kids and technology

[light92]

How long is acceptable to let kids have technology (tv,laptop,Xbox) per day?

Acceptable to who? You? The WHO? Health visitor? Other parents? Teachers?
They're your kids. You know them best. If they behave well and meet their responsibilities, have a social life, family time and plenty fresh air and exercise, sleep well and are watching stuff you deem appropriate... then I wouldn't see a problem!
Watch their faces when the telly is on. Do their mouths hang open like they are trying to catch a fly? Are they uninterested in anything other than tv? Are they watching utter nonsense or things that will make them think, learn, be inspired?
You could turn it around, help them start a youtube channel or program their own game. Hope that helps x

I read somewhere two hours should be the limit. Sometimes mine have more sometimes less. Depends on age too, the younger they are, the less they should have.

It's entirely up to you. So many variables, like their age and what they are doing on them.

For young children, it’s probably not healthy to have too much technology. They should be doing other things.

I also think there’s a huge difference between a couple of hours watching some quality tv and a couple of hours playing games on the Xbox.

I may get hate for this... but:
Computer games can actually have huge benefits, helping with motor skills, reflex speeds and problem solving. Tv can be hugely educational. Documentaries etc
In my home we don't have a freeview box, my kids aren't allowed cbeebies or anything that has adverts in it. If they get bought peppa pig or thomas tank engine merchandise it goes to charity!
A lot of people would balk at my 20 month old watching lots of baby einstein since 3 months of age and now lots of sesame street. 10 year old watches lots of youtube and plays xbox and wii u, and is allowed to play assassins creed, call of duty, fallout 4, all are 18+! He also loves zelda and mario kart which we all play together. He's a gentle and sensible 10 year old who's often shown great caring and responsibility towards younguns. He's doing great at school, eats an increasing variety of foods and a healthy size! We all watch movies on bluray together.

However
We eat meals together at the table. Homework must be done first. All go for walks outside 2x every day as we don't have a garden. Any sign of mental vegitation or compromised curiosity and screen time gets reduced. I don't do this by saying "no more screen time for you", I do it by saying "wow, it's raining! lets all go for a walk!" Or "hey x, fancy making a cake/plaster model/animation /greetings card?"

Why do you ask us op? I'm sure you can easily google reccomendations from health organisations online. The world health organisation reccomends no tv till age 2. No way my kids are waiting until 2 to watch sesame street when it's been proven to be so beneficial to preschoolers!

I have very happy memories of watching Elmo's World with DS aged about 12 months. He loved it.

Also had the Baby Einsten videos (I am old). I liked them.

I agree computer games have benefits and some of the creative ones like minecraft are excellent for development. It’s also good to let them relax a bit with TV. However I think letting children play age inappropriate games is unnecessary and damaging. There are plenty that are suitable for each age group and some of the 18+ ones have some very dark content which I would not want my children exposed to.

Absolutely! I can't stop him forever though, he will be playing it at friends anyway. This way I can play cod etc with him and see how it's affecting him first hand. And I've seen nothing to make me feel it's in any way detrimental to him! I'm not reccomending it though as I don't think that would be the case for most kids. Far better to err on the side of caution!
Fallout 4 can be very violent but also creative and he spends most of the time creating characters and settlements and not fighting. It's doing wonders for his reading as there's a lot of dialogue.
COD isnt a game i'd choose to play but before he started playing it he had poor sportsmanship and was a sore loser. Now he can handle losing a round without feeling the need to sulk and cheat. It's actually doing his character a lot of good and it's another way I can connect with him on his level. He really respects me more after seeing how I can take out multiple targets in seconds