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We also have a unlimited screen time policy with our kids It’s been nothing but great! They turned into information sponges with a huge amount of knowledge ab

We also have a unlimited screen time policy with our kids It’s been nothing but great! They turned into information sponges with a huge amount of knowledge about the world, way ahead of their peers. Our son watches a lot of extrem sports YouTube content which always inspires him to push harder to get better at those sports himself. He is the only one in his class who will tackle the large half pipes at the local dirt park for example. It’s the result of watching the pro’s do it on YouTube and then practicing relentlessly! Society has this thing where everything new is stamped as bad…book, bad! Bicycles, bad! Radio, bad!, TV, bad! Computer games, bad! Drugs, bad! Sugar, bad! People are just a bunch of scaredy cats We ought to provide kids some more nuance about the things in the world Is there bad things to watch or do on your screens, like scary stuff or things that are incredibly dull…absolutely. But the only way to learn what that is, is to let them experience it and learn.

WA 5y ago
Cool, but what if your son stops watching interesting YT videos and starts playing Fortnite 10 hours a day? And: How old is your son and at what age did you start the unlimited screen time policy? Because as you say, there is more nuance to screen time. It depends on the kid’s personality, the age, the environment, friends, access to outdoor activities etc.
- nkrisc 5y ago
  > Cool, but what if your son stops watching interesting YT videos and starts playing Fortnite 10 hours a day? Then something else is wrong. That's not a normal behavior that healthy people do, it's a symptom of some other problem in their life. Thanks to the pandemic, my son has learned that screens can be boring, and it's not all that exciting anymore after too much time. He's learned to put it down and find something else to do. We don't have to enforce screen time anymore, he mostly does it himself.
  - throwoutway 5y ago
    > That's not a normal behavior that healthy people do, it's a symptom of some other problem in their life. Not necessarily. Not when social media and gaming companies hire psychologist PhDs to explicitly entrap children through addictive traits
  - rkk3 5y ago
    > Then something else is wrong. That's not a normal behavior that healthy people do, it's a symptom of some other problem in their life. Not really... games are designed to be incredibly addictive, can be social activities and have much lower physical consequences/withdrawals from misuse. Don't find Rat-Park as a convincing explanation for why high schools boys might prefer Fortnite to Zoom Class.
    - rock_hard 5y ago
      And kids will have to learn to deal with that! It’s your job as a parent to provide exposure and teach
  - garbagetime 5y ago
    I tend to agree- at the very least an important hypothesis to consider
Grustaf 5y ago
"Bicycles bad"? I don't think anyone has said that since Victorian times. Probably not then either. If your son hadn't been into BMX/MTB/Cross (are you sure you mean halfpipe?) before the unlimited screen time policy, don't you think he might have ended up obsessed with computer games or youtube instead?
- rock_hard 5y ago
  We have never had a screen time policy. I was always unlimited. He also watches a bunch of dumb crab on YouTube…but hey, I enjoy my stupid TikTok memes too…so why wouldn’t I let him. I make fun of him when I think he does something stupid…but it’s in good spirit. My job as a parent is not to manipulate him into the life I think he should live…my job is to enable him to live his! And Yes, our 5y old takes a full size dirt park half pipe…has done so ever since he has been 3y or so. I wouldn’t do that myself…but he does He also is into skateboards, snowboards, plays basketball, soccer and what not. He got me into skateboarding at 40…don’t worry though, I wear a helmet :) In this moment I am watching him race an RC car with 30-40mph across a meadow Earlier today he was had. oculus headset strapped on and was playing job simulator
  - Grustaf 5y ago
    How do you ride a dirt bike in a half pipe? I think you're mixing up terminology here. And he must be very big for his age if he can ride a full-size dirt bike. > My job as a parent is not to manipulate him into the life I think he should live That happens to be exactly what your job is. Children don't know what's best for them, that's why they have parents.
    - lazyasciiart 5y ago
      You're misreading the words. It said "full size dirt park half pipe"
      - Grustaf 5y ago
        So what does he take to the "dirt park half pipe", and what is that? I've never seen a half pipe in a dirt park, do you ride it like a snowboard half pipe or a skate ramp?
newsclues 5y ago
What has the key to having them focus on “good” online content? Lots of discussion? How have the kids not been consumed by unlimited screen time? How do you keep them interested in real activities as well?
- rock_hard 5y ago
  I grew up having unlimited access to candy Unlimited meaning whatever I could find in the house My wife on the other side grew up not having unlimited access to candy Guess who of the two of us as adult now can control their candy consumption and who if there is candy in the house will eat every last bit of it with 2/3 days? Forced limiting of anything won’t teach a person how to deal with it…quite the opposite
  - ryantgtg 5y ago
    Same with my household (at least with snacks and treats). I remember being baffled when friends would come over and gorge themselves on all the snacks at my house. Then I realized it was because they considered these things a limited resource. To this day a quart of ice cream can last me weeks even when it’s the only treat in the house. But then my wife joins the fray and suddenly it’s like a competition to finish it in one night.

