Question: How Do I Limit My Child's Time with Electronics?

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Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

Grab and cup of coffee and settle in to read this week's question. Below is how the mom's council answered but we want to hear from you. Leave a comment in the comment box below and share your thoughts.

Question: How Do I Limit My Child's Time with Electronics?

Annette Grams

At times over the last dozen years I have been having a love-hate relationship with our teen's electronics. I still hate texting. The jury is still out on my teen's cell phone, PC video, cam chatting, and skyp-in. The all time biggest destruction of constructive time and personal real connection is facebook-in aka social media stalking and texting/IM-ing.

In today's world of children, tweens and teens, each group of electronics require different boundaries and at different points during their quickly evolving preferences and escalating maturity. 

I used electronics as a carrot. Good grades? Great grades? As the years and school terms progressed, our child, and then tween, eventually opened boxes of playstations, Wii, etc and a cache of games. Electronics were dangled and lost if not earned with EACH report card. She was the last on the block to EARN these gadgets, toys, etc. Due to late introduction and the link to grades she very rarely needed time limits or lost any electronic gaming.

Facebook-ing, social media stalking, and texting at the biggest time consumers.  I regret not waiting and tying those more to a constructive reward structure.  Texting has at times been more of a battle than a carrot.

There is nothing more painful then a teens screaming a contorted face when you make them palm up that darn phone or even just shutting off texting or the internet on that smart phone.

I love electronics. I love seeing her reach goals and earn and usual keep electronic rewards. I HATE TEXTING.

Karen Stack

It's mostly a weekend activity.  And I limit it to usually 1/2 an hour~ no more than an hour each occasion.  I don't make a big deal of screen time because my children know using electronics is for down time, a rainy day or a long car trip.  I've also used it as a reward for a job well done.  As in, "way to go kid~ you've finished your project a day early so you can play Wii tomorrow instead of having homework to do!"