I need some ideas on how to handle media times in our house. We don't have much, just a portable DVD player, an iPad, and a PS 2. However, I have an 8 yo. DS son that would sit and watch movies all day long, if I would let him. It's even worse now that winter is here and waaaaaay to go to go outside. It only got up to 15 below here yesterday. Anyway, can you share how you limit the media time in your house and if your children have to earn media time and if so, how? Thanks ladies.
We restrict media time (TV in DD's case) to 1-2 shows, which is about an hour. DD is eligible at the end of the class day for TV time if she was well behaved during class. Bad behavior = loss of TV time. I have a friend with teenagers -- because her kids are more autonomous (DD is only 6), she takes the power cord to the TV to ensure compliance. Pretty tough to sneak TV time with no power cord!
My husband's an electrical engineer and gamer, so, needless to say, we are stuffed to the gills with electronic items here. During nice weather, I use the microwave timer for 30 minutes for electronics where they just sit for entertainment [e.g. computer games or tablets]. During bad weather, it's set for an hour. The timer speaks--- no arguing with the timer. Active games like Just Dance or something are fine to play in addition to the time allowance as the kids are up and moving. Sometimes [often during the bad weather stuff], I'll let them earn more game time by logging time reading or doing some other similar activity. One thing I've found I can substitute that they're happy with and we're happy with is learning coding. You can start off for free with "One Hour of Code" from code.org. They learn basic coding principles using Angry Birds and Zombies. It's fun but truly educational. After that, they can move on to http://scratch.mit.edu/ where they can do lots of fun coding things, including making their own interactive cards. I'll admit I had fun doing that one. LOL My son is whizzing through a program we bought through Homeschool Buyer's Co-op that teaches kids how to code their own Minecraft mod. We also have a coding software program that's part of his regular lessons. We've found that coding has helped a lot in terms of getting the kids to use media a bit more responsibly, and they're learning something that should help them a great deal in the future.
I'm pretty relaxed about media time. My boys are 9 and 12 and have proven themselves to be trustworthy in only watching things I have approved. School and chores have to be done before media is available, but once they have access to it they can play/watch for quite awhile. They are very good about stopping when I ask them to. I usually try to give a warning in terms like "Please stop playing after you finish this level" or "This is the last episode before we need to get ready for supper." We only have Netflix.
This is great! We were looking for something like this for my middle child to give some healthy direction to his obsession! We're on a 30 minute limit on all electronics. We do grant extra time as a reward occasionally, but they know to not ask for it.
I just set limits this past week. The girls would ask to watch Netflix or play on the computer, and I wouldn't realize just how much time had gone by. They were getting super whiny too. So I told them they can watch one show each day, and the 4 and 6 year old each get 20 minutes on the computer or iPod. This week has been so much better. When the timer goes or their show is done, they turn it off, and that's that. No more whining about it.
This exactly where I'm at as well. I think giving such a short limit of like 30 mins or an hour is pretty tight. I think going off of levels or episodes is just easier for them to comply with then anticipating a jarring timer. We do have a lot of tech in the house, so there are a lot of options and the biggest issue is sharing who gets to do what and when. It's always nice when they settle on playing/watching something together. There are so many educational opportunities to explore through media.
I have just had to implement new rules because our old rules fell to the side and I realized that if I didn't stop my kids they would become addicts . So, today we went over the new rules and I think they are going to work well. We are using a point system and this is how it works: Complete your schoolwork daily - 5 points Complete ALL your chores daily - 5 points Have a good attitude toward schoolwork - 1 point Have a good attitude toward chores - 1 point Read a non-school book for 30 minutes - 1 point Read a non-school book for 60 minutes - 2 points Have a bad attitude toward schoolwork - -2 points Have a bad attitude towards chores - -2 points 5 points = 30 minutes of media time At the end of the week we total up any unused points and they can either use them over the weekend, roll them over to the next week, or cash them out for money. We haven't decided how much each point will be worth monetarily yet...we will see how many points the kids have at the end of the week and make a decision then. They can only roll points over twice and then they have to pick another option. We don't want the kids to end up with so many points they spend all weekend sitting around playing games or watching tv. They can cash in 10 point total per day UNLESS they read a non-school approved book, then they can cash in a total of 15 points. The minimum amount they can cash in is 5 points. Just to clarify what non-school approved books are, they are books that mom and dad approve of that are not part of their school work. So, for example, My ds has to Red Red Badge of Courage for school, but can read his Star Wars books in addition for extra points. I hope that makes sense! ETA: Family movie nights and other special events where we use the computer or TV are separate from this system.
