So how long do you let your kid play?

[dmiller68]

So I was reading this article and thought it would be interesting to see what everyone with kids does. Here is that article:

"Reuters reports that Bill Gates revealed to a business audience in Ottawa that he put a limit to the time his10-year-old daughter spends on gaming.

"She became very avid and discovered a lot of computer games, including one that runs on the Xbox 360 called Viva Piñata, where you take care of your garden," Gates revealed. "She could spend two or three hours a day on this Viva Piñata, because it's kind of engaging and fun."

Gates and his wife Melinda have decided to set a limit for game playing of 45 minutes a day and an hour on weekends.

Contrary to what you would expect, being the son of Bill Gates doesn’t mean you get to play Xbox 360 with no limits." - Source

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I'll start this off. So my kids are 6 and 8 and go to private school so they have homework. We maybe allow 10-20min a night if they are done with their homework, baths and reading. Since they go to bed at 8pm this gives them one night a week normally. On weekends we let them play maybe 2-3 hours total for the weekend this includes xbox and DS time. Again they have to complete homework first before they can.

[ZoomZoom71]

We're probably setting a bad precedent with our 2-year old on the "media" thing. She's obviously not yet playing video games, but she gets a few hours per day in front of all her Noggin/Nick Jr. friends and other preschool DVD's. We don't feel completely guilty, since these things offer so much in the way of learning. (my 2 year old can count to 10 in Spanish!) But, we do intend to get a daily schedule going here soon, since my wife is gonna be watching a friend's child beginning next week, and we don't want each day to be filled w/ TV.

[Jon Liu]

I'm going to be a bad example to my children. How can I justify telling them "You can't play as long as daddy does!"

[dmiller68]

Originally Posted by Jon Liu

I'm going to be a bad example to my children. How can I justify telling them "You can't play as long as daddy does!"

Yeah, that is an issue which is why I play after they go to bed mostly.

[Jon Liu]

Hahaha, Yeah, true. Which is also why I play after my WIFE goes to bed, too!

Fortunately, she turns in very early, 9:00-9:30pm so I get to play until the wee hours of the night (unless I wake her up).

But, we will be making our kids go to bed early as well, so I guess the night times will be allllllllllllll mine!

[ZoomZoom71]

Jon, you'll quickly find out that video games will be very low on your priority list once your kid comes along. And, if you happen to not see it, your wife will definitely let you know about it. Been there, still there.

[Jon Liu]

Hahaha, any advice I can take from Fathers right now will DEFINITELY be helpful! I can only imagine I will be in the doghouse a lot!

I definitely know that my gaming time will be cut down drastically... I am looking forward to that come May!

[ZoomZoom71]

Just make sure your dog house has a network connection.

[CamDawg]

Our daughter (4 years old) gets about an hour a day in front of the TV (she's a little too young for video games). On special occasions or when she's sick, we change the rules a bit. For example, she and I watched Curious George the other day. I still let her watch her PBS Kids programming that morning and evening (two shows in the morning and one at night).

When she becomes old enough to be more interested in video gaming, we will incorporate that into the same general time limits.

My wife is much more of a stickler for this than I am. She is a professor of education at an area college, who is into all kinds of human development and educational psychology research, so she's pretty anal about what types of activities we have going on in our house. If it were up to me, we'd probably be having a lot more multimedia interfacing (i.e. playing games all day and all night). But, she's much better versed in that area than I am, so I tend to defer to her.

[CamDawg]

Originally Posted by ZoomZoom71

Jon, you'll quickly find out that video games will be very low on your priority list once your kid comes along. And, if you happen to not see it, your wife will definitely let you know about it. Been there, still there.

True Dat!!!

Typical gaming conversation at our house after having a child --

Me: Let me just finish this level.
Wife:
Me: Ah, OK. Maybe I'll finish that level next week

[Quo]

In my family it's very similar to everyone's comments so far. We have an 8 yr old son who loves games anda 6 year old girl who does not. The 8 year old plays maybe 45 minutes to an hour every 2 to 3 days. He's busy with other stuff a lot. All things considered, it works out to a similar level compared to DMill's kids. My wife allows him to go over when he's playing with Dad.

I generally only game when the kids are in bed and the wife's needs are met. She's really cool about it and usually is not overly jealous of my time. I make sure and always ask to see if there's anything she needs before I head down to play, and we set aside 2 or 3 nights a week for just us.

[AZRaiderH8r]

My 8 year old can only play after he has finished his homework, daily reading requirements and practiced his guitar. After that he can play for 30 minutes or so daily, although sometimes that stretches to an hour.

He doesn't get homework yet over the weekends, and he works so hard during the week that we usually ease up quite a bit on the weekends. He may play for a couple of hours over the weekend, but that's after he helps around the house, with his baby brother, etc.