If your child plays video games (wii, etc), do you have rules in place like time limits, or when to play, etc? How do you enforce it - timer, reminders?
I wonder what a good amount of time is for a 4-5 yr old to play? I try not to let Kyle play too long, but we don't have a set time limit. I would like to implement some rules, though, once we get back in to our own place, along with a reward system (like the bean jar).
We let Alexandra play by herself for 30 min/day, or a little longer when she has her friend over (I justify the longer time by the fact that she is interacting socially, LOL).
We just set a timer, and I'll tell her 5 minutes before it's about to go off that the end is near. So far, when the timer goes off, she's been accepting of the idea that it's time to quit. I'm hoping her compliance stays that way...
Mark's attention span and ability limit his video gaming for me. If he can't do something right the first time or figure out how something is done, he gets mad, pouts, and quits.
I have noticed obviously in winter the DS, computer and Wii get played a lot more. Now that it is nice outside things are rarely getting played since we are outside a lot.
Jake would play the DS all day long if we let him. We have restricted it to the car on the way to/from daycare (or wherever we're going). He was in heaven on that 14 hour ride to Florida at Thanksgiving
As for the Wii we don't have a set time limit - at this point all he does is play Mario World with his Dad a few nights a week usually for around 45 minutes.
He is really a video game/tv kid/computer kid. He likes all things technology so I'm trying to be really careful and push him to do other things. The DS limit of in the car has worked out really well in limiting it (most of our car rides are 15 minutes or less).
We took away the leapster because of Tristen, not Koda. Kid was obsessed. We'll re-introduce it with limits this summer.
I think it will be an earned privilege. If you complete your chore chart (I use the term chore pretty lightly), they will earn 20 or 30 minutes or leapster or computer game time. Maybe they earn a play coin and they can "spend" their coin on video game/computer time, or some other privilege. Actually, now that I type that I like it more- the choice of several things they might like.
We'll see.
We won't be buying a DS anytime in the foreseeable future. Eventually, we will be getting a Wii, but I think it will work the same way. An earned privilege.
I've been thinking about this alot lately since Braxton loves to play on the computer. We have found a Nick Jr. Web site that has tons of games and stuff to do.
I really want to do a chore chart (Since he is starting to help anyway) and have the computer be a reward. I really like the coin idea also.
Jake would play the DS all day long if we let him. We have restricted it to the car on the way to/from daycare (or wherever we're going). He was in heaven on that 14 hour ride to Florida at Thanksgiving
As for the Wii we don't have a set time limit - at this point all he does is play Mario World with his Dad a few nights a week usually for around 45 minutes.
He is really a video game/tv kid/computer kid. He likes all things technology so I'm trying to be really careful and push him to do other things. The DS limit of in the car has worked out really well in limiting it (most of our car rides are 15 minutes or less).
thanks, everyone! :)
Kris - Kyle is exactly the same way...a video game/tv kid/computer kid, so I need to be more careful. It's been a challenge to live in someone else's home with an older child who has different "boundaries"...looking forward to being in our own place!
Jen - I like the idea of it being an earned privilege, I've thought about doing something similar. Like maybe start the day with a set time and then they can earn additional time up to a max or even lose time based on behavior.
My kids get an hour a day each, if they choose. Brittany rarely plays that long but the others do when they play. Kyle plays every day (except Sundays, we don't allow computer time on Sundays). Rebecca and Crystal don't want to play on the computer more than once a week or so. Brenna and Brittany only play 2-3 days a week.
To enforce the time, they set a timer. When it goes off, they have to get off. We've had times with Kyle that when the timer goes off, he says he's going to get to a save point then stop. Then a half hour later he's still playing. At times like those, we take off that time from the next day's playing. It didn't take too long before he started keeping better track of his time and saved just before his time was up. I don't mind if they need an extra couple of minutes to save but Kyle was getting ridiculous about it.
We haven't introduced computer games yet (a bit on my ipod). I figure we'll fight this battle as he gets older so we do not encourage computer use at this point.
The times I have let him play, he obsesses so I think it's a good policy to keep it from him for now. Once he's in school, we won't have this ability so we'll have to think of a plan at that point.
We haven't introduced computer games yet (a bit on my ipod). I figure we'll fight this battle as he gets older so we do not encourage computer use at this point.
The times I have let him play, he obsesses so I think it's a good policy to keep it from him for now. Once he's in school, we won't have this ability so we'll have to think of a plan at that point.
I swear there are times that I wish we had not passed the DS to Jake - and times that I wish we didn't have all of this technology at all!
cole can play the leapster as much as he wants right now, but that doesn't equal much for him
Aly's son is on the leapster all damn day.
with that being said, they're both only playing reading/writing/math games and i've noticed cole has picked up lots of things from the games
if/when we get a wii or DS (i bought him one for christmas and returned it) it will be a timed thing that you are allowed to use when you're done with your day, etc.
Andrew would stay on the computer or X-Box forever if we let him. He plays Wizard 101 on the computer and loves it so much. We only have an X-Box, not an X-Box 360, so they haven't made new games for this thing in years. He has a few games that we bought on eBay and at some used game store. He plays Cars, Spiderman, X-Men, Robot Wars, and some crash game where you try and crash to get lots of points and get new bigger cars.
He doesn't get to play until he's done his homework. It's usually writing a sentence a couple of times, writing a letter several times, or his name 3 times. That makes homework go smoother.
As for a time limit, with me being on lots of rest, he's gotten to play more than I would usually let him. I can lay on the couch and he can sit there and play X-Box. I try to play with him, or at least talk about what he's doing, so he isn't vegging out in front of a screen by himself for an hour.
With Wizard 101, the computer is on the kitchen table, so I either sit with him or will be making dinner or doing laundry so that I can check on him every min or so. With that game he does need lots of help, since he can't read much; but, he can battle mostly by himself. He's actually got, like, the next 10 years or so of Halloween costumes planned out based on this game. A Fire Elf, Field Guard, Kracken... LOL
We only have leapsters, and I don't have limits on those. They adore them, and play them daily, but not for terribly long stretches at a time.
But honestly, I hear Anna sounding out words, and see her tracing letters and doing adding numbers and such, and I don't mind. Kate is starting to talk about math a lot now too-and so I am ok with them using those.
We don't own a gaming system aside from a PS2 that is in a closet waiting for Bill to list on CL. We aren't gamers. We don't play computer games and my kids don't even know how to use the computers-they will be behind on that skill when they get to school!! So no DS or anything else. Leapster is it for them for now.
Now that it is getting nice out though, sometimes I will tell them to turn them off and let's go outside. But otherwise, I let them play if they want to.
Lucas can play Leapster as much as he wants but he rarely stays on longer than 15-20 minutes at a time and he doesn't play it every day. He has learned so much from the games that I don't think I have a negative thing to say about them. We have a TON of them and I already have several saved for his birthday and Christmas that he wasn't quite old enough when I bought them on sale at T.J. Maxx for $5.
