Do you think this screen time schedule is okay for a 7 year old?

[foreveryoungjustkidding]

Me and my ex are trying to come up with a screen time (phone) schedule for daughter. We have been fairly relaxed about screen time but now realise she's spending far too much time on her phone and would sit on it all day if we would let her.

We have come up with this schedule -

Monday - 6 - 6.45

Tuesday - 5.15 - 6 (due to after school activities)

Wednesday - 6 - 6.45

Thursday - 6 - 6.45

Friday - bit more relaxed/depends what plans are etc

Saturday - 2 - 2.30 (can be flexible depending on what she’s doing but 30 minutes in afternoon) and 1.5 hours at night

Sunday - 2 - 2.30 (can be flexible depending on what she’s doing but 30 minutes in afternoon) and 6 - 6.45.

Does this seem too strict? Too relaxed? Too much screen time still?

Thanks.

DC are 6 and 8 and have kindle fires and they're set up for 45 minutes on a weekday and 2 hours on a weekend. Plus they don't work after 6.30pm on a weekday or after 8pm on a weekend.

Neither child uses them for the maximum time, they usually use it one day then forget about it for 2 or 3 days. But because I've set the limits I'm happy with I don't give it another thought and it's not me saying time's up, it just shuts itself down.

They do watch YouTube on tv as well, but I always think the tv isn't as bad as the teeny tiny tablet 6 inches from their face!

@sunshineandshowers40 she is year 3, 8 in October! I know I'm quite shocked by responses to be honest.

You literally said "her phone" in your OP.
A tablet with proper controls and age appropriate games is different to a a 7 year old having their own phone or having use of an adults phone (which one is it...?) so that point is just irrelevant.
My kids get zero time on my phone. They use tablets with timers on to play age appropriate games. So to answer your op yes I think yabu, the schedule isn't the problem though. The device is.

I would probably get rid altogether and have screen time as a family activity e.g. watch something together. Or only allow an hour a day at the weekend. Definitely not every day. I think it will be easier to go cold turkey completely or limit to particular days, so that she will learn to entertain herself doing something else, rather than have an argument every day about when it's time to come off it. Not that I think what you suggest is excessive, I just think it will be quite difficult to enforce

@TheGumption it's my phone but she uses it much of the time. That wasn't the question I asked though, I asked about the schedule, not your opinion on my daughter using a phone.

Its the solo nature of a ph, and the very small screen. As opposed to watching TV which anyone can see who walks into the room.

I also would allow tv in children bedroom for the same reason.

[quote foreveryoungjustkidding]@TheGumption it's my phone but she uses it much of the time. That wasn't the question I asked though, I asked about the schedule, not your opinion on my daughter using a phone. [/quote]
🤷‍♀️ just as well you don't get to decide who can share their opinions on here then isn't it. You obviously feel you're making a dodgy parenting choice or you wouldn't question it on here and there get shirty when people are honest with you.

Damn typing NOT allow tv in bedroom.

And if its your phone, then the chance of her accidentally stumbling onto something she shouldn't e.g mumsnet.com is really high

@raspberryjamlove I know, we're obviously terrible parents!

Well you did ask for opinions on aibu! Obviously everyone was not going to agree with you

Depends, if TV time is in addition to that then it sounds a bit much overall screen time? Most days my 6yo probably watches 2hrs TV a day, no tablet time or phone. I feel a bit funny about young kids being on a phone or tablet playing games every day for quite a long period. But I'm not sure why. I would rather my kids watched less TV really and cared about their TV time slot less!

'A dodgy parenting choice' 😂 No I don't think I'm making a 'dodgy parenting choice' by allowing my daughter to watch a phone, unfortunately it's just the norm these days, it's the time she's growing up in. What I did worry was a 'dodgy parenting choice' was that I was giving her too much time on her phone hence why I asked advice on here. You are going off on a tangent and it is not something that I asked or care to consider. Thank you for your input though.

