Screen time for 7 year old..what do you do?

[ClaireP20]

Hi All, I'm struggling a bit as my 7 year old boy loves all things minecraft related...but he is either playing it, watching youtube videos of people playing it, or asking to play or watch it......and I'm just wondering what other parents do to lessen screen time. It's more the sitting and staring at people playing these games that drives me mad - he could watch them for hours if I let him. I have 2 other children including a baby so I sometimes feel that I let him watch things because the others are keeping me busy.

He is a lovely boy, but lockdown has meant his afterschool clubs are all cancelled so he gets bored indoors, although we do read and play with him everynight and go out every weekend etc.

Can any other parents please let me know what they do with regards to screentime, I'd appreciate any tips? X

I feel similar. DS is nearly 5 and his screen time over lockdown went from 1.5 hours per day to probably 3-4 hours per day. It's better now he's back at school but still hard at the weekend.

So we're hardly a model to follow! But we do have a points system so he gets an hour at lunchtime for free and otherwise has to spend points on it. Which he earns by helping with chores, being polite, etc. it at least creates a natural way to get him off the screen when he runs out of points.

I think it's easier to start as you wish to go on tbh. Our kids don't have tablets. Rarely play video games. Tv time is limited - no tv first thing in the morning weekends - play first. Tv not on in the background all day - goes on, goes off. BUT they are just used to it. We do watch tv - 20min in the am weekdays during breakfast, Friday movie night, increased on weekends. They just know though that we expect them to play with toys, art supplies, outside and that if they are getting "obsessed" and forgetting how to play that we will dial it back.

We have set screen time days for our six year old (almost 7 year old)1@. No TV on 4 days a week, which works out as two days after school (homework first though) and one day at the weekend. She does watch a fair bit over the weekend as she is allowed to watch it from when she wakes on her TV day and we usually have a film night too. It does go on and off during that day, more is watched when we are spending a TV day at home. Having days where the TV is not on at all really encourages her to play instead and she really looks forward to TV days!

I'm hoping to continue similar when she gets into other screens like tablet or games. It got to be a problem after I was pregnant with ds as she watched a lot when I wasn't feeling well and no matter how many hours she watched she'd have get upset when it was turned off.