On the topic of Wi-Fi: then your kids must never grow up.
Let’s say there’s Mom, Dad, and two kids. Mom is watching her favorite soap opera streamed on the TV, Dad is browsing the internet (including YouTube) looking for instructions to fix the troublesome washing machine. Junior, who just turned 16, is gaming online on the PlayStation with friends, meanwhile running a group voice chat on his phone. The daughter, only 12 years old, is browsing YouTube and Instagram, all in HD of course. Her friend is sitting next to her on their phone, fully engaged.
Show me a Wi-Fi channel that wouldn’t collapse under all that traffic. Exactly for situations like this, you need one or another wired connection. The console and TV can reduce their bandwidth demand on the Wi-Fi by using Ethernet cables, freeing up space to supply the mobile devices with enough speed.
If, like Nordlys for example, you mostly have peace and quiet from the youth, then Wi-Fi alone is generally sufficient. But with kids around, it becomes a tricky issue, and it doesn’t take long for them to start blaming each other for slow internet.
Let’s say there’s Mom, Dad, and two kids. Mom is watching her favorite soap opera streamed on the TV, Dad is browsing the internet (including YouTube) looking for instructions to fix the troublesome washing machine. Junior, who just turned 16, is gaming online on the PlayStation with friends, meanwhile running a group voice chat on his phone. The daughter, only 12 years old, is browsing YouTube and Instagram, all in HD of course. Her friend is sitting next to her on their phone, fully engaged.
Show me a Wi-Fi channel that wouldn’t collapse under all that traffic. Exactly for situations like this, you need one or another wired connection. The console and TV can reduce their bandwidth demand on the Wi-Fi by using Ethernet cables, freeing up space to supply the mobile devices with enough speed.
If, like Nordlys for example, you mostly have peace and quiet from the youth, then Wi-Fi alone is generally sufficient. But with kids around, it becomes a tricky issue, and it doesn’t take long for them to start blaming each other for slow internet.
C
chand198627 Aug 2018 10:23@Evolith
Sorry, but a) you misunderstood me and b) I find your conclusion too simplistic.
Not all toys. But having constant access to multiple options for mindless entertainment(!) is not good.
To clarify: not all toys are the same. Sensory overstimulation devices for audio or video are different from video games. And these are again different from Duplo or Lego. The difference lies in the level of cognitive effort required and also in their nature.
It is, and because he does other things as well, that happens. His exposure to passive stimulation is limited—whether by choice or by you/your family is beside the point for now.
You have to be very careful here.
Intrinsic motivation is a product of our upbringing, schooling, media consumption, and later peer groups. Put simply: the more often and longer a child is accustomed to certain types of entertainment, the more likely they will want the same things independently in the future.
That is exactly why I criticize the “constant availability” of everything at all times: children who get used to this tend to become intrinsically motivated people who find more satisfaction in buying and possessing than in doing activities.
My conclusion is simply that children should not be given everything they want, especially not to the extent they would prefer. I was limited to 1 hour of console gaming on the Super Nintendo daily—on a schedule I controlled. Watching TV was also limited. Listening to my Discman the same. The Discman limit was unnecessary, but for TV and Nintendo I would have spent all day if allowed.
This issue is not urgent at age 3; for me it appeared during elementary school.
Sorry, but a) you misunderstood me and b) I find your conclusion too simplistic.
Evolith schrieb:
Then I should be consistent and keep all toys locked away. After all, they are supposed to get bored.
Not all toys. But having constant access to multiple options for mindless entertainment(!) is not good.
To clarify: not all toys are the same. Sensory overstimulation devices for audio or video are different from video games. And these are again different from Duplo or Lego. The difference lies in the level of cognitive effort required and also in their nature.
Evolith schrieb:
Our son constantly integrates and adapts the stories he hears and sees into his play. He also invents songs that accompany the hero of the moment. THAT is what I call creativity!
It is, and because he does other things as well, that happens. His exposure to passive stimulation is limited—whether by choice or by you/your family is beside the point for now.
Evolith schrieb:
My son asks me to play a fairy tale on the CD player simply because he wants it himself. Now that’s what I call intrinsic motivation.
You have to be very careful here.
Intrinsic motivation is a product of our upbringing, schooling, media consumption, and later peer groups. Put simply: the more often and longer a child is accustomed to certain types of entertainment, the more likely they will want the same things independently in the future.
That is exactly why I criticize the “constant availability” of everything at all times: children who get used to this tend to become intrinsically motivated people who find more satisfaction in buying and possessing than in doing activities.
My conclusion is simply that children should not be given everything they want, especially not to the extent they would prefer. I was limited to 1 hour of console gaming on the Super Nintendo daily—on a schedule I controlled. Watching TV was also limited. Listening to my Discman the same. The Discman limit was unnecessary, but for TV and Nintendo I would have spent all day if allowed.
This issue is not urgent at age 3; for me it appeared during elementary school.
Knallkörper schrieb:
So I was pretty much right with my guess. Even if I might be the only one with this opinion: This is absolutely unacceptable if it happens regularly. Antisocial.Oh, now this is getting interesting. What exactly do you consider antisocial? The children’s movie, the strawberry milk, or the fact that my son wants some peace and quiet from any social interaction after 9 hours at daycare?
It’s no different here. When I get home (and I’m not the one taking care of the child), I just flop down on the couch and want to relax. Either I read, watch TV, or check what my YouTube channels have posted. I have never seen myself as socially harmful because of that. Maybe I do have the potential to appear on RTL.
But you do know what antisocial means, right?
@chand1986: Well, in the end, that’s what we do. We try to keep his toy selection limited. Those he plays with regularly are freely accessible. The rest is stored in boxes within his activity table. He can reach them at any time but has to actively remember that he even has them.
It’s similar with his CD player. In the evening, we actively offer it as a sleep aid. During the day, he has to ask for it himself.
In other words, we don’t limit by “taking things away” but simply remove them from his sight. At that age, it basically comes down to the same thing.
K
Knallkörper27 Aug 2018 12:18Evolith schrieb:
The kids’ movie or the strawberry milk, or the fact that my son just wants some peace and quiet from any social interaction after 9 hours at daycare?To me, this is altogether a learned bad habit. Using a CD player as a sleep aid falls into the same category. You try to convince yourself that your child doesn’t need social interaction once they come home from daycare. Sure, sugar and screen time must be enough when mom and dad prefer to watch YouTube alongside it. You’re consciously or unconsciously fooling yourself instead of genuinely engaging with your child. Yes, you can talk with your little one about the day’s events after preschool and even chop vegetables together for dinner, or whatever else. Antisocial: harmful to society – that eventually happens on a small scale over time. Yep.
But I won’t comment further; it’s probably pointless anyway, and this isn’t an education forum.
C
chand198627 Aug 2018 12:37Evolith schrieb:
So basically, we don’t limit by taking something away from him, but simply by removing it from his field of view. At that age, it’s almost the same either way.This will definitely change as he gets older. Then the question arises whether access to certain things should be limited in time or not. But you can decide that when the time comes.
What I actually meant was the following: Even if parents sometimes can’t offer alternatives, background media should not be used as a substitute. Then the child simply has an hour with nothing to do and has to cope with themselves and what’s there.
In our sports club, you can see among primary school children who tends to be parked in front of the screen and who doesn't. Both social behavior and motor skills vary extremely among peers here. Unfortunately, stereotypes are very likely confirmed—just ask the parents about their other leisure activities—and sadly, they are often correct.