Do You Limit Screen Time for Little Ones?

When we were little you would struggle to get us indoors, we knew to come home when the lights came on and once you were home it was TV and bed.  Bedtime consisted of going to bed and going to sleep!   These days there are all kinds of distractions and technology which bring with them a whole new batch of worries about childrens health and eyes too.

I am conscious of the amount of time the girls spend on their tablets, both at bedtime and during the day at weekends.  Weekdays are not so much of an issue as they have an hour before dinner to play their games and then they are turned off for dinner at the table.  I use parental guides on both of the tablets but that doesn’t stop me from worrying about other issues including their eyes.

Sometimes I get terrible headaches if I have spent too long on the laptop or phone so this rings bells for me that if the girls are spending hours playing games surely they would suffer the same.  I wear glasses when using technology at home but have been thinking about getting contact lenses for use all the time since I am on my phone a lot when I am out and about.

If you do have any concerns about your little ones you can find more information about children’s eye health and eye care in the Feel Good Contacts Eyecare Hub  I even have 10% discount code should you wish to make a purchase from their site.  Simply quote FEELGOODTIME at the checkout.

I asked some of my blogger friends if they had limits to how much time their children spent on hand held devices and this is what they had to say:

No, not in a time limit kind of way, but if I feel like it has been on too long then I encourage them to do something else or suggest we switch it off a the end of a program. Some days they watch quite a bit and other days none at all.http://themummyadventure.com

We don’t and it’s never been a problem. However, now my eldest is 6 and has got into games he doesn’t want to do much else so I might for the first time introduce some limits. www.nomipalony.com

We use Microsoft Family Controls to set how much screen time our son is allowed a day. You can set different times for school days and weekends and grant extra time if chores have been done. www.ridingbootsforboo.com

My two children are limited to one hour a day except on Sundays when they can have a bit longer if they have behaved well. www.familytravelwithellie.com

We try to limit it to an hour a day. However, it’s not always easy to keep track of. www.householdmoneysaving.com

Yes we do! No iPads or Xbox on a Sunday, no xbox before school and only iPads when absolutely ready for school and nothing after 6pm each evening! http://www.sitstillmonkeys.co.uk/

We use ScreenTime App to limit screen time and it’s fantastic as the kids can ‘earn’ extra screen time, but also because I can limit screen time to a set amount of time between a set amount of hours. My youngest child doesn’t really need a limit – she’s good at self-regulation, but my oldest would sit there till her eyes went square and her fingers fell off! This has been a huge step in preventing screen related arguments! diaryofafirstchild.com

We don’t – we just say as and went. We often have the iPads out of sight (out of mind) they have been hidden since NYE and neither child has asked for it! https://the-willowtree.com

How do you feel about the increase in use of online gaming and technology within little ones?  Do you limit screen time of your children?

XOXO

Debbie

This is a collaborative post with Feel Good Contacts.