Electronics use

So..how are you all dealing with use of iPads and other addicting electronics with your young ones? Only on weekends? Weekdays okay if homework is completed etc.? I am curious because it annoys me to see them using it often but at the same time my son is doing well in school. I encourage him to engage in other activities like sports and reading which he does but I feel as if its just not good for him because he doesn't socialize with us as much and when he take it away he becomes angry which is not okay. But to be honest it does help to have him kept busy when we need to do things like cook, clean etc.. I am trying to find the right balance. And the stuff he watches is usually old sports videos but the younger one watches silly youtube videos of kids playing with toys or other nonsense. I remember as a kid playing video games but now the amount of access to electronics is so different.

Electronics use

just following along, because i have the same question/ issue. My boys are 6 and 9, and spend a lot of time on their iPads :-/ its so hard to limit it, like you said because it keeps them busy! in my case, i'm a SAHM so they are at home a lot... they're home for about 5 hours after school (except one or 2 days they might have swimming lessons or boy scouts) and then they are home all the time on weekends, too. We don't have any family that lives nearby that comes over to kind of help break up the days on the weekends, or their days off from school (When i was little, we were always plying with my cousins when we didn't have school!!) and they don't really have any close friends that invite them to do anything or for playdates or whatever. And again, after school most of the other kids are at after care or with babysitters so they can't come over. OR even if i did invite them over, my boys just go NUTS playing- because they're so bored of their own toys and the stuff we have here.... but yet nobody invites us to their houses either. So its just HARD to keep them busy and out of my way so we can get things done since they're always around.... i'm thinking about starting a no iPads during the weekdays rule... but again, they just get on each others nerves and start fighting if they're doing something other than iPad games :-/ They're both doing well in school, so thats good... but still I know its not good...

Re: Electronics use

As long as DD has her homework done, her reading, and practices her instrument for the required amount each day I don't limit her.
The rule is finish your homework and other requirements then you can do what you want.

It's either that or watching TV in the winter. So it's pretty much the same as staring at the TV.

She does play independently with toys and things as well and does creative art work and crafts.

She has gymnastics class every week and if the weather is nice she's outside int he pool, riding her bike ,her scooter, we take her to the park.

The winter is tough and the last thing I want to hear after a long day at work or on the weekends is how bored she is.

I'm lax with stuff like that- because who am I to talk? I spend the whole night on my phone after dinner and everything is done.

Re: Electronics use

Weekdays they are limited to an hour for electronics and that is after all homework is done. They go to bed at 8 so if they are finished by 5/6 they play until 7, then watch tv / play on tablet until 8.

On the nights they have activities that usually gets cut back to 30 min or not at all depending on the time we get home.

Weekends they have no limit.

Electronics use

Thank you both for replying. Another thing I am finding is that since the iPad is such a coveted thing for them, when they misbehave we threaten to take it away once attempts at correcting whatever bad behavior is going on at the moment. I have to figure out how to also balance this because if they are doing well in school and all other stuff I don’t want to necessarily take away the one thing they really love.

Re: Electronics use

We pack in the activities during the weekdays so there isn’t much time at all for anything after you plug in homework, chores, dinner, and reading/ supplemental work. When I’m working with one, the others play in the playroom so as not to distract everyone. This lets them use their head a bit in a different way and relax.

They get pretty much unlimited access on weekends and when the sitter is here when I’m working late (I’m reasonable) but I try to make sure they are doing something so that it’s not a 12 hour YouTube fest!

We did have to unplug and remove a game console because our oldest was waking up early to play... the addition is REAL. I didn’t mind til he got cranky in school from lack of sleep (something he recognized too).

Re: Electronics use

It's even more fun in high school....
DS is in 11th. For a couple of years now, he HAS to get his assignments and submit assignments on-line. Not all of his classes, but some of them. It makes it much harder to have absolutes about electronics when they need it to do their homework.

"No computer until you finish your homework."
"But Dad, I can't finish my homework until I go on the computer!"

D'oh!

Luckily, DS is doing very well in school, and he is pretty good at regulating his use, but it's going to be harder with DD when she goes to HS next year...

Re: Electronics use

DS is 9. I don't really monitor his use but that's because he hardly has any time to use it.

M-F he's in afterschool until 5:15. Monday he gets home,w e eat dinner, and are off to scouts. by the time we get back it's bedtime.
t, w he's not home until 7:30 because of activities so it's dinner and bed
T he needs to finish his weekly lexia (which is on his ipad) and then dinner and bed

Friday, we will watch a show together and then bed
Saturday, he uses his ipad in the morning before karate, then it's errands or grandparents' visits so he gets maybe an hour in.
sunday is when he play video games with my brother at grandma's house.
not counting sunday, i think he uses is ipad maybe 4-5 hours a week.

If i see him getting angry or watching too much, i suggest family reading time or fmailg board game time or if it's not raining i make DH take him to the park.

i try to make it a reward or secondary to tasks that need to be accomplished. between all he does he really doens't have too much time

Re: Electronics use

We did not buy them for our kids or give our kids our old ones when they were small. In fifth grade that is when they are gifts, dd is getting one this year.I honestly feel that little kids cannot control their use, so it is better to just not give them. We have a no toys at the table rule since my kids were born and that includes adults. As for limits, all homework needs to be done. You need to still do chores. You need to do well in school and if grades are slipping then it gets taken away. My kids participate in after school clubs, and play with friends. We have video game systems and they can use them on the weekends unrestricted as long as we are home. FWIW, my 2 year old nephew is addicted to the ipad and his parents don't know what to do. My mom gets so upset with them because they let the ipad babysit.

Re: Electronics use

Depends on the age. DS is in HS now and as a PP mentioned, it is very difficult to limit the usage, specially during the winter when, besides needed to do HW, are also how they socialize... even playing video games, he connects and plays with his friends. DS gets home and spends some time with his electronics, and then I have to nag him to do homework, and if he has time he plays some more. I told him if he brought bad grades it was the end of it... he has very good grades so far, so I'm guessing he is managing well, since I don't review the content of his HW now.

But before, when he was in middle school, he liked to rush doing his HW, so I had the rule that until X hour (depending on the days and activities) he was able to use electronics, because I noticed that if I told him electronics until you do homework, he would do it fast and not at his best. If he finished before X hour, he could read or do something else.

DS also plays baseball, so he has some days he has to be active outside, and I have become more flexible because of it.

BTW, if he misbehaves, that's the first thing I threat taking from him.

Electronics use

On weekdays - about 30 minutes in the morning before school and nothing at all in the evenings. Weekends are a free for all, but I usually try to break up the day with activities or fun stuff outside the house.

Electronics use

My kids are 4 and 7 and I do not allow them to use them during week at all

Re: Electronics use

My kids are not allowed to use them at all during the weekdays. It’s bad enough with the TV, so I try to limit the electronics at least somewhat.

Re: Electronics use

Just TV is allowed but limited to a few shows a day, No iPads etc. Mine are young though (under 7).