What are your time limit rules for Tablets and gaming systems?

[Michelle_M]

The two older boys are getting tablets for Christmas. 7rys old and 5 yrs old.

I know they are going to want to spend a lot of time on them.

I need help in figuring out a rule or system regarding the amount of play time the kids get...

Like can they use them with no time limits when reading? And only limit games?
Or would you limit total usage?

Do you have rules like, they get x amount of time daily, but can earn more by doing extra chores, or not arguing when you ask them to do something, etc?

Do they have to earn ALL their time with it?

DH and I were thinking about something like, the can have a base time of 1 hour per day. Punishments can result in taking away from that time, doing extra chores, getting good marks on my odlest's daily take home folder, good grades, etc... can ear extra time on it.

We're also thinking about saying they read as much as they want, but only limiting game time (my 5 yr old would play Angry Birds on it all day if we let him).

Also, DS1 is at a school all day, while DS2 is at home all day. Should DS2 be held to the same time limits as DS1, or should he be allowed to have extra time simply because he's home more, but make the stuff he's allowed to do during the day only educational and limit games?

So.. what are some of your rules about timing?

Thanks
God bless!

[mama2cntrykids]

We don't have tablets, BUT my dd6 has a leapster (original) and as long as the games she's playing are educational, and she has her school/chore work done, I don't really care how much time she spends on it.

That said, she's never spent more than an hour on it, so it hasn't been an issue for us.

We are getting a Kindle Fire HD after we get our tax refund. So the rules might be different, b/c we also have two older boys and a toddler that will want to mess on it, so we'll see.

[Kiliki]

Originally Posted by mama2cntrykids We don't have tablets, BUT my dd6 has a leapster (original) and as long as the games she's playing are educational, and she has her school/chore work done, I don't really care how much time she spends on it. That said, she's never spent more than an hour on it, so it hasn't been an issue for us. We are getting a Kindle Fire HD after we get our tax refund. So the rules might be different, b/c we also have two older boys and a toddler that will want to mess on it, so we'll see.

We have tablets, and this is how it works for us, too.

Honestly, the "new" wears off, and it just becomes another time waster for a lot of kids.

As long as they have all their stuff handled for that day, and they are not in trouble, I don't mind them wasting some time on it. I've never had them be on my tablet so long that I have to pry it from them. Usually, they run away and go play something else so fast that I think "wow, that only bought me 10 minutes of time?! " lol.

I'd imagine as kids get older and more into that type of stuff, it might change.

I would definitely limit the amount of screen time if I felt it was unhealthy.

Maybe you could put it in a special place where it is kept, and allow them one hour each day to do whatever they want on it? That way, it can be used throughout the day as they want, but they only get one hour total on it. Plus then it is a privilege and not something they just can have whenever they want to. KWIM?

[abunchoflemons]

I guess I would limit games. I like physical books but ok if reading & homework. We are trying to figure out computer time & limit ps3 & wii time. I think outside exercise is important.

[my2sweets]

My girls get 2hrs of screen time a day. Tv, ds, laptop, my phone, whatever-2hrs is the limit. The only exception is if I need them to do something for school on the laptop.

[Leighleighbuggy]

We have a wii, Ipad and the boys have nintendo dsi's. They are allowed to play in the car (well not the wii obviously) and on the weekends. I let them play in the car because we drive a lot. We live 30 minutes from most things, and it can be boring for them driving in the car so much. I allow them to play as much as they want friday night and saturday, but I put them away sunday for the week. I don't really limit tv, but they usually just ask to watch a show after dinnertime or have it playing while they play legos or playdoh.

[tallanvor]

We typically limit it to an hour after schoolwork and chores are finished.

[tallanvor]

Oh, and if they were reading, I would be willing to let them have it longer, but they rarely read ebooks. With 4 devices to read ebooks on, we still bring home 30+ books every couple of weeks from the library for fun reading.

[Michelle_M]

Originally Posted by SarasynFox Maybe I'm just out there, but I wouldn't limit my kids at all. Sure, they'd play on it non-stop all the time for a while, but then they'd get bored of it. I've found limiting them only makes them play video games and things more often. After about a month of letting my daughter play PS3 whenever she wanted, she stopped playing all together. We did the same thing with movies and now all she wants to watch are things like MythBusters and documentaries. She'd rather learn than be vegging out. She'll go through phases with it, but it's not common anymore. My boys are kind of following suit.

Thanks for the POV.

Originally Posted by tallanvor Oh, and if they were reading, I would be willing to let them have it longer, but they rarely read ebooks. With 4 devices to read ebooks on, we still bring home 30+ books every couple of weeks from the library for fun reading.

I never get to the library. We have on vehicle and DH uses it for school and work, so we rarely get to go anywhere when DH isn't home with us. My kids LOVE to read and DS1 is getting bored with the books we have.

DS2 likes to look at books on the iPad also.. We don't have an iPad, but the speech therapist does and frequently uses it in therapy for interactive books and activities. Both kids love it.


God bless!

[raisingcropsandbabies]

Someone just gave my boys (4 and 5) leapsters. We let them play 20 minutes a day.