6 ms·

The hardest thing for me has been young children begging, just begging, for screen time. It's heartbreaking and I know very few parents who have managed to make

The hardest thing for me has been young children begging, just begging, for screen time. It's heartbreaking and I know very few parents who have managed to make no mean no. I grew up watching TV but then, TV was mostly for adults and I only paid attention those few hours it was child-friendly. I spent almost the entire decade of the 90s without a television, only going to the movies or the occasional VHS. Even today, while I'm on my computer for 8 hours/5 days a week, I read books when I stop work or cook or just sit and talk. I turn off the screen, close the laptop and turn off wifi on my phone. I worry for the attention span our kids won't have. When was the last time you let a child just get bored, so they might entertain themselves with their imagination? On the other side, when we go out for walks or camping or away from tech, it really doesn't take long for the kids to adjust.

yupyup 9y ago
Well, if kids really want anything be sweets, a toy or more screen time they will beg. That's kid's nature ;) It's the parents job to be firm and establish some limits, making sure they are respected.
- amrrs 9y ago
  I think OP meant to say just like kids beg for chocolates which they crave for, they also beg for Screen time (which seems to be a bad addiction for someone who's a kid) that also shows how much screen time as an addiction or interest has penetration through that age group.
  - rublev 9y ago
    Can't wait to raise my kids in a small village away from all this city/tech/social garbage.
ben_jones 9y ago
Thats what happens when you put all their social validation on a small device.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
mquander 9y ago
I spent a lot of the decade of the 90s having the best times of my life immersing myself in video games and the Internet, and looking back it seems to me like I'm the better for it. I think it should rightfully be heartbreaking to deny that to a kid who would have it.
- graphitezepp 9y ago
  My anecdote from spending ages immersed in video games and the internet has precisely the opposite sentiment. I find it heartbreaking how many youths replace socialization with social media and endless digital distraction.
- koolba 9y ago
  > I think it should rightfully be heartbreaking to deny that to a kid who would have it. I'm going to assume you haven't seen the steaming piles that are today's kid's shows and apps. There's no way that crap is as mentally stimulating as content from the 90s (or before). It's optimized for addiction. And I'm not saying to cut it off entirely. I'm just saying the new stuff is universally terrible.
  - QAPereo 9y ago
    There's something really sinister about watching a toddler utterly engrossed in someone unwrapping Kinder eggs, for hours. In the 90's, the internet involved more than just slapping your palm against a screen and not blinking for the rest of the afternoon, and TV was in limited supply. Today, you never have to take a break if someone isn't there to teach you how, or even that you should.
    - benologist 9y ago
      In the 90s we watched crap literally engineered to sell toys. http://www.retrodomination.com/master-of-your-universe-the-story-of-he-man/ http://www.retrodomination.com/master-of-your-universe-the-s...
      - 9y ago
benologist 9y ago
When my daughter wants to start watching videos and she's had plenty I come up with something we can do together. Abandoning my own plans is hard but youtube gets forgotten quickly.
neogodless 9y ago
Disclaimer: Not a parent! Immediately disqualified from the discussion. My siblings have eight kids. I can't speak for how they act everyday, just what I observe during our frequent family gatherings. Here's what happens. The adults hang out and do boring things (OK on a good day, we play cards or board games or sit around a fire!) while the kids run around doing things. Only in the past year or two have electronics really been a part of this at all. The youngest is eight, the oldest 14. They play tag, climb things, play board games, play cards, sit around fires (hmm...) and they don't beg for electronics or even ask for them. I'm sure it's different at times, at home. But I know that most of them didn't have a tablet until maybe two years ago. And my siblings didn't either. Lately, sometimes they play video games or tablet games, but only sometimes. It's not actually a requirement of life to own and use a tablet. (Or smart phone.) And certainly not a requirement of childhood. Rather than have those things around and in use, the opposite was the norm. They were rare. Eventually the kids get to be 9 or 10 or 11 and say "hey, Everyone owns one, maybe I can have one?" and then they got one, finally, but with some rules in place, and times that it could be taken away, because the parents are making the rules. And it doesn't seem to have become an addiction for them, because it's just one thing added to an already interesting and abundant life. But I've seen other kids/parents where tablets and TV and phones are central to living and entertainment. And you don't want to be around for the war that erupts when the parent tries to pry the electronic device away from their child. It's a third arm, and it's not going anywhere. We do adapt to what we're around, how we behave, what's acceptable. If it's "normal" then anything else is change, with all the resistance that comes with it.
vasco 9y ago
So I guess you posted this from work then?
fgjjgutjvnu 9y ago
The irony is that the kids seem to focus on the screen for a very long time, while we worry about their attention span. I think a lot also depends on the content.

