My son started asking for a tablet and I want to get ahead of this before it becomes a battle. Right now he gets maybe 45 mins on weekends watching YouTube videos about building stuff, which he actually learns from. But I'm worried about setting a bad precedent. What do you guys do? We don't have a ton of rules in our house yet and I'm starting from scratch.
Seven is still pretty young for a tablet IMO. I set a rule that my kid gets maybe an hour a day max, and it's usually educational stuff or one show. Tablets are so addictive though so you gotta set boundaries early or it becomes a nightmare.
We did one hour on weekends and two 30-minute chunks during the week. The key is being consistent from day one so he doesn't think he can negotiate you down. Once they get a taste of unlimited screen time, good luck getting that back.
We did 30 minutes on school days and an hour on weekends for our oldest at that age. The key is being consistent and having activities he actually wants to do instead. Once he got into soccer and building stuff, the tablet requests dropped way down.
My son is 7 too and I've been debating this exact thing. I'm thinking of making it a reward system rather than free access. Like he earns screen time through chores or reading. Seems less like a battle that way.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting it, but the real battle is what counts as screen time. My ex and I had different rules at each house which was a nightmare. Pick a number and stick to it at your place.
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Honestly my daughter is 5 months old and I'm already dreading this conversation. What did you end up going with? Educational apps only or do you let him play games too?