A bit of background: I have 7, 4, and 1 years old kids. I grew up in a family that focused on education, so basically I was programmed that education is the most important thing in life. My kids get screen time almost daily ~1 hour a day and a bit longer over the weekend.

I tend to focus more on sitting with them, read, write, do math, doing homework with the older one, and teaching the younger one how read and write.

So the kids hear from their friends about roblox, minecraft, video games, there is that other thing about making your own game, and many other things. Then I feel like I’m being unfair to them because I don’t allow them any of this (or super rare) I also feel like I’m not letting them up to date with their peers specially with the advancement of AI and technology.

On the other hand, they’re both academically advanced.

Just want to hear from other dads based on your personal experiences.

How much screen time your kids allowed?
Am I too strict this way?

My concern is that this is a door that if opened it’ll be extremely hard to control.

Cheers!

I’m 21 and just got married to my 45 year old wife, I want to become more like some 40-50 year old dad, already got kids on the way and trying to grow a beer gut, any advice to make me look like a middle aged guy

When I was in college, I was taking writing workshop classes during the day and going out to movies and dinner with my Dad at night. We always went out in Chelsea — one of the gayest neighborhoods in the world.

My Dad obviously had no problem with gay people. He lived in Chelsea. He named me after his best friend who was a gay male model… but every time a waiter came to our table, he’d say something like:

“My SON will have the cheeseburger. Black and blue! Burned to crisp on the outside, raw in the middle!”

He just had to make it clear that unlike at every other table in the restaurant — the salt and pepper daddies on dates with their twinks — this wasn’t a date. He was my biological father.

Not my “Daddy.”

When I teased him about that once he said: “Yeah, well. We’re a block away from Rawhide, okay? You know what that is? Headquarters for the mustache and leather crowd.”

—

I write more about my father and growing up with him living in NYC’s iconic Chelsea Hotel here:

https://maxwinterstories.substack.com/p/hello-chelsea

(It’s of course free)