Tablets, x box blah blah, rules??

[esiotrot2015]

So ds has been taking his tablet up to read on for the last few months, he's yr 7, age 11

today dh went in and noticed he's on a game

now he is a good reader but do we still make him read before bed?

do we let him go on these electronic things before bed

they're all taken away at actual bed time but it's all kicked off

do your preteens read in bed?

If they don't when do they read?

Mine all did, but they read books.
dd (now 17) has a kindle type thing, but all through his teens, ds read actual paper books and we went through several spells of taking all electronic things off him as he wa so poor at self regulating.

My 10 yr old still reads before bed but only actual books.
He's not allowed any gadgets at bedtime as I know he'd end up on a game. The temptation is too great.
I don't allow gaming at all during the week anyway.

My dd is year 6 and had sleep issues for a while (trouble dropping off). We were referred to a pediatric sleep specialist (not in the uk!) who said she should have no screens (iPad, tv, kindle etc) for an hour before bedtime. She reads paper books now. Apparently the blue light from screens can disrupt sleep patterns, even if you can drop off no problem it can reduce the quality of sleep, make it difficult to wake up etc. We don't have screens upstairs in our house (ever) and are all sleeping better.....

I would say don't make read, but no electronics things after he's gone up either. He can read / listen to music / drawing / lego whatever. But the wind down from screens continues to be important.

(Also means you set a precedent to ensure no phones / internet in bedroom at night either. Start as you will need to go on).

DD is dyslexic and advice was no screens before bed as inhibits melatonin production so they are not getting the right messages to sleep.

My children have tablets but also an old style kindle which doesn't have games on it that they use for reading. I think the temptation would be too great otherwise!

Whats wrong with paper books?

DS is 8 and is allowed an hour on tablet after school. He reads paper books in bed. If it's weekend then we sometimes as a treat let him take it upstairs to bed but with a cut off time. He knows if it goes past that, it doesn't happen again.