To ask how much screen time your kids ACTUALLY get?

[MiniDoofa]

I’m asking because I’m worried about how much time my DS spends on screens. I’m preparing to lay out some rules for/with him for term time. (Not in UK, going back for third term next week).

I don’t like computer games but my DH does, so DS plays PS4, games on iPad and of course there’s TV (which is currently seeming like the lesser of the evils because at least it’s social).

DS is sporty, does well at school and has nice friends so DH thinks it’s not a problem but I’m worried for DS’s future mental health. He doesn’t seem able to play ‘normal’ things by himself for any length of time and that worries me (I mean LEGO/drawing etc)

So, how much screen time does your 8 year old have in total?
I reckon at the moment in holidays DS has around 3+ hours and in school time 2 hours, but more some days. He would have more if we let him.

Any tips on how to negotiate ground rules in this would also be welcome!!

How is TV social but games aren't? :S

Two kids 9 and 11.

School days
Mon: No console. Couple hours terrestrial telly.
Tues-Thurs: YouTube and Netflix. No gaming. 5-7pm
Fri: Gaming, YouTube or Netflix 5-10pm
Weekends: Gaming until midday. Again from 6-8pm

School holidays
Same

They have no concept of time so an hour on the console is like 5 minutes to their mind. It causes constant bickering over who’s turn it is, and mild discussion between parents over what is reasonable exposure to screens.

They’ll happily switch off one device and log onto another.

They don’t have phones, and won’t, until they’re around 12.

Gaming is Minecraft, Roblox, LegoWorlds, Fortnite (not happy about Fortnite, but then sometimes Minecraft is all shoot em’ up too in between constructing elaborate engineering projects made out of dayglo blocks

They also play and enjoy real Lego building, imaginative role play with dragons and dinosaur figures, knights, horses and a castle, art, and bundling. All the usual childhood toys interspersed between the technology.

Given the choice they’ll always choose a gaming console over other toys, or YouTube/Netflix over terrestrial telly, but when the choice is taken away, they’re still perfectly happy to play with ordinary toys.

Screen time causes arguments though, which can escalate. No solution to that. Just another part of childhood that requires
referee-ing.

8yo girl: 10/20 mins telly in the morning if she's ready in time and between 1 to 1.5 hrs in the evening (from 6ish to bedtime). YouTube or phone games (no sim) would be instead of this, not as well as.

Weekends it depends entirely on what we are doing. Probably at least an hour a day, plus movie night on a Saturday. Games and YouTube maybe another hour if we're inside a lot.

7yr old & 9 yr old
An hour of ipad games maybe 3 three times a week & netflix type watching maybe 2 hrs a week?
But it varies a fair bit over the last two weeks they have had about 2 hrs screen times each week.

I don't have set limits at all. Some days dd9 will be on for hours, other days she will be busy doing other stuff and won't bother at all. If I feel she has been on her tablet for a long time I might tell her to go and do something else, but usually I don't. She is the youngest of 5, I took the same line with all of them and never had any issues.

A 2yo and a 5yo. During the week they get 1 to 1.5 hours (depending on how long dinner is to cook as they watch during that time, turn off for dinner and the watch after dinner). DH works nights so only getting screentime then is something I've brought in for their routine.

During the weekend, it's kind of anything goes. Depends on what were doing but a mixture of Netflix and xbox. Last weekend they chose non screen stuff. This weekend we've already had requests for xbox.

During term time, 9-yr-old has half hour of Netflix cartoons in the morning then another half hour when he gets back from school. Depending on clubs/homework etc then he might have 1 hr on the PS after dinner maybe twice per week. On weekends he has about 1 hr on Minecraft or couple of hours on PS with his cousins.

He'll play with Lego, draw, write stories etc if I tell him to have a break from screens.

4-year-old and 6-year-old. We are in the US and have begun the (extremely lengthy) school holidays, and they get 45 minutes to an hour of shows/iPad games in the am, and usually nothing after that.

Sundays they get to watch a movie.

Mine are 9. In the holidays they get around 4 hours a day. In term time it's currently about an hour on average, but likely to go up as one is starting to do a lot of coding.

Some days none. Some days too much. I don't mind when dd1 (3.5) has the tv on as she plays at the same time. Usually asks to watch something and after ten minutes is playing again. She has a kindle which was a Godsend when I was very pregnant and dd2 was tiny. But she could very happily sit and stare at it all day so it is very restricted.

