We use electronics frequently in our home. We try not to over play since we have some one gaming addict. If he could play games all day he would. Whether they are on the computer, tablet, DS, Wii, phone, doesn't matter he loves them all and would do nothing else with his time. Because of this especially I try my best to limit the electronic use in our house. Here is what we do in the area of electronics.
First, all electronics are put away the children must ask to play/use them. I'm old fashioned in the fact that, I would rather my children use their imagination and play together or play outdoors, when possible. A screen can only give you so much entertainment. To become active you must get up and get out. To use your brain you sometimes need to step away from the device and sometimes there needs to be quiet and reflection or we all miss the world going by. Now you know me, to each his own. If electric devices work great in your house and the kids use them all the time I don't judge. Each mom must do what they feel is best for their kiddos. I keep most electronics in these baskets high up on shelves. They don't even have access to any remote at this point.
The three older children do most of their school work on the computer. In a previous post I stated that we use the Easy Peasy homeschool curriculum. My children love the curriculum and so do I! This curriculum requires most daily work to be done on the computer, which is great practice for the future. The honest truth is, our culture will only become more advanced and dependent on these tools. This curriculum will give my children the opportunity to experience a computer not only as a toy but a tool. We will seldom allow the children to play games on a few of our favorite sites, pbskids.org and disneyjunior.com I fully trust these sites for my young children to use. My sister in law also signed up for abcmouse.com and since she only has one child she allows the older children to also use her account. These are fabulous sites I would recommend to parents for fun play and educational play.
Portable electronics are used spontaneously with our children. They become last minute resorts, time killers, or transition makers. We use them at least once each week but do not use them daily. We own 3 Leappads and 1 Leapster 2 2 Kindle Fires and one DS. The Leappads I bought when the kids were little for long trips in the car. The Leapster was given to us by family. The Kindle Fires my husband and I bought for ourselves during amazon black friday sale and the DS was given to Eli from our cousins. So most of these items were given to us.
Let me start with Leappads, I really like Leappads! They are education only and not wi fi capable. We've had them for several years and I prefer to buy game and movie downloads. I always purchase downloads before we venture out on a big trip. The cost is not much only a few dollars since I only buy the apps that are on sale. The downloaded apps can be shared up to four devices. I recommend these devices for children 4 and under it is a perfect device for my two littles. The Leapster is like the Leappad only an older version and the kids love it too!
Kindle Fire has an installed app that is incredible. You can set up how much time your children can play, what days they can play and even set time to use the educational apps before the entertainment apps. This app is amazing and we all love it! It manages the time and play so you don't have to. Many times I'll allow my children to play on the Kindle and forget they are playing. Generally this would result in overplay until the battery power was exhausted. With FreeTime my children are cut off after a set amount of time and can no longer play.
TV time is spent in the morning waking up which is usually use watching PBS kids. PBS kids is educational and they all appreciate the shows. From time to time in the afternoons we'll watch a DVD or movie on Netflix during quiet time. Most of the time we let the kids watch a show on Netflix before bedtime. I really try not to use the TV too much but again when I do I try to keep it educational.
We are not perfect, I'm ashamed to say that sometimes I just need a break and I throw them a tablet or turn on the TV just to get a little quiet after a long day. I know I shouldn't but if we as moms were honest with ourselves and others we would realize that we all have those days. There is NO perfect mom!
First, all electronics are put away the children must ask to play/use them. I'm old fashioned in the fact that, I would rather my children use their imagination and play together or play outdoors, when possible. A screen can only give you so much entertainment. To become active you must get up and get out. To use your brain you sometimes need to step away from the device and sometimes there needs to be quiet and reflection or we all miss the world going by. Now you know me, to each his own. If electric devices work great in your house and the kids use them all the time I don't judge. Each mom must do what they feel is best for their kiddos. I keep most electronics in these baskets high up on shelves. They don't even have access to any remote at this point.
The three older children do most of their school work on the computer. In a previous post I stated that we use the Easy Peasy homeschool curriculum. My children love the curriculum and so do I! This curriculum requires most daily work to be done on the computer, which is great practice for the future. The honest truth is, our culture will only become more advanced and dependent on these tools. This curriculum will give my children the opportunity to experience a computer not only as a toy but a tool. We will seldom allow the children to play games on a few of our favorite sites, pbskids.org and disneyjunior.com I fully trust these sites for my young children to use. My sister in law also signed up for abcmouse.com and since she only has one child she allows the older children to also use her account. These are fabulous sites I would recommend to parents for fun play and educational play.
I love electronics that are focused on education! If I had it my way that would be the only electronic capabilities my children would own. But we have daddy who lives in our house and he will not lie to you he enjoys playing wii games with the children. Remember I have a game addict and because of this we I have decided to only allow wii (fun video games) on Fridays for an hour. Maybe that's strict or crazy but we came an agreement that we don't want these games controlling our household. So, only on Fridays, only for an hour and lastly it must be earned! If any of the children have been a pain in the behind all week long NO Friday video games. It's harsh but I feel that fun games are privilege. Some of their (including daddy) favorite games are down below.
Portable electronics are used spontaneously with our children. They become last minute resorts, time killers, or transition makers. We use them at least once each week but do not use them daily. We own 3 Leappads and 1 Leapster 2 2 Kindle Fires and one DS. The Leappads I bought when the kids were little for long trips in the car. The Leapster was given to us by family. The Kindle Fires my husband and I bought for ourselves during amazon black friday sale and the DS was given to Eli from our cousins. So most of these items were given to us.
Kindle Fire has an installed app that is incredible. You can set up how much time your children can play, what days they can play and even set time to use the educational apps before the entertainment apps. This app is amazing and we all love it! It manages the time and play so you don't have to. Many times I'll allow my children to play on the Kindle and forget they are playing. Generally this would result in overplay until the battery power was exhausted. With FreeTime my children are cut off after a set amount of time and can no longer play.
TV time is spent in the morning waking up which is usually use watching PBS kids. PBS kids is educational and they all appreciate the shows. From time to time in the afternoons we'll watch a DVD or movie on Netflix during quiet time. Most of the time we let the kids watch a show on Netflix before bedtime. I really try not to use the TV too much but again when I do I try to keep it educational.
We are not perfect, I'm ashamed to say that sometimes I just need a break and I throw them a tablet or turn on the TV just to get a little quiet after a long day. I know I shouldn't but if we as moms were honest with ourselves and others we would realize that we all have those days. There is NO perfect mom!
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