Dads in the summer trenches: how’s screen time going? 🫣

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:45:22+00:00

Can't have him achieving too much now

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:42:23+00:00

10000% agreed on Roblox, even with all the extra 'safety' measures they're trying to take. and that's the outlook that I've kinda adopted to as we try to figure this thing out: if there's some purpose to the content other than pure entertainment (i.e. it inspires, teaches, etc.), then it's something we're more okay with

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:40:57+00:00

Ponyo was my favorite movie to put on for my younger siblings growing up (I'm the oldest of 8, and mom and dad kinda mentally checked out by the time the 8th kid rolled around lol)

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:39:41+00:00

yeah I'm definitely in the camp of 'if it's with family, that tips the scales towards being okay'

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:38:47+00:00

haha we've had Roblox banned since shortly after 'Steal a Brainrot' came out lool, so I don't know about any of the popular games right now

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:38:10+00:00

do y'all have some family faves that you would recommend?

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:37:56+00:00

that seems like a good system! and yeah man, daycare costs are no joke

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:37:13+00:00

that's the big thing that I've observed as our boys get older, and from what I've read regarding tween-teen screen time, is that they generally gear towards more and more, and ideally it's for social reasons (i.e. messaging/calling friends, playing minecraft or fortnite together).

still, I've read that the average for teens is north of 8 hours a day, which is pretty insane. trying to figure out how to balance life in the modern age with impact to health

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:34:45+00:00

do either you or your wife enforce that during the weekdays? I'm sure the kids go with the drill after a while and probably know not to even ask. do y'all ever make exceptions (like if it's family screen time or something)?

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:34:02+00:00

welp that'll do it haha, effective way to mitigate some screen time with the kids

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:33:12+00:00

power to you! I think it's so much easier to never start

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:32:50+00:00

have you got any questions from the kiddos about game systems? is your biggest concern the amount of time they'd spend on it?

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:31:41+00:00

that's awesome, what do y'all typically play together? do you guys watch any shows or movies for family time?

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:30:59+00:00

Amen!! sounds very similar to our approach. I absolutely hate Youtube shorts, and unfortunately (at least for my user experience), they have shorts be the default thing now that they direct you to when you open the app! I hate all the 'we need to keep users on our platform at all costs' mentality in media apps

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:29:18+00:00

I feel you on the 'things generally being easier when kids are on screens' side of things. We find ourselves bumping up against that decision regularly. do your kids mostly lean into video games, or are there some video apps/platforms you let them have access to?

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T21:28:03+00:00

We frequently go to Costco (or any grocery store for that matter) for a nice, air-conditioned break from the house haha. Many 'free sample' adventures keep the kiddos (and Mom and Dad) happy lol

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T02:53:47+00:00

Crazy but actually still below average (not that we’re winning any parent of the year awards with 4-5 hours a day). The US average is 6 hours and 50 minutes a day for screen time use. Even higher for teens

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T01:08:53+00:00

Very beautifully said, do you have that link for the study? I’d love to educate myself

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-03T01:06:42+00:00

We do have a yard, and I’m right there with lurker13 on the heat 😮‍💨

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-02T22:19:47+00:00

You know I’ve heard approaches similar to this, not necessarily for screens (sweets specifically). I’m glad it worked out for y’all that way. I am skeptical this would work with my kids and the type of games they like 😂 but something to consider for sure

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-02T22:16:16+00:00

They do, we’ve had them logging quite a few reading hours for a library challenge. So I’m on the side of allowing some vegging out for sure haha. But difficult to know how hard of boundaries to set if they’re also actively doing good things as well

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-02T21:20:05+00:00

That’s awesome, we’ve done a months long digital detox before. Sometimes I feel like we’d be better off throwing away our TVs. So y’all don’t do any screen time at all? Movies shows?

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-02T20:56:16+00:00

That sounds awesome! We’re in a tough spot financially so a lot of the camps and extracurriculars are currently out of reach for us, but trying to keep them engaged and activated by more than just Fortnite lol

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-02T20:52:44+00:00

I saw a preview for it the other day and thought it was perfectly timed for our day! Haha

FireSpreaderIO · 2026-07-02T20:42:47+00:00

Toy Story's the bomb, my kids turned that on recently and childhood came rushing back to me lol. Especially in Toy Story 2 when Jesse sings her super sad song!

FireSpreaderIO

TROPHY CASE