this week Pew Research Center Published a study about how parents managed screen time For their children aged 12 and under. The results weren’t particularly surprising (or enlightening, if we’re honest). Fully 90 percent of parents said their children watch TV, and 61 percent said their children interact with smartphones at least occasionally. Somewhat surprisingly, only 50 percent said they let them play some type of game console. While 42 percent of respondents said they could better manage their children’s screen time, 86 percent said they have rules regarding screens, even if they don’t always follow them.
However, what you won’t find in the Pew study is what those rules are. That a certain percentage of parents “always” let their kids watch TV doesn’t give us useful information, like how long they watch TV, what they watch, or how parents are making sure they’re not watching anything inappropriate.
With my eight-year-old we have implemented a type of barter system that I borrowed from Greg McKeown, author of. materialismThey start each week with 10 tokens, worth a total of $5 or five hours of screen time. They can earn extra time or money by reading. How they use that time is largely up to them, they could play Minecraft or watch shows on Disney+, Netflix or Paramount+ on their kids’ accounts. They also have access to some music-making apps and games on their iPad. But we do not allow them uninterrupted access to the iPad.
Lest you think I’m the first to regulate my kids’ screen time, my youngest gets an hour of (mostly educational) TV a day so we can help the oldest kids with their homework in peace. And every Saturday we have family movie night, and we take turns choosing what we watch that week.
It also turns out that the amount of time kids spend in front of screens isn’t the biggest concern. Time limits were common, but not universal.
It seems to be parents’ biggest concern about what kids do with their screen time. Social media was a major concern, with 80 percent of respondents in the Pew survey saying it caused more harm than good. Somewhat shockingly, 15 percent said their children use TikTok, although use of other platforms like Instagram and Facebook is much less common, at just 5 percent. 74 percent said they watch YouTube with their children, while only 15 percent said their children do not watch YouTube at all.
In terms of time management tools, taking the device away or pressing the power button were the most popular. However some people use Apple’s Screen Time tool specifically to limit iPad usage.
It was not common for small children to have phones. The Pew survey found that only 29 percent of parents allow their 8 to 10-year-old child to have their own smartphone. But, once children reach adolescence, these become more common.
Remember, there is no right answer for how to raise your children. What works for one parent may not for another. We are all trying our best. or at least 58 percent of us think we areAccording to Pew.
