Bill Gates Has Some Technology Rules for His Kids That May Surprise You
Bill Gates Has Some Technology Rules for His Kids That
May Surprise You
BY LAUREN SPAGNOLETTI APRIL 24, 2017
There are countless rules that parents have to impose on
their kids over the course of their childhood. Curfews, screen time, and chores
are just some of the many decisions parents have to make. But sometimes just
how strict we should be is unclear. In those cases, where do we look for
guidance?
If you happen to think that Bill Gates has made a few
good choices in his life, you might want to consider emulating a few of the
decisions that he has made for parenting his three children, Jennifer, 20;
Rory, 17; and Phoebe, 14, with his wife, Melinda. In a recent interview with
the British newspaper The Mirror, Gates revealed a few things about the rules
in his home.
Bill Gates is the legendary founder of the world’s
largest software firm, Microsoft – a company that made him the richest man in
the world.
But even one of humanity’s greatest technological
innovators still banned his kids from having mobiles until they were 14,
forbids them at the dinner table and limits his youngest’s screen time before
she goes to bed.
Father to Jennifer, 20, Rory, 17, and Phoebe, 14, he
admits: “We often set a time after which there is no screen time and in their
case that helps them get to sleep at a reasonable hour.
“You’re always looking at how it can be used in a great
way – homework and staying in touch with friends – and also where it has gotten
to excess.
“We don’t have cellphones at the table when we are having
a meal, we didn’t give our kids cellphones until they were 14 and they
complained other kids got them earlier.”
Gates also mentioned that his children complete chores
around the house in exchange for a modest allowance, and otherwise live relatively
"normal" lives. In fact, the tech billionaire has also said that the
bulk of his multi-billion dollar fortune will not be passed on to his children,
but will be given away. Gates and his wife founded the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation in 2000 and one of its missions is to "help the world’s poorest
people lift themselves out of hunger and poverty."
The Mirror also reported that the tech giant wore a $10
Casio watch to the interview and said, “I’m big on pretty mainstream American
hamburgers, McDonald’s, Burger King.”
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