Device time. It's become a pressing concern in our household, as the kids grow and so too does their social circle. And the amount of time they would like on their devices continues to grow.
Cell phones are both a parental blessing and a curse. A blessing in that ifa traffic jam arrives out of the blue, a quick "I'll be 10 minutes late, wait by the gate" can ease an anxious tiny mind, or when the kids are annoying each other for the 10th time in an evening, a great getaway for the parent as well. "Sorry, what's that kids? I can't hear you I was watching an octopus eat a sea urchin on YouTube".
The experts throw out all sorts of different opinions. No phone til 16. Let them have one but limit the apps. Fifteen minutes a day. Three hours a day. There's an "expert" opinion for nearly every option and an option for nearly every age.
We live in an increasingly technology-dependent world, so a part of me says that it's only natural that a growing child's entertainment would be on a device, just as we used to spend an hour and a half on the landline (After of course talking to our friend's parent for two minutes and asking if they were home and could they come to the phone). So too would our kids spend that time on a group chat online.
A part of me feels, if not believes, that it is. Sitting in their room staring at a tiny screen on a video call feels different from sitting in my room on a cordless telephone yelling at my brothers to put the kitchen phone down and stop listening.
Once, in a moment of pure desperation at a barbecue afternoon, I took the "screen time" off my daughter's cell phone, giving her unlimited time to finish watching the movie that she had on.
For a month I forgot to turn it back on. Did she use more time because of this? You bet she did!
To try and mitigate screentime this weekend just gone, I took the kids to the park.
Putting them on the giant swing and throwing them around as high as I could, the squeals of delight rang out and the call of "you're the funnest dad ever" came from the mouth of my youngest. It seems screen time is no substitute for Dad time, I've just got to get the balance right!