Personally wouldn't allow more than the odd video once or twice a week on a screen the size of a phone at that age.

Did...did everyone else sleep through the last year where tablets/phones were pretty much essential for all children for lessons? My four year old needed to do lessons on a tablet, never mind my seven year old, and we needed to be able to run lessons on them both separately...

@foreveryoungjustkidding it isn't the norm though. I have an 8yo and a 7yo.

I don't know a single one of their peer group that would be allowed on a parents phone for more than 10 mins on a Saturday in an emergency.

Tablets and consoles a little bit. Tv quite a lot. But these would al have parental restrictions on.

Our school is bombarding us with healthy internet usage (ie none without supervision and v little at that age) and getting kids playing out not on a screen.

We bought DSS a Kids Fire tablet for Christmas, so only kid appropriate content, no browsing, locks out after the parental set time limit, closes down for bedtime at a certain time. And we were like the last hold outs for tablet among his peers and our friends with kids.

We have it set for 45min a day on the weekdays and 1hr a day on the weekends. He mostly just uses it to watch YouTube Kids drawing lessons.

Seriously, I feel like I’m living in a completely different dimension when I come on to mumsnet

Anyway op, my 8 year old has 90 mins (shock ) Monday , Thursday, Friday and two hours Saturday and Sunday .
She has activities on Tuesday and Wednesday so is happy enough without it.
Before our lives got turned upside down with Covid , she had the iPad occasionally at the weekend. Obviously things changed so she has it more now.
When things get back to normal am hoping for more screen free time but we will see.

Also I don’t do set times like you are planning, though it’s generally 4-5.30 during the week and 5pm-7pm the weekends ( she actually had nine today )

She uses all her iPad time FaceTiming her friends and they play roblox together

*NONE not nine before the mumsnet police pounce on me for 9 hours of iPad time

@foreveryoungjustkidding

'A dodgy parenting choice' 😂 No I don't think I'm making a 'dodgy parenting choice' by allowing my daughter to watch a phone, unfortunately it's just the norm these days, it's the time she's growing up in. What I did worry was a 'dodgy parenting choice' was that I was giving her too much time on her phone hence why I asked advice on here. You are going off on a tangent and it is not something that I asked or care to consider. Thank you for your input though.

Except its not the time she's growing f

*not the time she's growing up in. Otherwise it would be the same for everyone. You're not just an unwilling participant in this onslaught of tech. You still have to actively parent them and put appropriate limits in place. Other people manage to.

Doesn't seem like much time at all.

My kids do a lot of activities out of school but on days when we're mostly home they love to chill on their screens with their mates or alone. And they're all lovely well rounded, polite kids.

@VestaTilley

7 year olds do not need phones. Take it away (as well as tablets) and she can have it back at 11/12, with limits and parental controls.

Your DD deserves a childhood. And she certainly should not have any phone time in an evening as it massively affects sleep and concentration.

Oh give over.... we are living in a digital world now and it will only become increasingly so as time goes on.

Hate these threads that are full of 'the perfect parents' it's the same with the food threads and the competitive under eating. 🙄

@VestaTilley

7 year olds do not need phones. Take it away (as well as tablets) and she can have it back at 11/12, with limits and parental controls.

Your DD deserves a childhood. And she certainly should not have any phone time in an evening as it massively affects sleep and concentration.

Have you got kids??

@swg1

Did...did everyone else sleep through the last year where tablets/phones were pretty much essential for all children for lessons? My four year old needed to do lessons on a tablet, never mind my seven year old, and we needed to be able to run lessons on them both separately...

At my kids school they just had billions of twinkle worksheets, nothing online!

I don't know what is right or wrong but ours (aged 7) get their tablet Friday Sat and Sunday for about 1.5 hours

That's it. However they watch a little bit of YouTube (kids tube) on the smart tv before we get up in the morning (about half an hour more at the weekend)