Why oh why are people giving their under 12s tablets?

Because her brother had high needs Autism/ADHD so severe he needs to be in a specialist school on 1:1 care all day but apparently when he comes home on an evening no one really cares how I manage that. Yes we have social service/all of the support services involved they just do not have funding and even when he got a care package and offered well over the odds pay wise we still couldn’t get anyone to work it.

so whilst I’m 1:1 ing her brother around the house trying to avoid him literally unaliving himself … because he does like to try… she’s on her tablet.

I wish I could be giving her my attention and I hate that this is what it’s come to. I wouldn’t have even used a tablet otherwise but no, please continue guilt tripping me 😬

"Under 12s"?

It's very different for a 9 or 10 year old using a tablet for schoolwork apps and research to a 2 or 3 year old just staring at cartoons on youtube. Tablets are used frequently at school for older primary kids for all kinds of work, including coding and maths games.

If they don't get familiar with them, I think they're at a bit of a disadvantage when going into secondary.

Mine are grown up now but as someone who has worked in education for over 20 years, there is no way I would give my child a tablet until at least 10 years of age and then it would be very heavily monitored.

My kids secondary school have moved all homework into paper booklets - so at least kids have to copy the answers from AI to complete it! My kids do have tablets and have used them for some fun / interesting projects and a lot of rubbish... they are still nice kids.

How else would you suggest we expose our children to their second language that nobody else in our vicinity speaks except their dad?

That's not happening though. Children still play, with each other and alone, and engage with people/parents/family, as well as 'going on a tablet.' No child is on their tablet every waking hour!

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My nephew is 15. When he was a baby he had an iPad and his parents shoved it in front of him at every opportunity. He could say iPad before he could say anything else! My DC are older and didn’t have an (shared family) iPad for long journeys until they were in their mid teens!

DD has maths homework on an app, she uses an old one DH had and it’s not hers, it’s just the thing she does the maths on a few times a week for ten or so minutes. It’s got the maths app and Spotify and she’ll someone’s use that to listen to stories when she’s in the bath. She’d never seen a tablet until she started school and won’t use it for anything else for many years. Homework on a tablet (which I do resent and always have) doesn’t have to be a gateway to anything else.

My 5 year old has never used a tablet. His Yr1 teacher said they used to use a maths app but had decided to stop that from this year - decision has widespread support amongst parents, there's really no need for young children to use them.

I thought that too for a minute! 😆

Meh, I can't get worked up about this.

I remember my gran going batshit when my mum let me have a TV in my bedroom when I was 13. She said it would 'rot my brain.' Shockingly it didn't. I used to watch The Sky At Night, Doctor Who, World In Action, Tomorrows World, How, and nature and science documentaries. (As well as some kids programmes and Top Of The Pops!!!)

What do you think children and teens are doing on these tablets @Bigpinksweater ???

I wouldn’t let them have it for hours and hours at a time but my kids do some really cool and creative stuff on the iPad. They don’t get on YouTube or TikTok (both banned in our house) or anything like that. It’s not all mindless videos. It’s absolutely fine in moderation, just like everything.

Also, my daughter has been struggling a bit with her times tables and I cannot tell you how much things like Hit the Button and SumDog have changed the game for her.

I think there is a middle ground. Short periods of age appropriate games under parental supervision or watching a tv show isn't going to cause harm. A parent that allows 30 hours of screen time isn't going to become parent of the year if the tablet is removed. I guess if you know the temptation of giving a tablet will mean you abandon your responsibilities then it makes sense to stay screen free but I think responsible parents can usually find a healthy balance.

@OneAmberFinch
Seeing tots with soothers in their mouths, a bottle in one hand and a phone in the other is beyond depressing.

Our primary kids have an iPad each, they stay in the living room and there’s limit on screen time. They are quite well rounded kids, we use some educational apps for English and Maths. Our eldest is greater depth for maths, reading and writing.

Do you really need a full peer-reviewed study to be horrified at zombie children staring at tablets in every social situation instead of talking and playing?

Screens that are small and controllable and changeable, ever scrolling types, also very close to the eyes are extremely damaging. The developing brain is really affected it by it, the brain chemistry, developing connections, eating, sleeping, socialisation, attachment behaviour. All affected by it.

We are currently looking at prep schools for our son for next September and what I find really depressing is their total ban on phones in school and their homework policy which includes prep time at school with teacher supervision and no apps/screens. Why is this the approach for parents who will pay for their children’s education but state schools have them all on apps and iPads. I am very pro the prep school approach but think it is grossly unfair that my friends eight year olds are exposed to TikTok in the playground and homework on apps simply because they are not paying for the school

Wait what? My eldest is in P6 in Scotland. She hasn’t been given an iPad…

Schools set tasks for homework that are far easier and quicker to complete on a tablet than they are a laptop and not possible to do on paper.

I have no parenting concerns with the amount of tablet time my children have. Smartphones on the other hand, I don’t agree with for younger children.

It is irresponsible to make extravagant claims without backing it up with proper evidence @Bigpinksweater

My 8 year old had one for her birthday purely for school work then her 12 year old step sister downloaded games & spent £60 on it off my Amazon account it’s now totally banned and won’t be making a reappearance for a very long time. We are very much low screen but unfortunately schools aren’t and all homework and “extra “ point for school are on the iPad! I’ve explained to school and they send paper copies home I think it’s becoming more common as a few parents have asked for paper copies.

I can believe it about YouTube. You might be in denial but I’ve learnt to crochet, change a car battery, understand car setting, deal with electric issues when changing a light cover etc all thanks to tutorials on YouTube. There are plenty of academic ones, especially to break down maths and help with languages out there.