Screen time for children can be a tricky subject to navigate. Every family is unique and a one-size-fits-all approach is often doomed to fail. And then there is this link between screen time and consequential punishment and how successful as a parenting tool it is. Here is our story…
This story is part of our Growing Up series
Trying to Build Healthy Screen Time Habits for Children is Hard
Mum (10 years parenting)
“Mum! One of my friends got grounded for a month.” Tomos announced with a mix of horrified glee as we walked home from school.
“Wow! A whole month?” I asked questioningly. It’s not that I don’t believe him but kids exaggerate.
I tell you no parent is more awful, more mean and more unfair than the parent of a tween or teenager. The days that they cried when saying goodbye at the nursery gates are long gone folks.
“Yes a whole month. And it wasn’t even his fault.” I never got the bottom of the actual misdemeanour that warranted a whole month’s grounding because a sudden thought struck me.
“What does grounding actually mean these days?” Wow, who knew I would be sounding so old and out of touch in my mid-thirties. Because grounding in my long-ago youth was not being able to go out and play with your friends at the park or in the street.
Tomos looked at me oddly and there was half an eye-roll thrown in for good measure.
“It’s when you lose your screen time – like your phone or X-box and stuff like that.”
Hmm – interesting.
“And I told them that I had never been grounded in my whole life.” Tomos continued. “So now they all think you are really cool!” Quite a little bit of surprise in his tone now.
We got to the house and I unlocked the door.
“So, can I have some screen time now?” He asked, flicking his school shoes off and sending them flying in different directions. I had wondered where this conversation was heading as I was pretty sure letting me know I was a cool Mum was not the primary goal.
“Nope! You know the routine. After school jobs and transition first.” Which basically consists of snack time, changing into comfy clothes and some kind of unstructured play time.
Tomos stomps off muttering. “Bet my friends don’t have to do this.”
And I just couldn’t resist.
“Yes, but they get grounded and you don’t!”
Screen Time Recommendations for Tweens
It’s not easy to balance screen time with everyday life for children. Here are some rough guidelines of how much screen time is appropriate for different ages and how to achieve quality screen time for the whole family.
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