[troupo]

All these "should be allowed" are basically "children are people, too. Let them have everything normal people do/have/experience/feel". This applies to all "children should be allowed to play/go outside/be bored/be not bored/...." expert takes

[switch007]

But the younger parents are of a generation who may not know that's normal and who have grown up glued to TVs, consoles and phones. They may need it spelled out

[krisoft]

It is also not just electronic distractions. I have seen parents who are wealthy enough so they can afford to fill their kids life with a regiment of after school activities. Monday French tutoring, Tuesday/Thursday basketball practice, Wednesday math tutoring, Friday swimming and German tutoring, Saturday basketball game and piano, Sunday sailing. And of course homework crammed into every free time around these. Not much time around that to experience boredom ever.

Naturally not everyone can afford this kind of pace so this is not a problem which involves everyone. But the insidous problem is that these parents are convinced that they are doing everything right for their kids. They are the most likely who can change course and incorporate such research.

[watwut]

This is not about not allowing kids to be bored. This is about them wanting parents to create situations when kids are bored (by preventing their access to electronics specifically). As in, boredom nowdays requires additional work on the side of parents.

[theGnuMe]

Dad, can I bring my iPad?

Me: no

Dad, my iPad is dead. Can I use your phone?

Me: no

And so forth. Not hard.

[WA]

My kid usually wants to know how I make decisions and never settles for a single "no" or "because I said so". I can tell them "because I want you to find some other stuff to play with", which might result in complaining for a while. Saying "not hard" is definitely not true in many cases. It's doable, but it's still hard.

[theGnuMe]

Whatever works for your family. The more you set the boundary though the better. I guess the ideal parenting method is to reinforce good choices and not reinforce bad ones.

The best trained dogs are those trained only by positive reinforcement so…

[watwut]

Dad, can I go to visit my friend Johny?

Me: yes.

And there they are, watching movies with Johny in Johny house.

[theGnuMe]

Social movie watching or gaming is not bad imho.

[dolmen]

Dad, can I have an tablet/smartphone for birthday/Christmas?

Me: no