For the good of the children

After months of sitting back and watching their son’s minds turn to mush, Stephanie White, 39 and Jason Graham, 42 of Lorindale Avenue in Toronto decided to do something about it.  White and Graham, full time working parents of boys Hudson, 9 and Tasman 5, decided to limit the amount of screen time for their sons to one hour a day.  The parents defined screen time as television, computer, handheld dives like the Ipod or console video game like the Nintendo Wii.

“We were watching their imagination disappear right before our eyes,” said Graham.  “Without a screen in front of them, they were baffled on what else there was to do.”

Hinted at over the holiday season, White and Graham sat their two boys down over dinner on January 8, 2012, the day before their return to school.  They explained to the boys their intent, positioning it as an opportunity for the four of them to do more together as a family.  Both parents agreed to limit their own screen time to television only after the boys were in bed or to check e-mails on their respective smart phones.

“I think it will be hard for all of us,” said White. “Not only do the boys get accustomed to sitting in front of screens at any spare moment, but, as parents, we get accustomed to the freedom it allows us.”

The proposed limit on screen time is only during the school week, but the boys were informed their weekend’s time will also be closely monitored to ensure the screen activity is not abused to make up for lost time during the week.

Graham added:  “We also told them that any education-related screen time does not count against their hour.  Our goal here was not to make the devices out to be the problem, but to create a happy balance between the benefits they provide and other creative activities like drawing or painting or music – or the quality family time we talk always talk about.”

An alarming report from the American non-profit group Common Sense Media. Said that fifty-three per cent of children aged two to four have used a computer as have 90 per cent of five- to eight-year-olds.

White noted that her own harmless addiction to Plants vs. Zombies, a popular Iphone game will be hard to break, but “it’s all about sacrifice for the brains of my children.”