I have 10 and 14 year old stepsons.They "never" do anything with friends,and I dont even know if they have "any".They are not involved with any extracurricular activities,and when they have been,they have been "very" limited,and they have never stuck with them "very"long.They get a minimal amount of physical activity and have free reign over the food and snacks of the house,95% of which are nothing but junk.They prefer to stay inside,and spend upwards of 5 hours a day in front of xbox,tv and computer on school days.On weekends and vacations,even in the summer,they wake up at 7/ 8:00 in the morning,and rotate between tv, computer,and video games until they go to bed usually by 10 pm,unless my wife forces them to ride somewhere with her once or twice a week for a couple hours.Is this acceptable? My wife says its completely normal and she sees nothing wrong.If i say she should try to limit this usage to a degree,i get lashed out at called a psycho just for merely mentioning it.Would appreciate some advice.
I know the feeling! My SKs get (nearly) free reign of the TV/computer/VG when they’re here which sucks because they aren’t here that often! We’ve been discussing limiting it and making them do *other* things, though - because sitting here watching them glued to screens for their entire visit isn’t what either of us consider "quality family time".
I was thinking for their evening visits that 1 hr combined for computer & video game usage, and 1-2 hrs most for TV, or *one* movie, whichever is shorter. (So if they wanted to check their e-mail and then have a "family movie night" after dinner or whatever.)
All-day engagments (such as weekends) I was thinking 2 hrs combined for computer/video game usage, maybe one before dinner and one after dinner. With 2-3 hrs TV (movies included) MAXIMUM. Seriously - bring some toys over, read a book, color, do crafts, play with the dog, go to the park, spend time with friends, play in the back yard, board games, card games - anything but sitting in front of a screen all day!!!