To think that IPads/laptops for younger children are just ridiculous

[MummyGalore]

I don't know if this has been covered before as not on here often so sorry if so.
But AIBU to be getting increasingly riled/concerned with the amount of mums who are talking about getting their children (I'm talking under 10s but some i know are buying them for children as young as 4!!!) Ipads and laptops for christmas. It riles me as i think that they are starving their children of their opportunity to learn through imaginative play. Simple toys are the best at that age, surely ipads are not a good option especially at 4.
What do others think?

They would have bothered if you limited it to 3X a week or so.

I am 40 and we had computer studies at school and I took a Gcse in it!
We had a Sinclair Zx spectrum + at home which was a second hand version and we certainly weren't flush with money.

Word wasn't around for another 10 years but wordpro certainly was.

even if i could afford an ipod for my children - i wouldnt get one i was very when at preschool an (almost) 3 year old had got one as an early birthday present!! and wondered how on earth they could afford it (it is specifically a preschool for low-earning families) surely at a young age they have no thought of how expensive an item is / how to look after it properly / not to dip it in jam or whatever....if money was no object maybe around 6/7 would be around the right age for me to be able to know that it would not be ruined in ten mins

Lady - no we don't. I think TV in bedrooms is awful, mine will never be allowed it.

At the moment we share technology, because they are so young, but in a year or two when DS1 has homework that needs a laptop then we will get him his own.

I really can't understand the angst. Far better to be using an iPad or a laptop that involves engaging with what you are looking at than just slumped in front of the telly, I really don't think the two kinds of screen time are comparable.

DP got an ipad last Christmas when DS was 16 months, and within a few days DS could do things on it that DP couldn't

DS is now 2 and uses the ipad most days - it's especially good first thing in the morning when we are trying to get a bit more sleep and DS can sit in our bed and choose things to watch on cbeebies iplayer...

We've been thinking of getting him a cheap tablet of his own for Christmas actually. I don't really restrict his screen time at all at the moment and he chooses an hour or two a day, which still leaves him 10 hours of doing other things.

I don't mind what other people do, but personally I would worry about creating a precedent with expensive presents. If they get an iPad when they are 4, what are they going to want when they are 21, a Ferrari?

That said, DD1 (7) does have a DS - only because DM gave it to her as she doesn't use it now she has an iPad...

I am looking after my mum's iPad at the moment while they're away, but frankly I wouldn't get one. Like a massive overpriced phone, except it isn't as good as my 2 year old Samsung, as you can't use Google Streetview, and the lack of Adobe flash means you can't access some websites, and there are quite a lot of image links on here and Twitter I can't open.

Ds2 (age 6) has watched me fix laptops/desktops since birth. He could probably do simple installations like increase a desktop's memory and can name the bits like motherboard and fan.

The worrying aspect is when the children are online with no filters so are a click (or swipe) away from unsavoury content. My oldest is 11 and I've had requests from his mates on sleepovers to turn off my content filter.

If you have the money I think iPads under supervision are a great present for kids. My youngest was 1 when we got an iPad and she soon picked up how to use it. My eldest is 5 and plays loads of educational games on it that have helped his reading and maths. In a local primary school near here they are offering all parents the oppurtunity to purchase and iPad at a reduced rate, payable in monthly installments, for the children to do work on.

I wouldnt spend £400 on a fragile item for a child under 13, in fact I would be loathe to spend that kind of money full stop.

Kids know through various ways how this kind of technology works , I dont think people need to worry about them being left behind if they dont own an ipad etc

Compulsory for entry into Year 7 at ds' (indie) school. Was issued with Ipad 3 on the first day of term, has to complete year 7 or we have to return it to school, after that he keeps it.

How on earth are ipads stiffling imaginary play?

Some apps might, but then some apps help develop it. It's like saying a pencil starves children of imaginary play!

Yanbu and of course it stifles the imagination when one is continually stimulated by graphics and sound.

