How to keep track of Screen Time

[momofmine]

Hi all,

My kids are older and we homeschool.  But screen time in our house had gotten out of hand.  We don't even have cable but there's so MUCH to do that involves a screen. 

Together we all came up with a plan for limiting screen time each day, but now I am having a hard time keeping track of it.  We tried having a board where you write down when you get on and off a screen, but they would forget to write it down either getting on or off, and then they would estimate which would always seem to me to be way under.

I thought about some kind of alarm or stopwatch that can count down their total day's worth of screen time, but then they still have to remember to find it and use it at whatever screen they are on.  And that just seems so much like it's policing them.  I want them to really learn to self-regulate.  I want them to feel like they can run to the computer and look up something for a minute, without feeling like it is always so strictly regulated.  They just use the computer for so many good things throughout the day, but I just can't have them in front of a screen all day.

Any ideas?  I am talking about 7 and 11 years old.  Thanks!

[hildare]

... could they write their research questions or queries down on a sheet of paper and condense those logins to one particular block of time in which they research what they're interested in?

so many ins and outs would be hard to keep up with but a simple time frame (like child x does research from 10-11 and child y does computer research from 12-1 or something)

might give them good practice framing search words and questions as well as writing beforehand while also giving you an easy way to regulate screen time?

[momofmine]

Thanks for the ideas.  I guess I don't want to do that because I really do appreciate that our learning is completely organic, and happens within context of something real and time-sensitive.  If they have a question about something, they want to look it up then, when it's meaningful and relevant, if they can.  I don't really think that's the biggest chunk of it though.  It's really the times when I am busy with my own stuff and they get on the computer to watch a show or play games, and then no one knows who's been on for how long, etc, etc.  I feel like I just need a good system for them tracking their own time when watching shows, playing games, etc.  I feel like they are old enough to do that on their own.  And then the other stuff, like running to look something up on the computer, I will just count as part of life in the age of Google.

[One_Girl]

How about giving them a specific amount of limited time they can go on for games and shows, like the oldest one can go on from 1p.m. to 2p.m.  I find that set times help because I don't have to be the computer police and my dd knows when she can watch.  You can still allow inquiries using the internet at any time and monitor it using the browser history button.  You should actually also be able to click on the browser history button and see which sites they went on and the time they went on.  If they are skipping out and in that may not help, but if you are busy for a few hours and come in to find them online you can quickly check to see how long they have been on.  A kitchen timer by each screen may also help with this, but if they are fudging around with the time when they estimate then they are probably going to do the same with a timer. 

[hakeber]

Maybe you could get the software that internet cafes use to give a time limit to their customers and they could get tokens for the week and each token is worth like 30 minutes? then they could decide to use it as they like, and control their own use and when the time is up, the computer locks.

Not for research stuff but just play time?

[nd_deadhead]

We have a kitchen timer next to the computer, and my kids will set a time (usually 20 minutes). When the timer rings, they are done - or as soon as reasonable, so they can save whatever it is they're doing. This has worked well for us since our twins were 5 or 6, and we got our first computer (they're almost 17 now). Early on they are very good at policing each other; now they use the timer to limit study breaks during howmework.

Some things were designated unlimited - in our house, the boys loved to do stop-motion animation (using either clay or Legos). At age 12, they researched the best (free) software to use; they figured out how to add titles, music, and voice-overs. I figured that was enough of a learning experience - as well as very imaginative play - that I didn't mind if they did it for hours. Writing computer programs is another freebie at our house (one of my sons won a $1000 scholarship at a programming competition).