My kids are required to monitor their own screen time. I have loosely monitored their monitoring based on these rules:

1) two hour limit no matter what kind of screen
2) unless its very cold, hot, or raining
3) or unless you're having a bad day
4) or are sick
5) or unless you are actively engaged in serious study defined as:
5 a) currently enrolled in computer programming class
5 b) watching instructive youtube videos about your current topic of study
5 c) following google history tip links to satisfy your curiosity about the figure or event of the day
5 d) cross referencing information
5 e) writing on your blog
5 f) reading and writing emails

Its complicated. Too, the children each got their own small laptop for Christmas, so they are recently unleashed. If they wanted, they could presumably spend their entire night or day playing Monkeybutt-O-Rama and I might be fooled into thinking they were learning something important.

But in truth, children are nearly always learning something important. One of the most important lessons they solidify at this age is self regulation. They understand the parameters, Two Hour Screen Time Limit,* and they understand the stakes.  At stake are their minds, bodies, and spirits. Too much screen time makes us logy, dim, and irritable. At least, those are the observable results. No one really knows what these screens are doing to our minds and bodies, especially to our youngest users. Which is a wee bit creepy. My children are aware of the unknowns. (Now there is a lovely paradox.) So they are free. And they do a great job with self regulation. Sometimes they are on the computer too much. Often they are not.

Last week my daughter gave up all screens for a few days then modified that plan for a 30 minute email check daily. Over the week that plan softened. All of which is fine. The point being, she is thinking about her time online. She is making responsible choices. She's a smart girl with her own best interests in mind. When she consciously took time offline, she felt the pull to return and she felt the return of other interests such as tin whistle, "paper readers," and Monkybutt-Skateboard-Surfing-On-The-Actual-Road.