I think people who consider that the only use of an ipad is stimulation of a young child's mind through graphics and sound, are themselves, severely lacking in imagination.

The ipad offers opportunities for development, as well as opportunities for laziness. Use it how you will.

Starlight
Is that a serious question? Can you really not see that watching and occasionally jabbing is not the same as using a pencil to draw or write?

It's a serious question. Although I do doubt that ipad hours have significantly reduced anyone's pencil hours.

YABU

If other people chose to spend their money on these things for their children - then so what?

I have yet to meet a child of this age who would chose to exclusively play on an iPad or laptop. Every single child I know of this age, or older tbh, do a wide range of activities, many using lots of imagination.

Not one single child I know (and as I work in an infant school so know many over However if you chose to not give your own child such an item - fair enough. That is your choice.

However this does not make you a better parent in any way shape or form. It simply makes you a parent who has made a different choice to another parent.

Dd age 7 has an iPad. It has been very helpful as a means of communicating and also in terms of motivating her to learn new things as she has SN. However I probably wouldn't have bought her one if she didn't need the extra help.

I am 39y and had computers in the house from a young age. It has not squashed my ability to communicate, use imagination, read, engage with other activities, etc.

Technological advances are, imo, not a bad thing. Some parents may want to believe they are - but for the vast majority of families they are just in addition to other activities. They are there to enhance, to have another option... not in replacement of other things.

Also - let's bear in mind - WE are all here using technology. Every one of us on MN are here because of technology. Is that a bad thing? If so, then why are you here using it?

Well, as I said earlier HB, I feel that when I spend too much time faffing about on the web it is more difficult for me to concentrate on something else, or even switching activities. And I am 42.

My son is in secondary school and it and graphics are both compulsory subjects at gcse.
He has had a bit of a head start as we bought him a laptop a few years ago and then last christmas he combined all his christmas money and bought himself a ipad. The one he wanted was over £600 so far too much for one person to buy for a christmas present but he would rather all the family give him some money and then top up with his savings than have 10 smaller presents that he doesn't really want.
If they had been available when he was 4/5 i would have bought the cheaper model as they are a brilliant piece of kit and i see nothing wrong with a child that age having access to one.

My 4yo uses my iPad but it's definitely not hers. She's restricted to weekend use only and that time is limited; also some time-limited holiday days. I control the games she has on it - most have an educational element to them. The Pocket Phonics game is one of her favourites and because of it she learned a large chunk of letter sounds at 3. Ditto a counting to 100 game. But she definitely plays imaginatively and reads traditional paper books for most of her free time. I'm not worried at the moment because I control her access to TV and the iPad.

Dd2 borrows my iPad. She probably wouldn't get much more time on it if she had her own. She mostly uses it while we are waiting (traffic jam, doctors etc.) or on public transport. When we are at home, she plays with her toys and in the garden. It doesn't stifle her imagination - it widens her skills and creativity.

I wouldn't buy one for DS but mainly because I don't have one myself. DS uses my Ipod touch and I'm considering giving it to him and buying myself a new one. He's 5.

He is much better than I am at using it - he has grouped his games into sets. I have no idea how you do that.

I think it's ace - he does really well in ICT at school and I know that when it comes to having to search for stuff on the internet in a couple of years, he'll be way ahead of kids who haven't been allowed any computer time at all.

Might possibly buy one for ourselves (and occasionally let the children have a go on it - we are considering this for ourselves) but to buy it for a child - absolutely no way.

The cost of an iPad is the same as some people's monthly take-home pay - how could a young child possibly understand how valuable they are and how much care needs to be taken with such a fragile and expensive item?

Either there are some extemely wealthy people here or perhaps you have all bought into the techno-consumer culture where we buy the latest gadget, let the kids break it and chuck it into landfill the next week, while we all run out and buy version 2 or whatever.

Still, what do I know - I've had the same mobile phone for nearly ten years!!