With school starting we are cutting back the computer time to almost nothing. lol I am curious how much time you allow your kids online. I can't decide if I should cut internet out altogether, M-Th. Allowing time on Fri-Sat. Or if I want to allow 30 minutes per day, per child after school? If my high schooler is using the internet for research/homework then I can give him more time on the computer.

Just curious what your rules are during the school year, regarding computer time.

By Jackie on Saturday, August 16, 2008 - 12:16 pm:

We don't have any real rules concerning this. My older kids know no tv, no computer until homework is completely done, which includes any sort of reading they have to do as well. It is just a rule we always have. They do not play on their computers everyday, sometimes my 9 yr old prefers to veg on the sofa and watch tv.

Since my son will be starting highschool, his time will be more limited on computer/tv as he has to get up much earlier to catch the bus, which means he will be going to bed earlier.
Highschool kids catch the bus at 6:30, last year in middle school, the bus came at 8:30.

We haven't started school yet, they still have until after Laborday.

By Yjja123 on Saturday, August 16, 2008 - 12:41 pm:

1/2 hour for "fun" = emailing friends & visiting sites.
Unlimited (but supervised) for school research, etc.

By Colette on Saturday, August 16, 2008 - 01:18 pm:

One hour per day for fun - but they don't watch any tv. Unlimited for school work.

By Debbie on Saturday, August 16, 2008 - 02:04 pm:

My kids would rather be outside playing then watching TV, playing video games, or playing on the computer, so I don't have any "set" rules on this. But, they are also just 10 and 8, and don't chat, or email friends, etc. Now, some days if the weather is bad, and they are stuck in the house, I will tell them to find something else to do if they are on the computer, or playing video games for too long.

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, August 16, 2008 - 08:04 pm:

It's not anything I ever worried about. My kids were good at finding a time to get their homework done, on their own, so I didn't have to regulate it.

Even when I worked, until 8pm and wasn't home after school, I would come home to homework done. What happens is that Emily will complain that her homework is cutting too much into her computer/knitting time!

My kids really never did homework right after school. They both prefer to do it, after supper, unless there were plans for the evening, like our knit night, band concerts, National Honor Society induction ceremonies, etc.

Oh yeah, they do homework, in front of the tv. LOL! However, they get good grades and were always on the honor roll, so I never made a big stink about it. Last year, Emily had to do her chemistry homework by the computer, since her chemistry book was online.

By Conni on Saturday, August 16, 2008 - 08:40 pm:

My kids have had a routine for 11 yrs of snack, homework, play, dinner time, etc... I am not concerned with them getting their homework completed, they always do this right after school. I have a teenager that will sit on a computer game all evening and another child that has found a game he loves and will play it a lot. So, I was trying to decide what would be fair on computer time each day. I am leaning towards 30min per day. Unless it is for school work.

My middle ds is a computer game nerd and video game junkie. No, he isn't fat either. lol He is very thin. I guess I am the only one with a child that loves the computer.

Thanks!!!

By Kaye on Saturday, August 16, 2008 - 11:27 pm:

My children love the computer, the middle one most.

I haven't quite set times, I guess it depends what they are doing. My 12 year old is designing his own website, so he has been spending a lot of time on that. My dd has discovered chatting, so we have been letting her get that out of her system. It really depends on the day. Somedays we don't touch the computer. So I guess it just depends on whatelse they are doing. As a family we watch a lot of tv together, etc, so if they want to surf instead of that, I guess it is okay. They are all very active, so if it fits in to the schedule and all else is done it doesn't stress me.

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, August 16, 2008 - 11:52 pm:

Ditto what Kay said. My kids have a lot of fun, too, and I really haven't put limits on it.

By Luvn29 on Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 09:22 am:

I don't set limits. They play a lot outside, my son loves to play with his figures using his imagination.

My dd rarely gets on the computer except late in the evening. My son really loves it.

Some days he wants on more than others. I let him on quite a bit because I just don't see the problem with it as long as he is active and will do something else. I can't imagine only giving him half an hour though. He'd die! LOL! I guess I look at it this way: I love to read. If I were ever to get two hours free time to read, I'd hate it if I could only have half an hour to do something I really love when there is nothing else that has to be done.

I'm fairly lenient about things like this as long as behavior and grades are good. And as long as my kids are active, if they are having a "lazy" day, I let them.

By Annie2 on Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 09:33 am:

My kids monitor their computer time. One dd loves it, other dd will check her myspace, ds will play a game, check his space and older dd usually only uses the family computer for schoolwork...which comes first; for all of the kids.
If one wants to get on the computer and the other child is on it they will tell them, you have 15 more minutes, they negotiate, set the timer.
My kids are all very active and do their homework without being told usually after dinner. They have great grades.
However if that were not the case I would have to set limits. If homework wasn't being done or I had to push them to do it, I would have them do homework before any computer time.
I would wait if I were you to set up rules right now. Wait and see how the school year starts. You may not even have a problem.
Or you could say you have 30 minutes, then set the kitchen timer. Tell him he can get back on after all of his work is complete...
Sometimes easier said than done lol

By Insaneusmcwife on Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 03:30 pm:

My kids don't play video games on school nights. That includes the computer. The know they have to have homework and chores done before they go play outside or turn on the tv. Usually by the time homework and chores are done I have started dinner. After dinner we start the bed time rituals and they are allowed to watch tv until 30 min before bedtime. Then its reading time and lights out. Weekends are a different story. After morning chores are done they are free to play. After dinner the evening chores are done they are free to play some more. We don't have a set bed time for the weekends. We started doing this with ds 3 years ago and since then he as been on honor roll every year.

By Momofmax on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 02:45 pm:

My ds (9 yrs old) is not allowed video games or computer time from Sunday afternoon until Friday after school. He will not balance his time well without this rule. He will also skip brushing teeth and eating breakfast to play video games in the a.m.! This summer we had "no screen" days on Tuesdays and Thursdays - no tv, video, computer. This made him become interested in other things that he would continue to do the other days of the week. It worked out great!

By Kate on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 02:53 pm:

My kids (12 and 7) have no limits. Sometimes they're on it a lot, sometimes they're not. It all seems to even out.

By Tayjar on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 03:30 pm:

I don't really have to set limits, yet. They go in spurts, like Kate's. DD spends more time on the computer than DS but DS plays more video games. Both spend most of the day outside or doing some physical activity in the summer. during the school year, they both have sports so they don't have much time for any screen time.

By Rayelle on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 04:37 pm:

I don't really set time limits here either but we aren't at the email friends stage. They play games. They have a good balance of playing outside, reading, drawing, toys etc. At their ages they also don't have a ton of homework. I kick them off all the time now that I am addicted to selling things on ebay and soon my online classes will start.