You are in trouble - go watch television

My son loves to travel. He likes car activities, gets excited about homemade trail mix and hotels are the best thing ever. Except for the television. He hates hotel television: Mommy never knows the channels, there are commercials and he can't request shows to watch. I tried telling him that hotel TV is the way all television used to be. He doesn't believe me, but I tell him anyway.

But even if we were forced to only have old-style television in our lives again, I still wouldn't consider it a punishment.

Which is why I am a little perplexed at the Miner & Co. Studio study which found some parents use television as a punishment. I'm trying to think through this one: You are a parent and your child has spent too much time on their tablet, so you make them come into the living room and watch television instead. (Am I the only one not getting this?) There are many theories around removal of a personal device being enough of a deterrent, so I do not understand why the television is even involved.

The study, which was really pointing out the prevailing use of personal tablets, also discovered that children would choose time with a tablet or iPad over dessert.

I'm hoping that my son never hears about this study. Right now his punishment is time out - without any sort of viewing device within his reach. And I'd like to keep it that way.

Do you ensure your children have breaks from screentime every day? How long are their breaks? Tell me in the comments.