to ask how much screen time your kids are having during lockdown?

[Chiccie]

Mine are on it for homeschooling and they are then on it watching YouTube or playing games. It’s constant and feels incredibly hard to have any sorts of limits. What rules have you got for screen time?

They were having too much so I’ve divided the screen time into ‘educational screen time’ which is school stuff, documentaries and a few educational things they like. And ‘free screen time’ which is literally whatever they want. They’re allowed unlimited educational screen time and 2-3 hours of free screen time which seems to be working well.

It’s hard wfh with young kids - you need the screens to keep them happy etc, especially in this weather.

I’ve set limits up - 2 hours per day. Unlimited music, Teams etc. but games, we browsing or Disney+ is now capped. There are also times during the day they can do it.

Since telling DC I am amazed at the response. “I’m saving up my screen time for later” and sometimes not using it all or “I used up my screen time so now I’m doing X”. Honestly I thought it would be really difficult but I didn’t pitch it as a punishment. Put big boxes of games, books and crafts etc. around so easy access. My house is a tip but I’m get over that.

As much as he wants as long as school work is done, he reads an hour a day and goes to bed by 10. 11 at weekends.
He's 15.5.
Once we're out of isolation you can add a walk every day and he goes to the shop if we need anything.

Bloody loads!

I'm.making them go outside and be active every day after school finishes. An hour or two. After that, they can really do what they want. Life is so shit at the moment and we're all just trying to get through it.

Feckin loads . We're usually fairly on top of it but are both WFH full time in jobs that don't stop at 5pm. If I'm entirely honest I'd say (excluding school based stuff!) probably about 4 hours per day. You could add another 2-3 hours on for school/ educational stuff. She's only 7 😮

Oh yeah forgot that bit I'm wfh ft all day. The other thing I get him to do is cook dinner some nights. Thankfully at that age he can take full control and it keeps him busy for up to a couple of hours with no screens other than the recipe on his phone. He does bloody love cooking though and is doing food tech gcse so I try and get him to think of meals with techniques.
He learnt to spatchcock a chicken recently not envy

No limits at the moment. But they do play for hours with actual toys, and we do go out for exercise every day. I'm not going to impose anything at the moment.

I think it depends what they are doing re screen time. My ds 13 is on for ages but is playing with friends online so his game playing has been an absolute lifeline re continuing his friendships in lockdown. He does all his schoolwork with no problems and we do make him go out for a walk and keep up with his music practice.

Loads but it is what it is. We get out for a walk everyday or at the very least he goes out to play as long as he has done that and completed school work I allow him about 3hrs to game. If the weather is rubbish he is getting more but I don't beat myself up about it

DS is 8-he goes to keyworker school 4 days per week so is out the house and interacting with others then. At home he can have the telly on whenever he likes and probably spends a couple of hours a day playing driving games on his phone or switch. We try to go for a walk and get outside everyday. The only limit I have is not immediately before bed as it affects his sleep.

My kids would watch all day every day if I let them so I have to set limits. During normal times they only watch it on weekends. But at the moment they are allowed 2 hours a day.

Too much. Schooling obvs, plus tv, and games. I have said 1 day break from games a week (but much prefer more. We did two last week and I’m making it three this week).

Hourly breaks (when not doing school work) to go out or go and play.

Loads. I'm trying not to think about it too much. Despite her inexplicable love for talentless YouTubers, she does prefer playing with actual toys so I'm not too concerned.

No free time screen time until he's been outside after (home) school for an hour. Then 1 hour before his tea and 1 hour after. He's 9 and generally spends the rest of the time playing Lego, reading manga or wandering about saying he's bored (meaning he wants more screen).

My ds7 is allowed 3.15-4.30 then 6 til 7.30 in the week , he does start pushing it at 4.30 asking for more time but I'm trying to be strict . He will then play with the kitten , read , play board games , other day we went on a bike ride. Then at the weekends it's from when he wakes up til about 12 then not again til after tea .

@Bmidreams

No limits at the moment. But they do play for hours with actual toys, and we do go out for exercise every day. I'm not going to impose anything at the moment.

Sounds like my three year old. I make us go out every day for physical exercise and time away from screens. Apart from that it's on a lot. He'll go off and play with toys, and it's off for mealtimes. It's not ideal, but

Loads. After schoolwork is done, we go out for an hour and then they do what they want until bedtime, and they’ll always pick screens. Weekends, 2-3 hours in the morning while we’re getting up then again from about 4pm til bedtime. Normally we’d have things to do and places to go on a weekend so it’s def a lockdown thing.

About 70% of it is them playing with their friends so I think it’s ok. But there’s a good chunk of shouty YouTubers as well.

They are 10 and 12.

Loads! It's helping.

Mine is 4 so no homeschool yet. He does 4 sessions of preschool a week.

I am really careful about screen time because if I let it creep up his behaviour and ability to play independently both crash. He gets about 45 mins of cbeebies after lunch while the baby is asleep and 30 mins after tea. No iPad and youtube does not exist in our house.

I'm dreading when he is older and battles over screen time kick in.

Loads. There isn’t anything else to do.
They’re both at school still 5 days a week thank goodness, and at the weekend we go out for a long walk. But really, as a family we like bowling, going out to eat, cinema.... basically everything that is closed. We’re not a big outdoorsy family at the best of times and it just feels like we’ve been on a billion walks.

I don’t want to make myself feel worse about all this by beating myself up over what they’re doing or not doing when we’re at home so I’ve made a conscious decision to just let it go for now. They’re not allowed on their iPads during the week but after school they spend hours on the switch - luckily the favourite game is just dance so counts as exercise!! Then at the weekends probably 2-3 hours in their iPads, more switch time, some tv.....

It’ll change again when the weather is nicer, more time in the garden, walks won’t feel like such a chore, and hopefully more things will start opening up again. I’ll worry about cutting their time back down when we’ve got a few more options!

Loads. As much as they want. They’re 12 and 14.

My 5 year olds are on for hours each day, they go out side and play with toys but when I'm working they are best kept on the ipad as that's when they are quiet! I do feel guilty but I dont know what else to do to be honest?

Loads of TV, they getup are 6 everyday and watch milkshake til breakfast. Then maybe an hour or two after lunch while I work, often watching bitesize and educational stuff, then another hour while I cook dinner Computer they only have for schoolwork. Kindle fire they only have maybe once a week Capped at 45mins then it locks to stories only, they don’t ask for it more so that’s fine for me.