screen time
We have three children, 7, 4 and 2 years old. Everyone is allowed 30 minutes of screen time per day. At the moment they cannot agree on a joint program that would also be suitable for the 2-year-old. Because we don’t yet allow the 4-year-old to watch the show that the 7-year-old wants to watch (Pokémon) (FSK 6), each child needs their own screen.
So first I bring the little one into the playroom, start the app for the “Show with the Elephant” on our tablet and navigate to the “Bobo Siebendormouse” videos. I put the tablet on the bookshelf within easy reach of her. She independently selects an episode (often: “Bobo and the excavator”) and starts it by touching the little picture.
In the living room, the 4-year-old started the television and then the Disney+ app independently using the Amazon FireTVStick remote control. When selecting a profile, he uses the profile pictures as a guide. The children chose the picture for the child’s profile together; currently it is a baby tiger. From the series he has watched recently, he selects his current favorite, “Gigantosaurus”, an animated series about dinosaur friends.
Finally, I take my private laptop, which I use for work during the day in my home office, and bring it to the older man’s bedroom. I enter the password and open the browser. My son is allowed to type “netflix.com” in the address bar and enjoys navigating to his series using the laptop mouse pad, which is very unfamiliar to him. Then I close all the doors so that everyone can watch without headphones and without disturbing each other and sit down with the little one in the playroom.
I enjoy the following 20-25 minutes of screen time, of course, on the screen of my cell phone.
(Teresa)