New York Times: 'Screen Addiction Is Taking a Toll on Children'

This thread has a lot that hits home. ADD, on a gadget or PC too much, addiction, not enough sex. I might need to enter rehab.

 

Lil 93 watches maybe 60 minutes of TV a day (Wild Kratts) which is way less than I did when I was her age. Shit, I remember watching Saturday morning cartoons from 7 am to 11 am every freeking weekend.

Now she has PBSkids and a shit ton of apps she plays, all are better than Tom and Jerry and the Brady Bunch.

What she does watch is people playing with toys, like people doing plays with Shopkins by giving them voices or doing some stupid shit like that. Those things have millions and millions of views.

DisneyCarToys - YouTube - millions upon millions of views

Bottom line is I don't think it's anyworse than what we did when we were kids.

 

Well, there it is. I have now lost all faith in mankind.

 

It's staggering.

 

Usually when my children play video games, I am playing with them. The only exceptions are their DS on long car trips or when I need a distraction when something else needs my undivided attention.

My mother-in-law let them play a lot last week when my wife and I were out running errands. I wasn't pleased but I also know how easily she gets overwhelmed so I let it slide.

I'm not proud of how much they play but I have relaxed it a bit during the summer. Once school starts back, the restrictions go back up.

 

No, all those apps are not better than Tom and Jerry. There is nothing wrong with Tom and Jerry. Tom and Jerry provides a little mindless fun and hijinks in the coreners of kids' brains.

 

So they are good gamers because they are masters of their domain?

 

I don't have kids, but if I did, I would consider them warped and underprivileged if they had never seen Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote.

 

How to Cut Children’s Screen Time? Say No to Yourself First. - NYTimes.com

Dr. Steiner-Adair, author of “The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age,” cited two common parental behaviors that can strongly influence a child’s tendency to abuse electronic media. Some parents are perpetually tuned into their own devices, responding to every ping of their cellphones and tablets, receiving and sending messages at times that would enrage Miss Manners. Other parents fail to establish and enforce appropriate rules for media engagement by their children.

Young children learn by example, often copying the behavior of adults. I often see youngsters in strollers or on foot with a parent or caretaker who is chatting or texting on a cellphone instead of conversing with the children in their charge. Dr. Steiner-Adair said parents should think twice before using a mobile device when with their children. She suggests parents check email before the children get up, while they are in school, or after they go to bed.

One girl among the 1,000 children she interviewed in preparing her book said, “I feel like I’m just boring. I’m boring my dad because he will take any text, any call, any time, even on the ski lift.” A 4-year-old called her father’s smartphone a “stupid phone.”

 

"I learned it from watching you!"

 

I do my very best to avoid taking phone calls or responding to every ding of my phone whenever I am at home (of course avoid this whenever I'm in a client meeting). I'm old school but I try to send the message that nothing is more important than what I am doing right now; everything else can wait.

Nevertheless, its a constant battle with my kids (13 & 16) to get off the screen; whatever it is. We went on vacation last week and it was great that we said they would be unplugged every minute we were out of the condo. Back home, all I can stress is not to look at the screen every chance and lead by example.