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Today’s topic: Electronics. DUN DUN DUN!! Some houses have no TVs, maybe even no tablets or game consoles…(how do they survive!!) other houses always have the latest techno gadgets. Our house falls somewhere in the middle I guess. Whatever your preference, awesome.

TVs- We have a smart TV in our living room. My 10 yr. old got a smart TV for her room for her birthday in January. We were going to wait till she was a little older, then decided the time was right. We went with a smart TV for her because she doesn’t have cable in her room, so this way she has Netflix and other things to watch. But, she can’t just shut herself in her room and watch whenev. She has to ask permission before she can watch.

The 6 year old watches in the living room and is a fan of Netflix. And even though they have their own kid profiles, they still have to double check any new shows to see if we approve.

We also have a TV in the basement (mostly used for video games) and our bedroom. I MUST watch TV in our room before I go to sleep. Even though I was probably just watching downstairs a minute ago, Must. Before bed. Because. I can. Because I’m weird. Because I need my “Everybody loves Raymond” or “King of Queens” fix. TVland. You’re the best.

The kids also recently started watching Minecraft videos on Youtube.(Why? It’s people playing Minecraft. On. Youtube.!??)  I’m not a fan of Youtube (Sorry Youtube!),  at least for kids. I do like Youtube for tutorials and other things. But not for my kids to freely search. Even with restrictions on, they still find inappropriate things that just pop up. So, we must be in the room or at least, aware of what they are watching.

Tablets & “phones”-  By “phones”, I mean they get our old phones to play games on, they are not able to call or text yet. The 10 year old got a Kindle Fire last Christmas (2015) and the 6 year old has an LG tablet that we got for free through our cell phone plan. We also have one of the first Ipads, so that doesn’t get used much anymore. They may play on these things at home, but it is very rare that they can take them in the car. If we are going to a restaurant or something, we bring coloring books, toys, etc. They need to learn to occupy themselves without an electronic device. We do allow them to take them on long trips to the beach (4+ hours) because come on, KIDS!! They also are not allowed to just grab mom or dad’s phone. Those are ours, not theirs. We don’t even load kids games on our phones.

Video games- Oh Minecraft, I just don’t get you. Yes, Minecraft has become big in our house. Even the husband is into it now. But hey, if they enjoy it, so be it. This can get tricky. Because it is oh so quiet!!!  when they play…..mostly. The kids do sometimes…OK, alot of times… fight when they play together. We limit it to about an hour during the weekdays, (not every week day) as long as they eat dinner good, do chores, etc. but weekends we tend to be a little more lenient if nothing else is going on. The 6 yr old used to play Little Big Planet and some racing games. But the last few months it’s been Minecraft all the way. The 10 year old also likes Roblox. This game is still iffy to me. She knows not to post personal info, and I set restrictions. But you still have to monitor it! The one day she was playing and the song that came blaring across the speakers!! Oh. My. Gawd. The swear words!!! All swear words!! I’m like turn that down! She luckily was intent on her game, so I don’t think she even heard it. But she must keep the sound off now. I mean seriously. How!?? Why??  Ug. Parenting sucks sometimes. I could go on and on…maybe in another post.

I know we might sound pretty strict with our electronic rules, but kids nowadays! It’s all about the games and Facebook and Snapchat…Oy. My 10 yr old keeps asking about Facebook and Snapchat, I’m like yeah….uh no. Not yet. This momma is not ready for all that.                            “Uh Uh! Not in my house!”

So do you limit your kids? Or say whatev? Whatever your choice, try to teach your kids internet safety. No personal info, and make sure they know what is OK conversation online.

In today’s world, you can never be too careful.

Until next time…