- As a new parent, I was eager to follow all the expert parenting tips I read.
- I ignored the experts and gave my kids unlimited screen time.
- My teens are still doing great.
From the day I became a mother, I wanted to do everything right so that my children were happy, healthy, and successful. I've read countless parenting articles and books with tips that I think will help my kids live their best lives. I followed most of the rules to the letter. I read to my children every day, talked to them about how they were feeling, and made sure to set aside time for exercise and creative exploration.
But when I tried to follow some rules, nagging doubts began to creep in. Not all of them seemed viable, and some of the rules were too outdated for today's society.
Rule-breaking started early in childhood.
My toddler would wake up 3-4 times a night, and co-sleeping was the only way my husband and I could get a good night's sleep.
Experts say that's a big no-no, but in my eyes co-sleeping was healthier for both of us. Instead of being grumpy in the morning, we were well rested and happy.
By professional standards, I was also a complete failure in one major respect: limiting screen time.
Experts would be appalled that I gave my kids screen time.
I didn't set screen time limits for my kids because screens are part of our society whether we like it or not. While other parents I know nod at each other knowingly about the negative effects of screen time, I'm a big believer as long as my kids are getting exercise, being social, well-behaved, and getting good grades. , let the children play as much as they wanted.
My kids were playing video games by age 3 and watching cartoons before they could walk. But we also made it a point to spend time together as a family and make sure everyone got enough exercise. I had many moments of intense self-doubt, wondering if I was crazy for not caring about screen time.
But as the years have gone on, I've realized that as much as I encourage my kids to be well-rounded, well-rounded people, screen time isn't necessarily the enemy, as criticized by parenting experts. I am now convinced that this is not the case.
Even though my children are older, my parenting style hasn't changed.
I still don't care if my kids play games for four hours one day or watch two movies in quick succession on days they want to be lazy. They are just as straight as they are in school, they volunteer in our community, and they are happy, kind, and healthy.
They both have lots of friends and are involved in sports and other extracurricular activities at school. Our family bond is strong and we spend a lot of time together, both on screen and off. In addition to lots of screen time, together they also ran 5,000 races and went on an epic family vacation.
My kids are having so much fun despite their screen time
My daughter is currently in middle school, but her academic ability is the best in her class. To date, she has volunteered over 150 hours in our community, worked as a softball umpire during the summer, was selected as her class' homecoming representative during her sophomore year, and has participated in three sports. He is also an athlete. And guess what? She still enjoys playing computer games for hours at a time.
My son is a first year student at a private university majoring in computer science. He just made the dean's list. During high school, he spent 4 to 5 hours per day on the screen, writing code, playing games, and watching TV. He was also on the track and cross country teams and was named Student of the Month.
During the six months before my son went to college, my son and I watched all 15 seasons of the TV show Supernatural together. Although it was extra screen time, it became our special bonding time and we still quote that show to each other in texts and conversations.
Nothing changes about ignoring the parenting rules of experts
Ignoring the rules has had great results for my family. Both of my children are healthy weights, smart, love spending time with family, enjoy helping others, and are very happy.
As a parent, what more could you ask for?
