I have the same problem!
My little sister spend a lot of time with her smartphone or laptop. Every day I have to take away these gadgets that to spend time together. The first question "Do you have WiFi?" is annoying when we come to cafe. Arrrr :serious:
I've heared about some small devices like a portable projector. I think it can help us...Does anybody know anything about it?

 

I dunno. I still talk to my kids. DD2 and I will play pass and play scrabble. Or we watch silly videos or music videos together and laugh over them. I send my daughter interesting articles I read and the like over email and she will respond. I think it's all just different kinds of communication. We do eat dinner together every night, though, and there are no phones, etc at the table. I think we have plenty of time to chat and interact AND we occasionally incorporate media into those interactions.

On gadget that has united us is the fitbit type activity trackers. It's fun to be in a friendly competition with who has the most steps. We can also challenge each other to different things. It's all friendly competition and gets us moving.

 

The only gadget my kids are allowed to use when we're together as a family is an iPod with a speaker. We listen to recorded books all the time in the car, and when they really, really need to chill out at home (they read a lot, too, but my daughter gets carsick so can't read in the car). I don't know why you couldn't attach the speaker to other gadgets. They haven't had a lot of opportunity to control gadgets that could interfere with family or chore time, but when they have had that chance, we have the rule that we take the gadget away if they're using it too much or inappropriately.

 

We have a no screen time during the week rule. There's just too much going on during the week to have screens going. If there are no screens, it's not a problem. They get plenty of screen time during the weekend and we do family screen time stuff too. We play the Xbox together or games on their tablets or watch a movie together. Screens and socialization aren't automatically mutually exclusive.

 

My kids are living at home while attending college now. We still only have one Tv in the house and eat dinner around the table every night they aren't working late. We love chatting and checking in with each other at the end of our day. Sure, they have their own computers but their time online does not seem excessive compared to some of their peers.

 

At what age do you think a kid can get their first Xbox? I’ve been wondering about that lately as my little one is starting to show interest in gaming. I’m trying to figure out when the right time would be for him to have his own console, but I want to make sure it’s a good fit for his age and development. I’ll also be reaching out to xbox customer support to ask about parental controls, age-appropriate games, and any other tips they might have for introducing gaming to younger kids.

 

At what age kiddo can get his first xbox?

I won't suggest giving one if he's less than 13.