WA 5y ago

Cool, but what if your son stops watching interesting YT videos and starts playing Fortnite 10 hours a day? And: How old is your son and at what age did you start the unlimited screen time policy? Because as you say, there is more nuance to screen time. It depends on the kid’s personality, the age, the environment, friends, access to outdoor activities etc.

nkrisc 5y ago
> Cool, but what if your son stops watching interesting YT videos and starts playing Fortnite 10 hours a day? Then something else is wrong. That's not a normal behavior that healthy people do, it's a symptom of some other problem in their life. Thanks to the pandemic, my son has learned that screens can be boring, and it's not all that exciting anymore after too much time. He's learned to put it down and find something else to do. We don't have to enforce screen time anymore, he mostly does it himself.
- throwoutway 5y ago
  > That's not a normal behavior that healthy people do, it's a symptom of some other problem in their life. Not necessarily. Not when social media and gaming companies hire psychologist PhDs to explicitly entrap children through addictive traits
- rkk3 5y ago
  > Then something else is wrong. That's not a normal behavior that healthy people do, it's a symptom of some other problem in their life. Not really... games are designed to be incredibly addictive, can be social activities and have much lower physical consequences/withdrawals from misuse. Don't find Rat-Park as a convincing explanation for why high schools boys might prefer Fortnite to Zoom Class.
  - rock_hard 5y ago
    And kids will have to learn to deal with that! It’s your job as a parent to provide exposure and teach
- garbagetime 5y ago
  I tend to agree- at the very least an important hypothesis to consider

Grustaf 5y ago

"Bicycles bad"? I don't think anyone has said that since Victorian times. Probably not then either. If your son hadn't been into BMX/MTB/Cross (are you sure you mean halfpipe?) before the unlimited screen time policy, don't you think he might have ended up obsessed with computer games or youtube instead?

rock_hard 5y ago
We have never had a screen time policy. I was always unlimited. He also watches a bunch of dumb crab on YouTube…but hey, I enjoy my stupid TikTok memes too…so why wouldn’t I let him. I make fun of him when I think he does something stupid…but it’s in good spirit. My job as a parent is not to manipulate him into the life I think he should live…my job is to enable him to live his! And Yes, our 5y old takes a full size dirt park half pipe…has done so ever since he has been 3y or so. I wouldn’t do that myself…but he does He also is into skateboards, snowboards, plays basketball, soccer and what not. He got me into skateboarding at 40…don’t worry though, I wear a helmet :) In this moment I am watching him race an RC car with 30-40mph across a meadow Earlier today he was had. oculus headset strapped on and was playing job simulator
- Grustaf 5y ago
  How do you ride a dirt bike in a half pipe? I think you're mixing up terminology here. And he must be very big for his age if he can ride a full-size dirt bike. > My job as a parent is not to manipulate him into the life I think he should live That happens to be exactly what your job is. Children don't know what's best for them, that's why they have parents.
  - lazyasciiart 5y ago
    You're misreading the words. It said "full size dirt park half pipe"
    - Grustaf 5y ago
      So what does he take to the "dirt park half pipe", and what is that? I've never seen a half pipe in a dirt park, do you ride it like a snowboard half pipe or a skate ramp?

newsclues 5y ago

What has the key to having them focus on “good” online content? Lots of discussion? How have the kids not been consumed by unlimited screen time? How do you keep them interested in real activities as well?

rock_hard 5y ago
I grew up having unlimited access to candy Unlimited meaning whatever I could find in the house My wife on the other side grew up not having unlimited access to candy Guess who of the two of us as adult now can control their candy consumption and who if there is candy in the house will eat every last bit of it with 2/3 days? Forced limiting of anything won’t teach a person how to deal with it…quite the opposite
- ryantgtg 5y ago
  Same with my household (at least with snacks and treats). I remember being baffled when friends would come over and gorge themselves on all the snacks at my house. Then I realized it was because they considered these things a limited resource. To this day a quart of ice cream can last me weeks even when it’s the only treat in the house. But then my wife joins the fray and suddenly it’s like a competition to finish it in one night.