The title might sound a little contradictory, but I promise that it is possible to show LOVE with limits, especially when it comes to raising children. If we just let our kids run wild all the time, then they may never learn to be the respectful, fair, and caring citizens that we would like them to be.

One way that we do this is with some limits on their electronics. The world is FULL of not-so-nice people and bullies, and it is our job, as parents, to protect our children in whatever ways we can. While not allowing access to screens would prevent a lot of potential issues, we want them to learn to make good choices when it comes to electronics and screen time.

As we learned in our science lesson today, PREVENTION is the number one key to keeping diseases away. This goes for gardening, health, and habits. It is also the best way to PROTECT our children and show them that we LOVE them. Boundaries are an important part of our PREVENTION PLAN. We need them to learn to make responsible decisions even when we aren’t around. We also need them to let us know when there is a problem and if something is making them uncomfortable.

Another thing that our children learn, from early on, is that SCREEN TIME is a PRIVILEGE and if they are not responsible, then it CAN and WILL be taken away! I don’t remind them of the rules, as they have all had plenty of time to learn them at this point. If we see that they have not finished their chores, used more time than allowed, or not followed the rules in one way or another, then they will LOSE their SCREEN TIME for a designated amount of time.

The rules that we have are to ensure that they develop other interests, stay responsible around the house, and keep EVERYONE SAFE! I don’t need to tell you how DANGEROUS the internet can be. We don’t always allow them online, and they are only allowed online with supervision. They generally are not allowed in chats unless a known adult is in the same chat group or right there with them.

This is a printable set of rules that we have come up with, and a tracking sheet for the kids to fill in so they can be more aware of the choices that they are making:

I will be printing these out for our family, and I will have the kids sign the back of the rules sheet. Each child will have a tracking sheet that will be put in a place where we can easily see it.

We pray that this may help someone in some way.