My wife and I have been arguing about this. She thinks an hour of iPad time before bed is fine, I think it messes with his sleep. He gets maybe 30 mins at school for computer class and then we're trying to limit home use but it's tough. Pediatrician didn't give us super clear guidance. What are you guys doing with your younger kids?
The before bed part is really the thing I'd push back on. My wife wanted to do the same thing and I finally convinced her that screen time right before sleep just doesn't work. Maybe compromise by moving iPad time to earlier in the day?
An hour before bed seems rough to me. The blue light from the iPad is gonna mess with his sleep even if it doesn't seem like it. We do 30 minutes max in our house and usually earlier in the day.
This is the eternal argument. I think an hour is probably on the high side for a 6 year old but every kid is different. What does he actually do on the iPad?
An hour before bed is rough - that blue light is going to mess with her sleep. We cap it at 30 minutes and only in the afternoon. iPad right before bed? Kids are wired when they should be winding down.
Show her the research on screen time before sleep. It's pretty solid stuff about melatonin and sleep cycles. Sometimes the science makes it easier to compromise on rules instead of just saying no.
Sign in to join the conversation.
This was a huge argument in our house too. The AAP says max 1-2 hours of quality content per day for school age kids. But honestly we found that cutting screen time an hour before bed makes bedtime way easier. Wife came around on that one.