Earning Screens

My children would like to have some screen time.   In the case of my son, he lost screen time for two week (conveniently just before school started) by threatening his entire family with a knife (as soon as he got home and could get to the knife block, he said).   So no screens.   

The children don’t get screen time during the weekdays, but on the weekends my husband and I like to sleep in.   We put their iPads and headphones in a spot in our bedroom, charging, the night before and when they wake up they’re allowed to take the iPads carefully into the living room and watch or play things for part of the day.   

The change at the start of the school year seemed a good time to change the expectation and process for the children as well.  So now, they have to earn screen time.   This can be done in several ways so far.   The other day they helped fold multiple loads of laundry.   This was done with a significant amount of complaining about how long it took and how much there was to fold.   Mentally I was, to say the least, unsympathetic, although I told them they were doing a great job.   After everything was put away they earned equal time in screens. 

My son has been doing a lot of math work with his iPad, which has helped him at school already.   My daughter has done homework as well as using my Mac bluetooth keyboard to work on the Talking Typer program from the American Printing House for the Blind.   She’s learning touch typing with audible support.   Her hands are small, but provided she keeps her fingers at a known reference point, she’s learning the QUERTY layout a few keys at a time. 

Tonight my daughter asked if she could earn screen time so I came down to write this blog post in order to free up my keyboard for her to do some work before bed.   When my son sees her on her iPad I’d venture to guess he’ll ask if he can earn screen time too.   The removal of screens has been positive for the children in multiple ways.   They didn’t like it at first, but they’re becoming more interested. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son and daughter played together in the pool today.   He’s a good friend to his sister, helping her whenever she needs it.   But he annoys her mightily as well.   He wants to play rough—drag her under, push her, pull her—and she doesn’t like that at all.    They’re working on a balance, but after a while my son will go off and find friends he can play with that don’t mind his exuberance.  

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:   My daughter, through the generosity of family members, has raised money for her school.   When you reach certain tiers you get little prizes.   She’s “earned” a mini drone apparently.   They ran out and had to order more, which was sad to her as she told me, “I can’t wait to get the drone.  I’ve been wanting it for my whole life.”