half an hour before bed and not to let her have it in her bedroom over night?

[Brighteyes27]

Most of my DD's year 6 school mates are posting on Instagram etc well after 9pm on a school night. Whereas I insist my children come off technology at least half an hour to an hour before bed and leave technology downstairs. As I know if I didn't insist on this they wouldn't sleep/relax and may message or FT their friends to stop them sleeping.

[ghostyslovesheep]

good for you

[SpiritedLondon]

6 years old? Are they lunatics? They need to have a look at the research around kids having access to technology in their rooms, the disruption to sleep not to mention the access it allows sex offenders to have access to their child in private. How many have parental controls on? (in fact I can answer my own question - about 35%) so those kids may have access to every revolting website out there. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

[SpiritedLondon]

Ha ha oh shit! year 6! Not six years old. No my view still stands

[Methenyouplus4]

Not unreasonable at all. DS in year 6, bed at 8, reading until 8:30 to wind down. He has to be up by about 6:50 so he needs his sleep and a couple of nights is at clubs so is up later.

His phone isn't allowed in his room at night it he would literally be up all night on it. We are more relaxed at weekends but I think they are still young and certainly I wouldn't want my son to be able to be on a phone until all hours, he just hasn't got the maturity to have self restraint (not saying that's all kids that age- I just know what he's like).

[findulusconterus]

Im pretty sure you have to be 13 to have Instagram in the first place.

I signed up to twitter last week and had requests of all sorts of weirdos for no apparant reason

I wouldnt even let my DD have it at that age, never mind using it after 9pm

[RhinestoneCowgirl]

Spirited think OP meant yr6, so 10 or 11 years old rather than 6.

But in any case, screens just before bed is not a good idea. YdefinitelyNBU OP

[Hassled]

No, stick to your guns. There is just so much nastiness that goes on at that Y6/7 sort of age online, apart from anything - they have the access to social media but lack the maturity to manage it well.

[SanityClause]

I would never have let my DC have televisions in their room, but when DS got a tablet (he was about 8) I didn't really think about it.

I was called in to see his teacher, as she suspected something was wrong at home, as he was tired all the time. The day before the meeting, I went into him in the early hours of the morning, for some reason, and he was watching something on his iPad!

After that, it was always taken out of his room at bed time, and if I forgot, he would ask me to take it, as otherwise, it was too much of a temptation.

He is fine with it, now he is 12.

[TheChimpParadox]

My year 10 DS must leave his phone downstairs at night.

YANBU

[Brighteyes27]

Thanks all as an older parent I am maybe more old fashioned than some of my children's parents and also more aware of the dangers and need for relaxation and sleep. My DD 11 (but a young 11) and my DS 12 both have Instagram as hubby let them as all there friends have it but they have to have private accounts, are only allowed to follow and let follow people they actually know and have to have us as friends so we can check what's going on particularly with messaging facility. Yes lots of nastiness cliques and manipulation going on in year 6 (age 10/11) especially as some making manoeuvres launching their own 'dirty tricks campaigns' and maximise their friendships/popularity ahead of the move to secondary school. Day to day school is awful enough.

[PaulAnkaTheDog]

I don't get this not having gadgets in rooms overnight stuff. Surely if they are mature enough for the gadgets they should be mature enough to be trusted with them overnight. Ds(9) keeps his mobile, iPad and laptop in his room overnight. Never uses them if he's not supposed to.

[Gingerpig50]

We have a very strict rule of no electronics after 9pm during the week for DD year 6. She is usually very good but recently found her messaging at 10pm. iPad was removed completely for 7 days after that and is now only allowed it until 8.30. Her friends are messaging much later though - notifications can be heard until way past 10.

[RubyRoseViolet]

Dd is 13. She gets an hours wifi time every evening. We instigated that because she started to do nothing but sit staring at her phone for hours and hours. Some kids obviously do self regulate, others don't. Yanbu at all. They are young and it's tempting!

[SueLawleyandNicholasWitchell]

YANBU.

[JenEric]

I do the same. They don't rest properly otherwise. All technology turned off min 30 mins before bedtime. Reading is encouraged instead. Tablets are removed.

[ConkersDontScareSpiders]

Same rules for DD's here.they get the hump but I tell them it's either stick to those rules or don't have iPads at all and they stop moaning pretty quickly.

[fuzzpig]

yanbu

[Discopanda]

YANBU, DNphew (9) was caught on his at 4am the other week, it's been proven that technology too close to bed is bad for sleeping (she says on MN whilst watching Netflix at nearly midnight). Find a good hiding place for it!

[Jw35]

Yanbu, dd 12 gives them up an hour before bed too. She also has restricted use of 2 hours a day which I think is a lot and she's only allowed that much because at least an hour is talking to her best friend who lives in another part of the country.

Surely if they are mature enough for the gadgets they should be mature enough to be trusted with them overnight.

I'd like to think so and in sure we all want to trust our kids but personally I wouldn't feel responsible leaving it up to them overnight. It's far too tempting, even I can't switch the bloody thing off sometimes! Less inconsequential things I might leave to trust but potentially being online all night isn't a risk I want to take.

[coffeetasteslikeshit]

YANBU. My DC (11 and 9) are not allowed their tablets in their rooms. It's too much temptation for them I think. DH plays the same game as them and their friends (in order to keep an eye on them) and is always amazed by how late some of their friends are on it.

[AlisonWunderland]

As an adult, I'm incapable of self regulating my own screen time.
I wouldn't expect an 11 to be any better!

[gingerdad]

My kids weren't allowed phones till their 13 birthday so was never an issue. Now 13&15.

Don't see the need for younger kids to have phones or tablets.

[SuburbanRhonda]

The ADHD nurse who works with some of our children warns that the blue light from screens such as phone and iPad interferes with the production of melatonin, which your body produces to help you sleep.

So she recommends no screen time an hour before bed.

[SuburbanRhonda]

ginger

Lots of 11 and 12 year olds walk to and from school so need a phone for emergencies.

[willconcern]

I do the same as you OP.