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It's Alive!!
The Families and Technology Blog is back after a long hiatus.
It's where family life and raising children collides with technology and gadgets. The pros and the cons. Come join in!
In This Issue
- More Sleep Helps Kids Keep Weight Off
- A new report out this month shows us how important it is for our kids to get enough sleep. Eight hours isn't enough!
- An Easier Way to Extend Limits On the Fly
- Thought Time Tokens were the only way to give extra time? Don't miss this time saving tip!
- ComputerTime Improves Behavior and Grades!
- Mary Lyons tells us how ComputerTime improved her family life AND her son's grades.
- Transferring ComputerTime To New Computer?
- Just a few simple steps and we tell you what information we may need if you contact us for help.
More Sleep Helps Kids Keep Weight Off
Increased physical activity, decreased media time, and improved sleep habits could reduce the risk of your kids developing childhood obesity.
A new study of nine to 12-year-olds shows children's lack of sleep may contribute to weight gain. Pediatric researchers at the University of Michigan found children's sleep patterns in the third grade could help predict their subsequent weight. Some studies have shown that one third of all kids between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight or obese. Experts are calling this an "obesity epidemic". This new study appeared in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics.
Researchers found that every additional hour a third-grader spends per night sleeping reduces their chances of being obese in sixth grade by 40 percent. According to Dr. Julie Lumeng of the University of Michigan who led the research, in the study the less sleep children got, the more likely they were to be obese in sixth grade, no matter what the child's weight was in third grade. Lumeng also said well-rested children are more energetic and therefore more likely to go out and play.
The study found that third-graders should get at least nine hour and 45 minutes of sleep per night. The National Sleep Foundation states that elementary school children should be getting 10 to 12 hours of sleep a night.
Given that late night computer use is linked to insomnia, ComputerTime is an important tool in your toolbox for keeping your kids healthy.
An Easier Way to Extend Limits On the Fly
You're child is asking for another 30 minutes to finish a report or play a game. The obvious thing to do is give them a Time Token, which is the typical way in ComputerTime to be able to extend limits. Sometimes the most obvious solution isn't the simplest. Maybe you don't have any Tokens created in advance or the Token list is at the office. So you'll need to create a new Token.
Some parents just log on as the ComputerTime Admin to provide their child extra time, but this has drawbacks. You'll need to tug the kids off the computer just like in the old days before ComputerTime. If you forget to log off, the kids might come back tomorrow to find they have unlimited access! There is a better way…
Create a ComputerTime profile, perhaps call it "Extend" and give it a password that only you will know. Set a Session Limit on this profile for 30 minute sessions with a 1 minute wait time. Don't set any other limits.
Now when your child needs extra time, simply click on the Extend profile, and log in for them. They'll get an additional 30 minutes and will get kicked off at the end of that session. Repeat as often as necessary.
Time Tokens are still the ideal choice for giving kids extra time when you aren't present; when you are at work or a dinner party and you get the call that they need extra time. The Extend profile is ideal for those times when you're present and you don't have a Time Token handy.
Here are a couple of additional ideas that you might like:
- Create more than one Extend profile: Extend15, Extend30, and Extend60 to give you multiple options for how long you want to log the kids on for. Just set the Session limit in each accordingly.
- Call them Xtend15, Xtend30, etc., and they will sort to the end of the list of profiles (unless you have kids named Yvonne or Zeke)
ComputerTime Improves Behavior and Grades!
We recently heard from an enthusiastic ComputerTime customer Mary Lyons about how setting limits on the computer helped her son's grades and behavior. Her story was compelling and she agreed to an interview.
SoftwareTime: What problems were you having with your son that caused you to use ComputerTime?
Lyons: He was spending an obscene amount of time on the computer, and I could see he was becoming addicted to it. His grades in school were being affected, and it was affecting his personality as he was becoming withdrawn.
SoftwareTime: When you first installed ComputerTime, what was his reaction?
Lyons: Well, he complained about it at first and he turned on the teen-aged drama. He was saying how it was "so not fair!" However pretty quickly after that, he accepted it, used the computer within the limits and found other things to do. He was no longer glued to the computer for hours on end playing games.
SoftwareTime: What kind of limits did you set for your son?
Lyons: One hour during the week and two hours on the weekend. I really like being able to set different times on the weekdays versus on the weekends. Interestingly I looked at the report and noticed that on some days now he doesn't even use all of the time. One day he had only logged 40 minutes.
SoftwareTime: So has ComputerTime helped?
Lyons: I saw an immediate improvement in his grades, and he's no longer cranky all the time. I give ComputerTime an A+! I'm not sure if he likes it, but we haven't had any conflicts over his computer use. He told me he wants his friends to have ComputerTime. I guess misery loves company.
SoftwareTime: Have you told other parents about ComputerTime?
Lyons: Yes, all the time! I told one of my friends about it and how well it's worked. Her son is 19 years old now, but she wished she knew about it when he was younger and addicted to the computer.
Transferring ComputerTime To New Computer?
Start by installing ComputerTime using the Setup from our website.
When the window comes up that indicates that you're using a trial, you need to click the "Activate" button.
Now you need to enter your Product Key which was emailed to you when you bought ComputerTime. It looks like PK-XXXX-XXXX-XX.
That should do it, but if you get a message that says that ComputerTime was already activated on another computer, you need to contact us. We promise it will be pretty painless.
Go to our support page and let us know that you can't reactivate ComputerTime. Provide us with your name, email address you used when you purchased, and if you have it handy, your product key.
We'll get back to you and have you up and running in a short time.
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