Even Gates limits kids' screen time

Given the images we have of Bill Gates growing up in front of the computer, it's hard to see him as an advocate for strict screen-time limits for children.

So bloggers seemed a bit surprised to read that the Microsoft co-founder and his wife have limited their 10-year-old daughter to 45 minutes per day of total screen time for games and an hour on the weekends, plus whatever time she needs for homework, according to Reuters.

The Gateses had to crack down recently after their daughter got hooked on the Xbox 360 gardening game, Viva Pinata, Gates told a business audience in Ottawa.

Blog community response:

"Young Americans forced by a parent to shut down Final Fantasy XIII mere seconds before acquiring 1000 Experience Points can no longer secretly wish Bill Gates was their father."
--Bloggingstocks

"45 minutes seems like a fairly short time to us. Assuming his kids are being forced to use a Windows machine, 45 minutes is barely enough time for a child to download 3 viruses, crash the system twice, and click through the 40 or so security warnings and pop ups necessary to get online, let alone play any games. No word on how much Zune time the kids are allowed."
--Macenstein

"I think that's awesome that he has those limits in place. I have similar ones for my daughter during the week but I allow her more goof-off time on the weekends. I probably need to place a few more limits on myself."
--Much Ado About...Whatever!