Thoughts on the ‘IPad generation’

[Cash02]

Are you ever in a restaurant or the supermarket and you see children completely engrossed into their screens, their sticky, food encrusted screens? (exaggerating)

What are your thoughts? If you have any?
My little girl is 7 months, I’ve no clue on what parenting a toddler is like and I won’t pretend I do.
However people for thousands of years raised children without IPads, what’s changed?
I don’t plan on giving my daughter an IPad as I’ve been reading about the negative affects, but I was just wondering what the general consensus is?
There’s the infamous story, where young children were given books and they tried to swipe the pages like a smart device.
It seems sad to me, but at the same time, every new technology has its critics.
But Is the impact on social and creative skills really deniable?
(I would like to state I’m not talking about families who have a shared iPad that everyone uses on occasion, I’m talking about children who own their own and are on it seemingly constantly)

I would take a book to a restaurant when I was a kid.

Also, remember family restaurants with giant playgrounds or jungle bungles attached? They don't seem to exist anymore. I'd get sent out to play between courses.

I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s replies here, I’ve learnt some things.
I think I’ll still stick to no iPad but some screen time isn’t an issue to me.
I hope my SIL grows out of it eventually so I can have a proper conversation with her again
I didn’t make the thread with the intentions of judging anybody, and despite what some may think me telling people to learn to read isn’t me judging their parenting

@Nishky
I highly doubt she’s reading on Mumsnet.

@cash02 I think it's great that you are thinking about this already.

The main thing to remember is
to model good screen behaviour yourself.

A little tv is not an issue.

Try and avoid portable screens as long as you can.

I guarantee we will see a divide over the coming generation between the kids who
have spent hours on IPads versus
the kids with limited screen time.

I know which side I want my kids to be on, but every parent needs to make their own decisions.

@Cash02 you know very well what I mean- as she grows she will learn from your interactions

@Nishky
I’ve never been snarky to somebody wasn’t first, and quite frankly no ones ever spoken to me like some women on here have

I can assure you this thread is not an example of a normal everyday interaction for me.

@hollyangel
Thank you, I think a lot of people missed the point of it being portable being my main issue.

What children lose is the ability to be bored, and then to turn to imagination and creativity to entertain themselves. If someone is always offering content via screen at the end of meals, or on long car journeys, or waiting for the bus, then the children lose out on opportunities to develop those inner resources.

I'd offer an ipad for 10 minutes when you need to get something done, or they want a break to play a game or watch a video. But try to avoid letting it fill up their spare moments.

I don’t plan on giving my daughter an IPad [I'm interpreting this as any tablet] as I’ve been reading about the negative affects

Hilarious OP! Before we have children we all had many ideas about what we'd 'never do' as parents......then the reality of parenting happens..........

@Caswint
I think a lot of people forget it’s okay for children to be bored, it’s good for them sometimes!

I can assure you this thread is not an example of a normal everyday interaction for me

Well that is something to be thankful for......

@ZippedyDooDa
Plenty of people on this thread have said a very similar thing.
However I think it’s ridiculous to use that argument to try and shut down an entire discussion.
We’re allowed to have plans and research on how we’d like our children to be raised, as I said there’s many parents who do just fine without too much screen time, many examples in this thread.
This carries the same energy as people telling pregnant women how awful it’s going to be and they have no idea what’s coming.

What we envision motherhood to be like and what it truly is, is two very different things.
However it doesn’t mean we can’t set rules for our children and set boundaries on what we find comfortable.

@Nishky

I’m thankful too, many people on here act as if I’ve insulted their very existence by talking about iPads, if we all acted like this in real life, things would be very difficult indeed.

I’ve been insulted a few times in this thread, over my age mainly, and I think it’s pretty ridiculous. It’s those I’ve been a bit snarky to.

Don’t treat people like their idiots purely because they’re younger than you.

I say as I use the wrong ‘their’ I meant they’re ah, sleep deprivation.

@Circumlocutious

That is a very good point

@AvoidingNextdoorNeighbour

For restaurants I would never do it without a headset. Very anti social if others can hear!

You are so condescending and judgmental of people who have more experience than you. Good luck OP, you have a lot to learn.

@ZippedyDooDa
Dear lord how many times do I have to irritate the point that I don’t judge anybody for anything that they do with their children, especially my MIL who I see as my mother.

I find that others in this thread have been very condescending purely because they had their children a year or two earlier than me, it’s ridiculous.

I’m allowed to think things and have opinions and plans for my child.

If I didn’t want other peoples opinions I wouldn’t of started the thread, I wanted to hear from people who had more experience than me.

Quite a few people in here have been very helpful and made me see another side to the argument, others just judged me based of my age and the fact my child isn’t one??

I appreciate everyone’s takes on the matter, I don’t appreciate the condescension from those like yourself.

@ZippedyDooDa I have 6 years experience parenting without it an iPad and it's worked fine for me. It's not impossible. People have been doing it for thousands of years.

@MondayYogurt it's not just kids. I need to step away from this thread 🤣

It's just a tool. How the child use it depend on the parents.

MN is always very righteous
It’s a strange things

So take everything with a pinch of salt
People here are far better parents allegedly that people I know in RL

T

An iPad is just a tool. There is an enormous amount of information that can be accessed. In this pandemic most education is accessed remotely.
I really don’t see the problem with screens, used appropriately.

@Aria999 As an adult you have the willpower to do that, which is great.

@MondayYogurt
I enjoyed reading the articles you linked while my DD has had her longest nap ever

Thank you!

Hold off devices for as long as possible. We held off until teens got a phone year 7. Even then I would never allow out to a family meal out.

Good old colouring and books to read are fine.

If at a push when they were toddlers and struggling I would let them watch something on my phone for about 15 mins but no way for the duration.

Yes parenting is hard.