How long should you limit a child’s electronic time to?

It all depends on the age of your child. Your child should only be exposed to 30 minutes of screen time per day if he/she is younger than kindergarten. This includes TV/videos, computer and reading electronic books on Kindle or other devices. The time spent on the same device, including TV/videos and other devices, should not exceed an hour from the age of six to ten. A child’s screen/electronic usage [including TV/videos] should be no more than the time spent reading actual books, magazines, newspapers or other print sources.

If it is not given by teachers, children over 13 years old must complete their homework and school projects. They must also be involved at least twice a week in some type of sport or activity, such as dance, music, skateboarding or scouting, volunteering or babysitting to earn money, foreign languages instruction, involvement with church youth groups, or organized sports leagues. . Teens who are earning good grades and taking care of household chores in a responsible manner can be trusted to manage their time on electronics. A parent must have some way to ensure electronics are not used between 11:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m. or any other time a parent decides. Teens should not have cell phones during sleeping hours.

A smart phone is not something that a child should have before entering high school. School personnel shouldn’t be required to spend valuable time investigating or mediating thefts or losses of expense devices. Although it is highly doubtful that high school students can benefit from such devices either, smart phones are almost ubiquitous among high school students and parents who have spines do have an easy way to encourage acceptable behavior from teens. I would not give a child a smartphone unless he or she could earn at least one third of the monthly prorated cost of the smart phone and half of the price of the phone. A phone that a parent has invested a lot in is less likely to be lost by a child.

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