My answer:
Can I say I don’t have one?! This is something we struggle in since our winters are long and the children don’t get to play outside as much. I’d love to know what works for your family, so we can get some ideas for ours.
We usually put away most of the electronics for the duration of summer. But once winter hits, you will even find me snuggled up on the couch on Friday evenings along with the rest of my family and a giant bowl of popcorn.
But here’s a few things we’ve tried to implement in controlling electronics:
- We find it helpful to give the children specific days they can play their computer or video games. We haven’t started it yet this year, but as of last winter they were allowed to play one hour on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Videos we try to limit to our family nights or when Mom and Dad need an evening of quiet.
- We also encourage our children to read. Many nights they are in bed by 9 pm with instructions to read or do something quiet with lights out at 9:30pm. I’d love to find a good book we could all read out loud in the evenings together – and one we all enjoy, even Dad!
- And I am a game-lover! So this is one that the bigger boys and I will often do in the evenings. In fact, we are planning on beginning our winter-long game of hand and foot soon.
Your answers:
Now I would love to hear how you control the electronics in your home. This is not a question as to what kinds of videos or electronic games should be allowed – we’ll do that another time. I’d just love to have some ideas on how other parents are setting limits and what activities you’ve found enjoyable in place of them – or alongside of them! And if you have a recommendation for a good book, please leave it.
Thank you.
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Kim Stoll says
We have the same rule about 1 hour Mon, Wed., & Fri. =) I love it because its not an issue anymore, or the begging I would hear every day!
Anonymous says
I’ve found with our 2 & 4 year old that if you don’t have many movies around they soon tire of them and don’t even really want to watch them. I have 1 movie for the girls, it’s 12 minutes long, and they are allowed to watch it every morning at breakfast. They might want it on 1-2 times a week. It’s so nice to not constantly hear the begging like they did when we had more movies around for them. -Sherri
Unknown says
Your rules sound a lot like our house, Kendra. I think that having a plan in place and sticking to it is what’s important. It’s SUCH a challenge to keep things in the right perspective. ~Luci~
S.R.M. says
It’s easier when your children are young to train them to not depend on electronics for their downtime but to enjoy reading and other quiet persuits. It’s good to stick to time limits and schedules. I have older children and they have to use computers, the internet, and such things for school assignments and online classes. It is not so much me controlling anymore but them controlling themselves, which I think is the ultimate goal.
Susan