Micro-management of kids’ leisure time

In

An Allowance That’s Measured in Minutes, Not Cents, the New York Times discusses the practice of awarding children 'screen time' (this includes tv, video games and computers) in minutes based on chores, math drills, etc. I totally agree with Parental Tech who says, "I can’t imagine any reasonable parent regulating access to books, or
board games in this way. Why is it different just because it’s
electronic and interactive?"

It seems that the basic American parenting system is 1) Find out what the kids enjoy. 2) Exploit that to get them to do what you want. 3) Make sure it doesn't happen too often!

From the article:
They may feel that their children’s time would be better spent reading
a book, playing outside or talking directly to another person,
according to Richard N. Bromfield, a psychologist on the staff of
Harvard Medical School. But for the most part, screen time is seen as
acceptable in moderation.

Well, it seems that creating an environment where kids cannot accomplish the things they want to accomplish, and forcing them to do other things instead, is supposed to make the kids grow up to spend time on those very things they were forced to do. I assume that's the goal anyway. Funny how fifty years ago sitting around with your nose in a book or daydreaming were considered a waste of time for kids.

For parents who don’t want to keep track themselves, there are devices
that will turn off the television or computer automatically when the
user has reached a time limit — (although some of today’s children may
be more likely to know how to reset the device than their parents do).

The parents can't even be bothered to follow through on their own rule?

Dr. Bromfield, the author of “How to Unspoil Your Child Fast,” (Basil
Books), cautions parents not to overuse household currency systems.
Children are motivated both externally by pleasing their parents or by
getting a reward, he said, as well as intrinsically, where they want to
do the right thing, or high-quality work, because it feels good inside
to do so.

Hm, so bribing them to do what you want them to do doesn't make them feel good inside? What a surprise! I am sure that I would feel good being bribed to do certain things in order to enjoy my leisure time. Instead, I evaluate what's important and I spend my time that way. It has taken a lot of practice to be able to do that, since I wasn't allowed to learn it growing up!

Cross posted at Rational Homeschooling