Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Screen Time Blues

This long article includes a discussion of whether and how parents should limit screen time:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/04/the-touch-screen-generation/309250/
The Atlantic
APRIL 2013
The Touch-Screen Generation
by Hanna Rosin
Young children—even toddlers—are spending more and more time with digital technology. What will it mean for their development?

Thanks, Bostonian. This was really interesting.

It is my firm belief that different children need different limits. I have one who has a hard limit of 3 hours a week of video games apart from homework, and one who does not need a limit to be set (reads instead).

I don't think that educational gaming should be allowed to be a special, unlimited case for those kids who are strongly drawn about screens. Just because something allows the learning of academic content does not mean it's necessarily a good. Especially for kids with ASDs, screens can really be a stand-in for social interaction; too much screen means they're not in conversation or practicing imaginative play with others, which is what they might really need. Again, kid-dependent: I would look at it and ask "is it serving him well as a person?" (i.e. not just in terms of academic content, but in terms of whole-child development) and make a plan based on that.

DeeDee

Thanks for all the responses. It's one of those things where the type of parent I want to be (one who doesn't limit these things) doesn't seem to be the type of parent my child needs. It's probably the only thing that makes me feel like a failure as a mom.

And an article discussing specifically gifted kids and television:
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/abelman.html

Ok, good to know. I'll ask DS if he knows that some games can be saved (he might know that but he wouldn't know the coding reasons behind it). Tell your DD thanks for the info

IMO: That's not failure; that's your ideas meeting reality and making adjustments.

Our DS10 definitely needed a radically different kind of parent than we were prepared to be; we became the parents he needed, and it was hard, but it was the right thing to do. I think you have to parent the kid you have, not some imaginary vision of the kid you thought you would have...

DeeDee

You're not a failure -you're actually a good mom for struggling to find answers.

We've likely all been there. Here is mine: http://lisaabeyta.com/2012/04/19/trusting-my-gut/

Screen time is an area where I feel very guilty as a mom because DS3.5 rarely asks for it, but I find myself suggesting it to get a break. I'm the one who needs a limit, sigh. I am trying to offer to play with him more because he's still at the point where he'll pick me over the screen, but I'm not sure how long this will last. It's definitely not a great mommy moment when I'm the one saying, "Wouldn't you like to watch a movie now?"


This puts a lot of things into perspective for me.

Thank you. I loved your blog post.