Question:
How much time do you suggest a child be allowed to be on cellphone? What cut off time do you recommend for school nights and also weekends?Answer:
ParentingTeensOnline expert Dr. Anthony E. Wolf, author of "'Get Out of My Life, But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall?' A Parents Guide to the New Teenager", answers:
Teenagers communicate with each other by cell phone, regular phone and over the internet. They also spend time playing video games, watching television and visiting various websites. Perhaps a more realistic approach would be limits for the combination of all of the above. The main problem with too much of the time spent connected to some electronic device is that it can take away from other activities, namely homework and perhaps more creatively active pursuits. Parents differ widely on how much they allow, and I am not sure there is a right answer. Mainly, you should pick an amount of time that you are comfortable with and stick by it. Your child will hate whatever restriction you place. But I definitely would advocate limits such that there are significant chunks of time every day, and bigger chunks on weekends, where they are not constantly hooked up to some manner of electronics.