Does anyone else feel like their kids will need a digital detox after the hols (has anyone actually successfully done this)?

[ladyandthechocolate]

I’m sure I’m not the only one in this situation!

Over lockdown and the holidays by DC are having waaaay too much screen time. The boys are gaming on the PS4 and Switch and I totally get they chat to their friends so that is one (small) benefit. DD is mainly on YouTube and just lounges endlessly watching videos looking practically catatonic.
The issue is when we kick them off they seem to not be able to function as normal children! They have completely lost the capacity to entertain themselves and don’t want to do anything. If you say, right you can go back on at 5pm for example, they kick around watching the clock until 5pm. It seems however much or little time they have it’s never enough and one of my DSs for example will obsess over how to get more time, can he do chores to get more time and is on my case all the time. It does not seem healthy and I think it’s affecting their attention span.
I feel guilty tbh but I’m wfh and there’s a limit to my time and energy to entertain them.
DH and I were chatting and when schools go back we are contemplating a complete screen ban for a period of time with the possible exception of a few family movies. Has anyone done this before? I feel the kids need a factory reset and then maybe we can reintroduce screens at some point. We could of course just cut their time down but when you give them a little time it’s worse than none.
There’s a family up the road with two boys and they are forever out playing tennis together in the street, football and going on family bike rides. We’ll probably never be that family but I think we need a bit more balance!

Reading with interest, because we fell into far too much screen time early in lockdown but have got it mostly under control now, but I doubt it will last forever!

I've only got one, and she's only seven, which makes it a lot easier, but there was so much whining about not being allowed screens, wanting more screens, being bored, and all the rest. Implemented three rules: if you're bored, go and be bored quietly upstairs; set hours for screens; and if you whinge about screen time you lose screen time.

It was painful at first, but worth it. But how you manage when you've got two, who'll just wind each other up out of sheer boredom, I have no idea.

My DC went back to school on Monday and we immediately went back to term time screen rules. No gaming (iPad or switch) during the week, no tv on early start days (between then this is every day now!). No screens until homework has been completed.

They've watched half an hour twice this week! After dinner I commented to DH how nice it was to hear them playing with their toys again. I reckon it takes them about a week to get out of waiting-for-next-bout-of-screen mode to occupying themselves sensibly.

Managed to avoid screens first thing this morning - my DS asked if I’d play Lego with him, of course I replied delighted that he was being creative and doing something with his hands. Until he pulled out a new Minecraft Lego set.., 🤦‍♀️

The first couple of months I had this with ds. I was (and still am) WFH with him and dbaby here. I let him play on the switch/watch YouTube video games way too much. He became like your children, unable to function when away from the screens and always asking when he could go back on it.
One day I just decided I'd had enough, when he asked I said no. Told him I was cutting down and not to ask me again, I would let him go on it but I would decide when. He played on it once that day for a short time, when it suited me.
He really didn't protest as much as I thought he would.
I kept this up over the next few days and suddenly he started bringing out books to read, toys to play with, drawing pictures etc. It was much much easier than I thought it would be and I was so happy to see him doing stuff away from screens and not repeatedly asking to play switch.

Well it’s pissing down here. Dragged them out in the rain for a walk and now they’re plugged in again. Still, it’s the holidays still and like ‘the diet starts Monday’, the screen rules start when school starts