My kids complain that I’m a “screen time Nazi” just because I set limits on the time we all spend with screens.
I like Instagram as much as the next girl, but with all things in life, balance must prevail.
Even though we have more free time in summer, that doesn’t mean our time with electronic devices should exponentially increase. Right?
Some data about summer reading
A recent study about kids and summer time reading disturbed me. During the “Library Barnacles” Book Riot podcast, hosts Jeff and Rebecca discussed a study promoted by RIF (Reading is Fundamental). Over 1000 parents with kids aged 5-11 answered questions about their children’s leisure habits over the summer. Parents said that on average, in the summer their children spend:
- 17.4 hours/week watching T.V. or playing video games
- 16.7 hours/week playing outside
- 5.9 hours/week reading
Do these numbers concern you?
I was glad to see the 16 hours of outside playtime, but the 17: 5 ratio of screen time to book time bothered me. That’s three times more hours on screens!
The hosts of the Book Riot podcast didn’t find the results shocking. They argued that since kids spend more time playing outside in the summer, it leaves them less time to read.
I must respectfully disagree. Hello! If kids are spending 17 hours on video games and T.V.s, they probably aren’t outside.
Am I over-reacting here?
My husband thinks I am. As a child who didn’t grow up reading much, he isn’t surprised by the numbers and tells me it’s unrealistic to expect more reading.
But I’m not willing to back down. Couldn’t we all strive for a more equal balance between screens and books? How about a 2:1 ratio?
We shouldn’t force kids to read in the summer. But we can entice.
- If we limit their time on screens, maybe they will pick up that book off the floor.
- If we save screen time for an hour or two later in the day, maybe they will do something productive/ creative/ intellectually stimulating before they crouch over a device. Like read.
- If we establish a device curfew (ours is 9 pm – for me too!), perhaps they will develop the lovely habit of reading before sleeping. What a great way to use the natural light of those long summer nights.
And, for those of you playing Candy Crush all the time, wouldn’t you be more likely to read if you turned that screen off?
Yes, I have a teenager with a phone. And he stares at his little screen of text messages during the day. But if I keep interesting books around for him, he also reads an hour or two a day.
Balance.
Do I live up to my own standards?
I did a survey of my leisure habits and discovered that I spend, on average, about 15 hours per week on social media, blogs, and T.V. and 6 hours reading books/ periodicals. I’m not counting my writing screen time. It’s hard to tease out reliable numbers because I read a lot online (articles, blog posts, etc.)
Looks like I’m edging close to that 3:1 ratio myself. Which reinforces my notion that I need to stop fiddling on my phone/iPad/ computer by 9 pm each night and dedicate the later hours of the day to reading books and magazines. Being online in the evening usually revs me up and makes it hard to settle down for sleep.
What about you? Tally up the average hours you spend reading versus screening. What’s your screen to book ratio? What do you think about the results of the study?
Thanks for getting nerdy with me.
Julia
