Involving myself in my son's screentime

Like many parents, I constantly struggle with the right amount of screentime for my son. For the time being, we have settled into a comfortable groove and he knows what the rules are. But, every week when I read something new about children and technology use, I rethink all my decisions.

So, I was delighted to watch this TED Talk by Sara Dewitt, even though I knew it would force me into a questioning spiral. Since she is involved with PBS Kid's online programming, Sara has some unique insights into what children do when they interact with technology.

One thing that I was prompted to do after her talk was to start asking more questions. My son often plays games on his iPad and while I check in with him regularly, I don't ask enough questions. Sara reminded me that if I want my son to know that I care, I need to ask him questions about the games he loves best.

And, of course this works. Last night, my son brought me his iPad for some required updates and after I updated his games I started asking him about each one of them. He lit up immediately, and started telling me about his favorite part and what level he was at and what his goals were.

So, yes, sometimes it is good to be reminded that we need to insert ourselves into the world our children live in.

Do you ask your child about their technology choices? Talk to me about that in the comments.