Comments on: They have their whole lives to be tethered to the flicker

By: Sandy Purdy

Sandy Purdy — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 02:23:59 +0000

My five and seven year olds have Game Boys. My husband and I resisted as long as we could, but caved last Christmas. These things are invaluable during the times when you have to take BOTH/ALL your kids to the doctor at the same time. That 20 minute wait in the little room after the nurse leaves and before the doctor comes in is not so miserable now!

By: L.

L. — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 22:54:32 +0000

I consider myself a “hard ass” about many things, but TV and games aren`t among them. I always joke that while some people homeschool their kids, I “TV school” mine. I thank TV for my kids being able to speak age-appropriate colloquial, idiomatic English, which made their transition back here easier.
Games are like candy and junk food — no nutritional value, and some parents have zero tolerance for them. But our life has always unapologetically included all of the above. For us, balance is the key. How many hours are too many? There`s no right answer — but most parents can tell.

I did try to keep Bratz dolls away from my daughter, and succeeded when she was small, but relented when she was older (old enough to talk about why some people don`t like them).

By: Plain Jane Mom

Plain Jane Mom — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 15:39:40 +0000

And Anne, I’m a hard ass too! Way to go!!

By: Plain Jane Mom

Plain Jane Mom — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 15:32:34 +0000

Thanks Anne– I’ll have to see how this plays out as the kids get older. I don’t think I can have an informed opinion on all this until my kids are older and this becomes a more relevant topic!

By: Anne Glamore

Anne Glamore — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 03:20:05 +0000

Read my current post - a gift guide for boys- which has a little about my media philosophy which is best summed up - the less there is, the better.

No TV or computer during the week, an hour each (however they want to divide it) on each weekend day. We use cheap timers from Target for them to keep track on the honor system.

Obviously there are exceptions. I’d be happy to talk to you about them (hint - I’m here in the land of American Idol winners!) but right now I have to tuck in the last one.

My twins are 8, the oldest os almost 11 and everyone’s reading well and we go thru the Legos and stuff, so i’m here to say it can be done if you stick to your guns.

No car videos (even on long road trips!) either.

I know, I’m a hard ass! But we have fun.

By: Plain Jane Mom

Plain Jane Mom — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 21:17:34 +0000

So many thoughtful responses — thank you all so much!

I’ve heard of this “screen time” idea before. Lumping TV, computer, games together and letting them have a certain amount of time for all. Is anyone out there doing that? Tips?

By: Kaleigh

Kaleigh — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 20:58:43 +0000

We held strong until my BIL gave us his old Playstation a couple of years ago (my son was about 5 then). We didn’t ever buy any games for it and there weren’t many that we’d let him play that the BIL had sent, so it didn’t get used much. But we caved last year and bought a Game Cube. And my son thought he had died and gone to heaven. He does play…a lot…but he also still plays outside and plays inside with non-electronic toys and reads and pesters his sister. Many of his games are multiple player games, so my hubby plays with him a lot…and that’s good bonding time for them, right? One of my friends limits “screen” time in general (TV, computer, video games) and that works well for them.

By: Domestic Goddess

Domestic Goddess — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 20:51:32 +0000

we finally broke down a couple of years ago when our girls were about 7 and 10. I am really interested in the Wii. They have the kind of games that kids are actually standing up and moving - like they are playing tennis, running etc.
That would be a great mix of getting their game time but not being a couch potato.

By: crunchy carpets

crunchy carpets — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 17:32:30 +0000

Being that we are a video game and tv household…we couldn’t really be hypocritical and say no.

I was and still am though, very careful about deciding what is ok for them to play…Adam is only four and most are too hard anyway.

But he loves to play with his dad and so we do let him play. But watch the clock.

He also has some computer games and being that they are vaguely educational…we are ok with them too.

But we make sure there is a balance….lots of outside time, lots of play with NO tv and so on.

It is a question of balance and finding activities that they love and so on.

By: Oh, The Joys

Oh, The Joys — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 14:45:00 +0000

There was a two year old on our plane home from Thanksgiving vacation WORKING a game boy. I was stunned. I’m with you… holding out as long as possible.