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

I think we all want to be told about reliable, scientific peer reviewed research. There is so much hyperbole around anecdotal contributions to serious discussion about the issue. I am hoping the OP can provide what the BBC failed to uncover.

Because our VI (teacher for the visually impaired) said the earlier we introduced an iPad, the more successful it was likely to be.

I read the entire OP baffled as to why tablets were worse than calpol 😅 screens might be rotting my brain as well!

TV definitely better than the all encompassing smaller screen of a tablet or phone. But all things in moderation and I don't think an hour here or there is a complete disaster.

Lots and lots of primary schools round here and especially senior schools now do all their work on ipads

My kids homework used to be on an app.

there’s a wider problem with that I think

other than that I do believe some screen time is helpful. People with adhd will always find phones difficult due to the endorphin release from phones.

I see kids with them a lot at dinner tables. I’m all for making life easier but it does occasionally make me a little sad when I see a whole family on an iPad having dinner and not one talking to each other.

Videos to watch about the topic or step by step tutorials for Art homework/tests for example.

My dd age 5 has one, she’s suspected ASD and ADHD and sometimes needs time out by herself to decompress and this helps her. It’s limited though, and she actually hasn’t used it at all the past few days and hasn’t mentioned it. We’ve been busy doing other things. I don’t see an issue with tablets though as long as it’s limited time on them and not every day.

With such things it really depends what they are doing with it.
Not all screentime is treated equally.
If parents choose to give their child a tablet they have to monitor, regulate and oversee it.

I agree preschool age children do not need it.

My 5.5 yo has a Kindle Fire, had it less than a year he uses it rarely days or weeks even will go past with him barely using it.
it’s set to a maximum of 2 hours per day and the first hour is educational apps only. He will do phonics etc on it.
I approve all apps and he has no YouTube or browser access.
He is active spends time outside, enjoys colouring and imaginative games and occasionally tablet use.

I think such debates are polarising but lack nuance and it’s not as simple as it being a ‘good thing or bad thing’.

Please read this article. Phil Etchells leading the study at Bath University claims the evidence is just not there linking screens and dangers to children’s health
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9d0l40v551o

Tv vs tablet are different things. Tv was generally in a fixed public place and shared so you could only watch so much and parents could easily see what was being watched. Plus before digital there was only so much content/ channels to watch.

Same 🤦‍♀️

We have a tablet but it is purely used for holidays as in travel. So long plane rides/ferry/train rides. It lives in a drawer the rest of the time. We really notice a change in behaviour with tablet use if used at home. So we don't allow it. I hate tablets for young children.

DD once got a homework task with a link to an online game for their tablet. We did all the other tasks but I just replied "we only have a tablet for travel so we didn't do that part" the teacher responded with "this is great I fully support this. Please don't feel you have to do anything tablet based, they're included as an option only". I would not accept a school that insisted homework was done on an app or if they gave my child a tablet. Utter stupidity.

... I remember when my parents told me my eyes would turn into squares if I watched to much TV...

On a serious note, used for a limited amount of time like 15-20 minutes homework, no issues. Used ad virtual babysitter huge issues!

One size does not fit all !!!

My autistic DS had a mini iPad at 4 yrs old and became a fluent reader and good with numbers before he started school (at 5yrs old in Ireland).

Teachers relied on his IT skills in primary school to help with unreliable technology fails in the classroom.

He’s now a budding musician who very occasionally plays computer games.

They said the same about Television and DS rarely watches tv. 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Bigpinksweater
How much TV did you watch growing up ?

I agree with this

Screen time to prevent children becoming bored is a real issue

Can you link the research please. The BBC produced an article recently suggesting that there is no proven link between tablets and the numerous issues that are blamed on them. The metaphor that was used was that eating icecream goes up in summer and cases of skin cancer increase in summer but it would be wrong to suggest that ice cream causes skin cancer

There's an Outstanding Academy chain that has been in the news for being so great according to Ofsted. All the children there do lots of their work on tablets, have virtual lessons with other schools in the Academy chain and do all their home learning, reading, everything on a screen.

Personally it sounded awful to me and I can't imagine giving really young children so much screen time at school when you know that many of them will be handed a tablet as soon as they leave.

But if governments and Ofsted are supporting and facilitating it to the extent that they supply the devices, how are parents to properly understand, assess and manage the risks?

Tell me more about homework that requires youtube

I thought you meant paracetamol capsules versus calpol…

I’m glad homework isn’t on an app / iPad here. We don’t have one

My dc don't have tablets. But I'm a massive hypocrite because I spent most of the 90s glued to donkey kong and Kirby's pinball on my Gameboy.

Primary school has homework on apps. DC2 is in Y6, and she has been set app homework since Year R. This isn't a new thing. She has numbots in KS1, and now times table rock star. She also get spelling on EdShed. It's either phone or tablet.

12 year old is in secondary school in England. DC1 school homework is set on an app, with many of the homework either on other apps, or email + Microsoft 360. A lot of the homework requires YouTube too.

My 22 and 24 year old had tablets when they were 8, they played games on them, watched movies on them . They used them in the living room and weren’t allowed them in their bedrooms at that age. Both mine are quite geeky and loved to learn, they were able to research many different topics on their tablets.

each to their own, mine never had tvs in their rooms, still don’t!

@Polyestered
Yes. From the minute he woke up until he goes to bed.

Smartphones are more harmful than tablets because by their nature they are more portable and it means constant access to the internet. I have more of an issue with smartphones but that’s an unpopular view because “safety”. I don’t have an issue with tablets if they are locked down and parents are restricting usage so kids aren’t on them all day.