Okay, so I know there are "screen time limits" that doctors and professionals like to put in place on children. But in my opinion, it heavily depends on what the screen time includes. I have a 10 year old daughter. She has had her own iPad since she was 4 or 5. Her iPad is not connected to the internet and only includes educational games and minecraft (no YouTube or TikTok). When she was little, we tried to limit the time, but it was difficult with 2 working parents, so she ended up having more screen time than most kids. She learned really early on how to code in minecraft. It's been her favorite game for several years. She's also a very active child with ballet classes 5 days a week and a competitive piano curriculum, so she's not in front of a screen all day, but she does love it.

This summer, we got her a laptop in preparation for online school that is connected to the internet. We've had a lot of talks over the years about internet safety. After monitoring her use this summer, know what she's doing online? She's teaching herself html coding. To her, the coding is a game first introduced in minecraft. It's what she does now when she's finished with her online schooling for the day. It's fun for her, but I think she's learning very useful skills for the future. She went into her online school lesson yesterday and fixed the site's spelling errors by fixing their html code. My parents were both computer programmers before they recently retired and they are amazed at what she's taught herself. She knows more programs than I do as a data analyst. She knows how to treat and use the laptop. If she didn't have a tablet early on with access to minecraft, she may not have this interest now.

Do not feel guilty about screen time, but do carefully choose what your kids have access to on that screen. It can allow you more freedom to get things done during the day but also help ignite an interest in technology for your kids.