Should Our Children Have Technology In Their Bedrooms?

[jobbingteacher]

As a teacher I have talked to my pupils numerous times in class about their technology use at home. This is usually when I notice that they seem tired and lethargic. Often the reason for their lethargy seems to be that they were up late either texting friends, chatting in chat rooms or playing computer games. My own children do not have technology in their bedrooms although I do. Am I setting myself up for a conflict here?

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I don't think so but I'm aware I'm quite old school about this. We don't have any in our bedroom, and I'm not planning to let DD (though she's only 4 now). Both of us are very anti-TVs in bedrooms and even in shared houses have never done this.

I've read or perhaps heard on Radio 4, a couple of things very recently about being around dim lighting only when planning to go to sleep, so no screens and side lighting only for the 30 minutes or so before going to bed - for anyone, not just children. Makes sense to me.

My DS was really tired this week, wouldn't get up in the morning, was ratty and grumpy. He'd been reading till late. Technology in the bedroom isn't the only reason children stay up late.

Mine have TV, iPad and laptops in their room. They do not stay up late using them, and are always up early in the morning.
Perhaps the issue is less about technology and more about effective parenting.

I don't think they should. Not only whether or not they're suitable, many of these things are only new and our kids are being treated like guinea pigs. Nobody knows what the long term effects might be! I keep the phone as far away as possible at night and hate even having the monitor there. I sleep better when they're not there at all.

We have all chargers downstairs in a cupboard (I had a lovely time drilling holes in the back for the different leads!).

By 8pm, phones, laptops + tablets have to be plugged in down there.

FirCones I applaud your children's self control! Our problem was friends texting or whatsapping after 9pm and expecting answers when our children were dozing off or absorbed in a book.

My DCs are 10 and 12.

dd has an ipod in her room but it is on a docking station and she listens to music on it while she goes to sleep. DD/Ds dont have any other technology in their rooms

Depends on all sorts of factors:

age of child

type of technology

size of room

I don't think my db came to any harm through having the computers he was building cluttering up his (fairly large) bedroom as a teen. Or that listening to music does ds much harm. But obviously, staying up all night playing computer games is not going to do much either for your health or your learning. And flickering lights just before bedtime probably do interfere with your ability to relax.

(having said that, I often stayed up for impossibly long hours reading book as a teen- maybe the book case should have been locked up downstairs)

Me and DH both had tellies in our bedrooms as children (he also had gaming stuff) and I loved it. However, we took the decision when we set up home (before the kids arrived) that we would just have one telly in the house and that bedrooms would be for reading/sleeping and maybe music and that's it. We didn't want a disparate home where someone is in a different room plugged into a different technology - we wanted to force them to compromise on things (what to watch) and to spend time with us .

However, my boys are still young (4yrs and 8 months) and they don't have any tellies in their room, and neither do we.

I'm sure there will be many battles about this to come (and we may start wishing they had a telly in their room!) but I feel we have a stronger position not having a telly/techno equipment in our own room, if we did I think we'd get 'but you have one in your room' thrown back at us :-)

Mind you, one of the things that gave me the latest nights when I was younger wasn't the telly, it was listening to the radio (late night phone-ins - I was hooked :-)

my DC are still pre-school but there will be no technology in rooms. no tv, no computer, no tablets, no phone. they will all be left downstairs (locked away if necessary).

kids need sleep not texting whoever into the small hours. laptops may be taken upstairs for homework purposes but returned downstairs afterwards.

My teens don't have and have never had any technology in their bedrooms. I am quite opposed to the idea of it, in our house anyway.

After saying that, we don't really restrict screen time, so it maybe that I just don't went them having the ability to access 'screens' 24/7.

Dd 3.5 will be having 0 technology on her room in the foreseeable.
I am quite shocked when I hear of preschoolers having tv's in their rooms.

I read to midnight, DD1 reads till midnight. If DD2 totally forgets the time it's reading a book or fan fiction on her lap top.

Generally both are much better if playing games or watching Utube.

Wanting to finish the story is always the real distraction from sleep.

Ds1 (18) has a tv/dvd, lap top, x-box and I-phone. Ds2 (16) has tv/dvd, x-box, PS4, lap top and is saving to build his own desk top. (I hope he will give me his lap top). They have saved up for most of these themselves. Ds3 (7) has a tv/dvd. He has a HUDL but is not allowed it in his room at the moment. They also have DS's and PSP's. We have had to be quite firm re. screen time with ds1 the other two manage their own time and we have no problem with them staying up too late.

All technology remains downstairs, bedrooms are for sleeping, playing and reading. Altho my son is still only 6 at the moment so my view could change at some point, time will tell.

I think the couple of articles I read/heard recently were about the specific effect of backlit devices on our brains when we are tired and should be preparing to sleep - so reading in bed from a book, in a dimly lit room, would not have the same effect of overstimulation - same with listening to quiet music. It's the light and movement that are the problem - they make it much harder to sleep. I think the advice was that all devices like this should be put away, and lighting dimmed, at least half an hour before sleep, in order to prepare the brain for a proper, restful, top-quality night's sleep.

No. But, neither should adults. It is not conducive to good sleep.

jobbingteacher - as a parent I fully support what you say. My children's school has specifically asked parents to ban all electronic gadgets in bedrooms. It is a firm rule in our house anyway.

The potential for distraction from work, bullying, exhaustion and unwise internet activity is just too high. All gadgets downstairs where I can see what they are doing is the rule.