At ChildGuidanceClinic counsellor’s prompt, we hope to agree on a criteria. If boy meets these 自我管理 criteria, then parents will gradually grant more freedom how his spare time is spent, esp. screen time.

Criteria need to be observable and measurable. When this is not possible, the criterion fails and parents have to use judgement, based on circumstantial evidence.

-> #1 sleep — go to bed before 12 midnight. We will say screen time has not affected sleep.

-> #2 exercise —  one exercise session during Mon-Fri. We will say screen time has not affected 运动.

-> family communication — (No measurable yardstick) we should not see any time boy doesn’t hear parents even after repeated calls. We will say screen time has not affected family communication.

-> 学习 — hot spot of contention. Each weekday, we want to see boy spends at least one home hour on studies including homework and revision. (Home revision is crucial for any fall-behind subject.) We will say screen time has not affected studies.

-> family outing and social interaction — No criteria. We already see that boy’s screen time doesn’t affect these areas.

Dad’s note — There are real life, verifiable examples among our families and friends, where a teenager has many hours of screen time (or its equivalents in another era) but is unaffected in terms of health, school work and interpersonal relationships.