Well off children & children who attend private school spend alot less time on screens?

[Ewetoo]

www.screenfreeparenting.com/rich-get-smart-poor-get-technology-new-digital-divide-school-choice/

Interesting article & I agree.. Well off parents can spend more time & money on enriching educational after school activities & sports. It's a no brainer... My wealthier friends are all off hiking, camping or biking with the kids who do a host of extracurriculars during the week & also happen to read loads.. My normal circles kids like my own love roblox & Minecraft & don't have the same after school activities & weekends spent chilling...

It's funny as it seems the wealthy & the kids attending private school do the cheaper outdoors activities.. Also spend much less time on screens even though they could afford them easily. Obviously they have them but not used as much as kids in lower socio economic groups....

Around here yup . Wealthier kids do sailing and horseriding which are time consuming activities.

If both parents in work more likely to do weeks of PGL etc. In the summer.

Money does take away some stress and bring convenience. .freeing up time and energy for parents to do sporty activities with kids at the weekend. May even still play rugby/etc from school or have time for the gym themselves.

More leisure time and more money quote frankly and money to buy a healthier lifestyle - better food, more space, less mental clutter.

My two are at private school and we are very strict with screen time. They get 1 hour a day on Friday/Sat/Sunday.

I think kids need to learn how to be bored. My two moan about being bored and I respond telling them to play with the toys they have. They need to learn how to amuse themselves and keep themselves occupied..

Oh and often big gardens - they can chuck kids in the garden to play when they can actually run in a garden rather than a small square . I've got friends with swing sets or goal posts or just space and trees to climb. Makes so much difference when outdoors is easy.

Ds is 11 at private school and he doesn’t go on gadgets during the week because he has really long school days, but it’s a free for all at weekends and most of his class seem to be on there too from the looks of it. They are all much more spaced out, so can’t just knock on each other’s doors to play. It’s their social life. He does a million clubs and sports though (something every day) it’s just packed into the week.

There is definitely a link. The private school parents I know also extremely rigid about screen time, zero roblox or Minecraft... Movie at the weekend.. No TV during the week.

You don't get kids who "happen to read loads". There will be a reading culture within the family and there is likely to be a strong parental example to follow. All of my kids have read loads but it took a great deal of effort on my part. I read all the time as a kid, but it's much harder to instill a love of reading now that books have to compete with the internet.

Ah yes also the overprogramming with clubs every day! No time to be home resting...

I work in a private school (and DC are schooled there). We are screen free in school and they get 30 mins each, 3 times a week. That can be for games or tv.
We read a lot.
Films are kept for special occasions as we all find them a bit long (and it will often end with all of us falling asleep before the end).

Or gaming!

We don't do afterschool clubs, except swimming

I think it's an education thing to be honest nothing to do with money. The psrk is free but If you haven't educated yourself about the dangers of screens for children, the screen is easier.

My kids are at state school, we are really strict about screens even with the older teens. They go to the park and play football, read books, cook, play games, draw. the 14 and 16 year old and have jobs. Doesn't cost anything other than the mither especially when they are younger. It's easy/lazy to default to screens. Everything is easier if you are rich but don't use it as an excuse.

Loads of DS homework is online/app based so that doesn’t help

Should add they do go on screens, just much less than their peers

I'm a single mum with a ds at independent school on a scholarship. I work full time and have no support..

My ds plays his fair share of Minecraft etc, but I find time at the weekend to hike & cycle with him, we run parkrun together - because they are free. He does have a council swimming lesson on a Saturday but that's all.

We go biking. It's a bit of a thing for us. Ds does football and dd enjoys running. Youngest one gets dragged along but keeps up. I'm not sure it's money which makes the difference. We're by no means wealthy. My friends around me are also at many of the activities we are part of.

I actually enjoy the times my kids plug themselves in! It's literally the one time I think they have a bit of down time. That includes me and dh. Again youngest dd doesn't so much but she's happy to watch a bit of Bluey. I think there needs to be a balance.

Rubbish.

My eldest DD used to do gymnastics in a poor London borough. Tonnes of kids doing the same, night after night.

Skateboarding - nothing more than a board required.

Local Football: kick a ball around the park, join a local team.

There are tonnes of activities that don't require much money. It's the encouragement that's needs, not wealth or class.

💯 this.

Mine is in private school, I work full time. He lives on his screens. It is how he chats to his friends because they aren't within walking distance.
I am juggling many balls at the moment, screen time is the least of my concerns

I have a child at a private school. He is 6 and has a lot of after school activities. He also has some screen time daily, mostly reading eggs and math seeds, but he sometimes watches 15/20 mins of whatever he fancies if there is time before his bath. He reads daily before bed and I often read to him.

My DS has moved from state primary to private secondary and there is a difference.

Parents are generally a lot more wary of technology and giving it to their children. The school also provides a lot of advice, talks etc on online safety. There were a good few who didn't have phones when they started in Y7 for example. This suited us as our DS got his phone late in Y6 and doesn't have any consoles.

Towards the end of primary he had very few friends to play out with as they were all indoors gaming, and there is still a divide between the online gamers and the non gamers.

My DS does play on his PC occasionally, but as a PP mentioned, we have a big garden, and the kids who agree to play out with DS -football, cycling, are those whose parents aren't keen on too much screen time.

Also, the earliest DS gets in is 5:15pm. With regards to extra activities, he does football and cubs. Everything else is provided by school.

They don't have tvs in their rooms.

He is glued to his phone sometimes and we have to actively spend time with both children to play board games, watch movies, cook. But we are lucky to have the time and know how to do this. It's not easy but worth the effort in my view.

We also include the kids in chores. Contributing to the household is a non negotiable.

Then there's not much time to play computer games.

I was state educated all the way through (relatively poor background, not penury, not affluent either).

I watched so much tv and practically fell on my computer and consoled when they landed aged around 11-14. Hasn't impinged on my curiosity and love of practical, creative things.

Any orthodoxy/ system of strict rules and restrictions is suspect, I reckon. Bit of screen time is fine. Too much of anything (and that includes hiding in books) is less than ideal. I think the important thing is social connections, however you come about them.lots.of.kids socialise via screens, phones and consoles these days. Am ok with that, as I don't think it's hugely different from spending hours on the phone, which I also did when younger.

It’s another example of the socially influenced determinents of health- where children from poorer backgrounds have lower life expectancy overall and poorer health outcomes due to a HUGE and interactive number of influences and factors. Many out with their or their parents control…

And these poorer areas often don’t have good travel links so the “local skatepark” is inaccessible or council run gyms with reduced price activities are similarly hard to get to without transport. Habits are formed in childhood and a child of a poor single parent with no spare money, low education and no transport is less likely to be signing their child up for swimming lessons or football. But they can give them an old phone or tablet…