Movie/Game/TV Time-How Much Time and Do You Clump It Altogether?

We strive for balance between all of it. Most days we get outside to play at least once and on nice days twice. They always get exercise twice a day either outside or with Wii/Kinect if they don't have other activities going on. They get to watch a few videos throughout the day (mostly when getting up in morning or after nap). My oldest is allowed to play IPod or IPad once a day. We do arts and crafts several times a week and free play is expected on days we don't go out. Movies are only if they are sick or they get up too early. We are selective on his choices for videos and mostly only allow education/positive ones but sometimes let him watch a video that is just for fun.

during the summer we sort of go in spurts. we might go 4 days straight running to the waterpark, zoo, errands, playdate etc and not turn it on at all. Then we'll have a day were they watch tv for 2 hours because i got a phone call halfway through and it was easier just to let them keep watching. I'm more tolerant of them playing wii together than watching movies, but again it's usualy an on and off thing. I keep tellign them they better play with all the toys they have or i'm pitching them.

We do not have any hard and fast rule. I am very fortunate that my kids seem to police themselves pretty well, they all like reading and the two younger ones really love art projects. My 10 yr old has a wii and we play it a lot together more as a family thing and a lot of the games keep you pretty active. My youngest who just turned 4 likes to have the tv on as a back ground to his play, but it is usually educational, Sesame street or Blues Clues...we put music on frequently. During the school year the general rule is homework comes first, and no games or tv after 8 pm because they need to get started on before bedtime routines.
My youngest also does have a hand held device called a mobigo, but it is more for long car drives or to keep him entertained at doctors offices.

We let our 6 year old watch 6 hours in a week- max of 2 hours a day. Once he's used all his allotment he is done for the week. We don't count the occasional family movie night in his allotment.

I will have to say the downside to this is we aren't watching the educational shows but more fun type shows.

I do basically the same. Sat and sunday mornings and she watches 2 shows before bed to wind down kinda thing. I don't have a specific rule and she'll watch em here and there in the day depending on how active the day is or what we have planned. I can't record :(, but she watches nick jr that doesn't have commercials, it has puzzle time and kid-friendly songs about gophers and stuff lol. I play educational games with my daughter, she loves the little monkey brain quest flash cards.

My boys are 7 and 13. I mention that because I think age is a factor in how much time should be allowed. We allow them 2 hours a day during the summer of video games/computer time. They use a timer, and are good about keeping track of it. I randomly track the time, too. The computer and video games are in a central location in our home so that we can monitor what is going on. None of us watch much TV except for my husband, and he only watches it late at night, so TV isn't an issue. The boys and I watch an occassional movie together on hot summer afternoons, or on Friday or Saturday nights.

During the school year, they don't play video games or get on the computer except for a short time on the weekends unless they are working on a school project.

This summer we have coined the phrase "Old-Timey-Time" which means we will have no electronics at all except for the radio. Many days we declare "Old-Timey-Time" and listen to music all day, finding all kinds of ways to entertain ourselves - reading, cleaning, playing games, legos, etc. They don't even get the 2 hours of video/computer time on those days, but they don't seem to mind. :)

I am a nanny for a family. The children are 6 and 9. They get a half hour per day of screen time each day. Screen time is tv, video games or computer. Half hour total. We do sometimes fudge the time if they have spent the afternoon outside and it's hot we watch a movie. But no just mindless sitting in front of tv like a zombie

I was allowed to watch TV and movies or play games as much as I wanted and the same rule applies to the kids, who are very active and very technology savvy for their ages (4 and 2). Every Thursday my niece ice skates and we go to the pool or do something else, such as bowling, as a family as well as watching movies and having a family dinner. We also go to the drive-in theater a lot and the kids have a slip-n-slide. When I move to the mountains this fall I'm bringing my two sleds from when I was a kid to use with the kids and I'll be rafting as well. We do use the Wii a lot, but the favorite games are Wii Bowling, Wii Fit Plus, and The Biggest Loser. The whole family's favorite board game is Scrabble.

Scattered throughout all these activities and more are TV shows, movies, Ipad, X-Box 360, Wii, naps, snacks, tickle fights, singing, playing, arts and crafts, reading, writing books, baking, shopping, volunteering, and church. Whenever I help with the kids I'm in charge of entertainment.