Is it normal for a 14 year old to want so much screen time?

[sleepitoff]

He gets a couple of hours in week to game. then he might help with dinner, eat with us, but then wants to pretty much watch TV with us/alone until he goes up to read (under duress) about 9.45. He does sports a few times a week after school.

weekends, he’s up early - watches TV. Some You tube shit. He does sports both days and I will push him to meet friends or go to park, which if the others are willing, happens. Otherwise he wants to hop back on a screen.

Ive tried so hard to present other stuff - and I do organise things for us as a family. And I get him off screen, but it’s a constant battle.

i find it fucking depressing to be honest.

is it normal? Is it a phase?

Annoying but normal. Our kids have 2 hrs on phones max a day then it’s blocked.
they both have sport, homework, friends but on a weekend we just kick teens off the tv, and they can either do something with us or go out etc.
We only have one tv, so that helps!

So you watch a screen then? What's the difference between watching telly and watching YouTube.

You sound a bit anal tbh.

Nice

Perfectly normal.

We’ve put all the cool and interesting things in the whole world within grasp of anyone with a handheld device. We’ve also filled it with games, puzzles, comedy, music, cat videos and any niche interest you can come up with.

What kid wouldn’t want to play in that world?

Very true

He probably finds it the easiest way to entertain himself by watching something. I know I spend my downtime watching tv or looking at my phone.

Completely normal from experience. If they weren't out they would be on the computer but remember homework was pretty much all online too

Totally normal. In fact it would be a fairly unusual 14yo who didn't want that much screen time tbh.

Yes it’s normal. It might not be ideal but it’s what most of them want to do if they can get anyway with it.

My 14yo DS is the same. He emerges from his room for food, sport and (begrudgingly) school. He might occasionally decamp to the sofa for a Young Sheldon marathon, but only if there's no danger of his sister appearing to exist in the same space.

It sounds fairly normal to me. One of DP's younger family members is a few years younger than him and all their spare time is spent on screens. Every evening after school is spent on a console with just a break for dinner, then to bed with tablet. Weekends are console/TV and tablet in bed. Parents joke about it, but this child literally does nothing but school and screentime. It's far too much and very sad that it isn't curbed at that level in such a young child, but it doesn't sound like your DS has an unhealthy/abnormal amount of screentime, and he does other activities in between.

I’m 50 and at that age my male pals would happily have sat on their Zx spectrums and gone down the arcade to play Street Fighter all day!
And if we had all had access to 24 hr kids tv we would have watched that too.

Turn it off. It’s what we do. My mum used to turn of the tv in a Saturday morning and tell us to go play or do chores!

We also have no screens in the kids bedrooms… the Xbox is in the main living area. Not always convenient for us but deffo limits how much time is spent on tv or gaming. Laptop is used only for homework and also resides downstairs. We have no IPads.
we do have 2 kids who I think have a half decent balance of screens versus sport versus friends versus being outside. They have no Social Media either. Stand firm.

God he sounds far better than usual teens! He plays sport both weekend days and through the week, school and homework so of course the rest he wants to chill.
You need to chill out and stop battling.

No, I was cleaning and alerts pinged.

I'm also an adult who understands the impact of too much screen, versus a young teen whose brain and emotional tapestry is still shaping.

Whoops, thanks

@HazelTiger Absolutely.

is he online gaming? If so I recommend you watch the Netflix documentary “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” - there is a social aspect to some screen time that lots of people underestimate.

I don't have a teen yet and am already struggling with tween screen time so it's definitely normal I think.

But I would look into this about homework. Is he really doing it all? Everyone I know with teens thinks the homework burden is insane and says it's around two hours a day.