I know I am quite relaxed about screentime at the moment but intend to be very strict on the content she watches as she gets older. I will miss Cbeebies!

My ds always begged me for a skateboard but I wouldn't let him have one.
He exchanged his playstation for a skateboard with a friend the little rogue
He still skateboards now and he's 22. He was right I was wrong.

Tablet & phone + usual TV & even a desktop PC for games... about 6 hrs/day on avg? I was about the same as a kid (1970s, so all TV, cinema, early arcade games).

Depends on clubs and what we are doing. Some days none at all others they can spend all day in front of a screen. Mine do both read and play though if the tv isn't on.

E.g. this weekend we are going to be out today leaving early back late. So no tv today but tomorrow no plans so will likely alternate between ds/tablet and tv. As long as they don't argue over it or get grumpy when I ask them to do things E.g. puf washing away or come to table for meals I'm pretty chilled out. In my mind sometimes I can't be arsed to read or do stuff I just want to sit on my phone playing games or reading shit so they are going to feel the same.

My dds are 9 and 6 :)

Watch a film once or twice a week. occasionally might watch a tv show but usually not. We have no consoles iPads of computers etc. I was brought up watching TV constantly.

Oh but during World Cup all bets have been off as they have watched a lot!

I don't think you'll get an honest spread of answers - even with your choice of thread title. I'm pretty sure that my kids were not unusual in having roughly the amount of daily time you're describing on purely video games - with often usually an extra couple of hours if we wanted to watch a movie together or binge watch some Doctor Who episodes in the evening.

DS1 is currently on a full academic scholarship at university and DS2 (hope DS1 doesn't ever read this!) is IMHO appearing to be ahead of where DS1 was at the same age, and also has a much healthier spread of interests that mean when he's not stuck in front of a screen, he's very physically active.

I don't think screen based activities are the evil influence people like to imply, but if/when they become a problem (e.g. awful attitude if they're asked to come off them for a while) then that's a cause for concern.

I've a 8 & 7yo and they have maybe an hour of TV some nights, most none. They're not worried by gaming, but will play on their tablets if I have to work on a Saturday.

We get in late on weekday nights so there's not much time. It's just eat and bed 3 nights/week, the other 2 are TV days

Weekends I let them chill out and they may be have 3 hours on a Saturday whilst i catch up housework.

It's different in winter, but whilst the sun shines they're happy doing other things.

6 and 9 year olds. No screens before school, bit of TV after dinner, this may sometimes be tablet/DS, for maybe 1.5hrs max.
On weekends and holidays they have a list of things to do before screens are allowed (get dressed, breakfast, teeth, make bed, 15 mins reading, 15 mins writing/maths, make something, do some active play, help someone). Then they can use screens. Both get about 1-2 hrs then get told to turn it off and go do something else. No devices allowed right before bedtime. Works for us at the moment.

I read an article where a journalist claimed his daughter watched half an hour of tv every other week and that was it. We've been up since 6am and have watched half an hour of CBeebies already!

Not quite what you asked, but on Saturdays and Sundays when we had no other plans (ditto school holidays), myself and my siblings (similar ages) would share playing on the Nintendo ALL DAY. I mean from the time we woke up until tea time. From which time we'd watch TV more or less until bedtime. Looking back, I'm amazed my SP mum let us get away with that (I expect she had enough on her plate already without trying to cajole us out of the house or encourage more "wholesome" activities), but we're all in our thirties now, and lead well-adjusted, balanced lives with hobbies and interests (none of them gaming). It's not the way I'd choose to raise my kids but I really wouldn't get too het up about it.

No games just watching tv and programmes on iPad.
He’s an early waker so gets iPad time if we want/ need a lie in! Maybe 1-2 hours in a morning, depending on what time he wakes etc.
He watches TV for an hour after school. Homework first, then tea, then TV until upstairs at 6. In summer he’s been watching less as plays in the garden after school.

Lots if I'm honest. I don't set limits. But they are both doing really well at school, have good social lives, do lots of out of school activities, we do lots of non screen activities as a family too. Its all about balance. If I ask them to come off, they do. If they started creating, or it started to adversely affect their behaviour, I would out limits in place.

put limits

Also no limit. She naturally self regulates. Doing really well at school and polite and considerate.

All a bit overkill about new technology. I wonder if people did the same when books were massed published? Probably