They don’t have tablets. My oldest has my old phone with everything blocked except a GBA emulator, music, and some educational games recommended by their teachers. They have a couple switch lites and we have one TV with Disney+, Netflix, and Youtube. I set up Youtube Kids profiles for them with whitelists so they can only watch channels I have specifically chosen for them. I don’t limit screen time, though. They don’t actually spend that much time watching TV or playing video games, and I’m pretty much always there with them when they do so I can talk with them about what they are watching or playing. I know it’s not the same for every kid but mine really don’t get sucked into screens. I’ve never been strict about it, even when they were babies. They usually can’t even finish a movie without getting bored and going to play outside or with actual toys.
We all have adhd so I thought screens would be a bigger challenge. I guess I got lucky.
When my kids were younger I monitored their usage and restricted their access. As they earned trust this eased up. Now that they are teens they are mostly free to do what they want. I will still ask what they use their phones for and we have frank conversations about it, but I will not invade their privacy unless there is a good reason.
I’ve always been pretty liberal about video time. We get out and we do stuff, but when at home, they can be on videos and there’s governance but it’s limited.
Here are some rules that were put in place at the start of it:
] I can see what they’re doing at any time
] they come to me for bad content and swearing
] we discuss swearing and bad content. the conversations drag on if it appears concealed
That’s it. Go have fun. I check in from time to time. Son and daughter. Here’s what I’ve learned.
Cursing will work it’s way into their stream. We talk about how cursing isn’t mature and these people use it to try to seem cool. We talk about why they want to seem cool. We talk about monetization and views and clicks. We talk about “the viewer as a product.”
Mature topics come up. Discussed intelligently and why they’re inappropriate. Who you can talk about these things with and who will be offended/embarrassed. Why it’s not generally brought up.
They now have their own niches of interest and share them freely with me. I am learning more history and odd facts than I expected. After the novelty of watching the repetitive content wears off, the education content that interests them begins to dominate their streams. Reptile hatching. Presidential history and wars. Art and music. I got asked what cum is. Better to get a real answer from a parent then schoolyard gossip. Issue covered, here’s why it’s not discussed, now go have fun.
I feel it’s been a good experiment. When I was younger, the fight was over what books I should read. What music I could hear. Now it’s about what content kids should see. I see it as an argument about whether you should parent now, or let them just discover it all when they’re out of the house. I felt it was better to cover it while they can get my perspective, and it seems to be working. caveat emptor.
I’ve no kids of my own. This is mostly about my experience. I grew up with tv, internet, and video games. I used to have a portable screen that played dvds and a music cd player. I grew up watching cartoons on satellite then cable TV. I played on the ps1, ps2, PS3, and psp. I surfed the web on desktop computers, my folks used to have an old Compaq then later an HP Pavillion. I didn’t have an actual smartphone till mid way through middle school. My folks limited my screen time.
My little brother on the other hand has been glued to his tablet since age 3. My folks limit his time, but his tablet is all he’s ever known and he’s inseparable from it. I didn’t really start getting sucked into tech and screens till age 10 when I got my first PS3 and even then I was pretty well rounded.
No YouTube except for how-to videos. They’ve never had it so it’s not an issue.
90 minutes of screen time they can otherwise use how they wish. They have to get their jobs done first (chores, piano practice, school stuff) and spend at least 20 minutes outside before they can get screen time.
They typically choose to watch shows or movies on Disney+, watch The Simpsons, or play video games together.
Edit: they don’t have any social media (FB, x, tiktok) except messenger kids.
My oldest is 12 and is very anti social media. I assume we will have to deal with it eventually.
