I am not anti-technology, I love the internet and I think used in the right way and as a tool screens are great. I do think that too much of a good thing is pretty much always not good.
The baby is a baby so obviously he has no screen time yet, but here is how we deal with our older son.
I think the number 1 way to reduce your child's screen time is to have less screens. The other thing is obvious too- monkey see monkey do. If you are always on a screen, your kid will want to be too.
I try to limit my screen time in front of my kids.
I see a lot of people on their smart phones all the time, and consequently that is what their kids want to do too.
Mike and I do not have smart phones so this is a non-issue for us.
My 7 year old has not once asked for a cell phone (yet).
In our house we have a desktop computer in the living room, a kindle, an ipad, a laptop, and a tv with a Wii hooked up to it (no channels).
The kindle is solely mine for reading, and the laptop is my husband's for work. The desktop is in a communal area with a password, so my son needs to ask us to log him on, same for the ipad. That is big, because he can't access them without us He is allowed a maximum of 2 hours on any of the screens per day, and he has to earn this through good behavior. We use a stick system much like this one: how to negotiate screen time.
My husband and I made the decision that we will not permit any hand held devices, and the ipad does not leave the house. That means when we go to a store, restaurant, etc.- my son does not watch anything or play with anything electronic. He is expected to sit at a table and eat with us. In the car we do audio books or we listen to music, i.e. no screens.
Does this always make us popular with our kid? No! But at the end of the day, if you want to limit screen time, you have to learn to say "no" and deal with being the "meanest" mom. :)
I feel for you. When my boys were young the internet was just becoming available. We had one desktop computer we purchased used when the boys were 10 and 13 that had Windows 3.1 on it. Cell phones weren't common and only those with a job that required it, or in the case of a relative of mine who felt important with one. I didn't allow much of the popular TV programming to be viewed and didn't have cable. Today you have so much more you will have to decide how to handle than I ever did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, technology doesn't have to travel with you and children do need to learn to occupy themselves and learn to wait without being entertained with a gadget.
Yes! We didn't have computer/internet/cell phones until I was older. People just didn't have them. My parents were always strict with screen time for me anyway, most if it was spent watching Mary Poppins and Sleeping Beauty.
DeleteI think it is good for kids to be bored! I always created my own worlds and day dreamed when we were out and about, as I was usually the only kid.