Determining the Appropriate Amount of Screen Time

How much computer time is too much computer time for your child?
That is a fair question for a parent to ask.  While it would be a great to have a chart, be able to plot your child’s age, and come up with the amount of time your child should spend in front of a computer, it is just not that simple.  There are many variables that go into what is the perfect amount of screen time for your child.
If your child uses the computer after school for researching projects, and the production of projects and papers then the time you allow on the computer for fun should not be reduced because they are using computer time
for homework.
It gets even more complicated if your child is homeschooled and uses an online curriculum.   How do you determine how much time your child should spend on the computer?  Of course, you would have to include time for school, projects, games, and personal time.  And at the end of the day that can be a number of hours in total.
With more of our lives on the computer, or the smart phone, or the tablet, and more information available on the web, it is difficult to know how much time on the computer is too much time.
Here are several suggestions as to how to determine what an appropriate amount of screen time is for your children.

First, consider your child’s age.  Younger children should spend less time; older children can spend more time.  Be
careful to balance the amount of screen time your child is allowed with his or her need.  If she does more school on the computer take that into consideration.  If the child uses the computer solely for entertainment, playing games, communicating with friends, and simple web searching, then the amount of time the child spends should be fairly limited.
Second, consider your child’s behavior.  Many parents find that the longer a child is allowed in front of a computer screen, the more irritable they become.  Additionally, some parents notice that children have a harder time winding down and going to sleep if they have prolonged game time.  If your child’s sleep habits are being affected, or your child shows increased irritability, then it is reasonable to reduce screen time and see how that affects the child’s behavior.  If your child seems to be becoming more secretive, or less social with the family you also might consider reducing screen time.
Closely related to the child’s behavior and sleep habits would also be the child’s physical condition.  It is very important that children are getting enough physical activity.  Some parents balance screen time with outside time or physical activity. With the rise in obesity in the United States, and increase in weight related disease processes in children and young adults, keeping children physically active is of increased importance.  An increase in physical activity might cut into screen time, but it might also cause an improvement in behavior as excess energy is expended.
The third thing that you might consider when deciding on how much screen time your child should have might have to do more with you and less with your child.  Of course, the first two things you considered were directly dependent on your child, first their age, and second their behavior.  The third thing is more of a security consideration.  Your child should not be allowed more screen time than you can reasonably oversee.  If you cannot directly or remotely oversee the amount of time your child spends on the computer then consider reducing the screen time until it matches up with the amount of time you can supervise.  Do not let the computer be a babysitter, or something to keep your child occupied.  There are too many people out there who want to do harm to unsuspecting children and unprotected computers.  Even if you are directly supervising your child on the computer, it never hurts to remind him or her about internet security.  One of the best ways to prevent cyber bullying is to be aware of what your child is doing on the internet.
As you can see, there are a number of situations that can influence how much time your child spends on the computer.  Consider the work they need to do for school, whether that is homeschool core curriculum, or research for a paper or project.  Consider the child’s age.  Generally, the younger the child, the less screen time the child needs.  Allow for plenty of physical exercise, not only to burn energy, and stay physically fit, but also for ergonomic reasons.  Finally, consider security when determining how much time you allow your child to be on
the computer, and the internet.  Even games that you might consider safe as far as content is concerned can be
dangerous if your child gives away too much personal information.  If you are closely supervising your child’s
screen time, you reduce the chances of security issues.  For each child, and each family, there will be a number of things to consider when determining the amount of screen time, and over time the amount of time that is appropriate will probably change.