yupyup 9y ago

Well, if kids really want anything be sweets, a toy or more screen time they will beg. That's kid's nature ;) It's the parents job to be firm and establish some limits, making sure they are respected.

amrrs 9y ago
I think OP meant to say just like kids beg for chocolates which they crave for, they also beg for Screen time (which seems to be a bad addiction for someone who's a kid) that also shows how much screen time as an addiction or interest has penetration through that age group.
- rublev 9y ago
  Can't wait to raise my kids in a small village away from all this city/tech/social garbage.

ben_jones 9y ago

Thats what happens when you put all their social validation on a small device.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

mquander 9y ago

I spent a lot of the decade of the 90s having the best times of my life immersing myself in video games and the Internet, and looking back it seems to me like I'm the better for it. I think it should rightfully be heartbreaking to deny that to a kid who would have it.

graphitezepp 9y ago
My anecdote from spending ages immersed in video games and the internet has precisely the opposite sentiment. I find it heartbreaking how many youths replace socialization with social media and endless digital distraction.
koolba 9y ago
> I think it should rightfully be heartbreaking to deny that to a kid who would have it. I'm going to assume you haven't seen the steaming piles that are today's kid's shows and apps. There's no way that crap is as mentally stimulating as content from the 90s (or before). It's optimized for addiction. And I'm not saying to cut it off entirely. I'm just saying the new stuff is universally terrible.
- QAPereo 9y ago
  There's something really sinister about watching a toddler utterly engrossed in someone unwrapping Kinder eggs, for hours. In the 90's, the internet involved more than just slapping your palm against a screen and not blinking for the rest of the afternoon, and TV was in limited supply. Today, you never have to take a break if someone isn't there to teach you how, or even that you should.
  - benologist 9y ago
    In the 90s we watched crap literally engineered to sell toys. http://www.retrodomination.com/master-of-your-universe-the-story-of-he-man/ http://www.retrodomination.com/master-of-your-universe-the-s...
    - 9y ago

benologist 9y ago

When my daughter wants to start watching videos and she's had plenty I come up with something we can do together. Abandoning my own plans is hard but youtube gets forgotten quickly.

neogodless 9y ago

Disclaimer: Not a parent! Immediately disqualified from the discussion. My siblings have eight kids. I can't speak for how they act everyday, just what I observe during our frequent family gatherings. Here's what happens. The adults hang out and do boring things (OK on a good day, we play cards or board games or sit around a fire!) while the kids run around doing things. Only in the past year or two have electronics really been a part of this at all. The youngest is eight, the oldest 14. They play tag, climb things, play board games, play cards, sit around fires (hmm...) and they don't beg for electronics or even ask for them. I'm sure it's different at times, at home. But I know that most of them didn't have a tablet until maybe two years ago. And my siblings didn't either. Lately, sometimes they play video games or tablet games, but only sometimes. It's not actually a requirement of life to own and use a tablet. (Or smart phone.) And certainly not a requirement of childhood. Rather than have those things around and in use, the opposite was the norm. They were rare. Eventually the kids get to be 9 or 10 or 11 and say "hey, Everyone owns one, maybe I can have one?" and then they got one, finally, but with some rules in place, and times that it could be taken away, because the parents are making the rules. And it doesn't seem to have become an addiction for them, because it's just one thing added to an already interesting and abundant life. But I've seen other kids/parents where tablets and TV and phones are central to living and entertainment. And you don't want to be around for the war that erupts when the parent tries to pry the electronic device away from their child. It's a third arm, and it's not going anywhere. We do adapt to what we're around, how we behave, what's acceptable. If it's "normal" then anything else is change, with all the resistance that comes with it.

vasco 9y ago

So I guess you posted this from work then?

fgjjgutjvnu 9y ago

The irony is that the kids seem to focus on the screen for a very long time, while we worry about their attention span. I think a lot also depends on the content.