To be getting irritated with all the "woe is society, children shouldn't use technology" ideas

[BlingLoving]

I see it here all the time. I see it on FB. I hear it. Real life, "oh, i never let ds play with my iPad, he only does wholesome things like roll in the mud and draw with organic crayons".

And when these people are challenged they just ignore it.

I am not talking about the people commenting on children spending literally hours on the computer, tv etc. we can probably all agree that too much of anything is bad. But the self righteous comments about children being given iPhones while their parents are standing in a long post office queue or whatever justbdrives me crazy.

We live in a busy and crowded world and expect our dc to fit in with our lives. A little technology helps us!

Oh and rollmopses'you really can't train a monkey to use a computer, not in a meaningful way anyway. Luckily though they will be able to study computing now at school.

Look at that
Computers really are amazing!

YANBU. Technology, like everything else, is fine in moderation. It's our world. Children need the knowledge of how to work it. They also need to learn to use their imaginations and play the old fashioned way.

I don't agree with either extreme tbh. I wouldn't buy our 2 or 5yo an iPad, but they both use ours occasionally. Neither use them every day or even for weeks on end, but every now and then they have a go. Our attitude to TV is the same. If we've spent the majority of the day outside, then I have no problem with them coming in and watching a half hour of their favourite programmes. Then we read a book, play a game, bake, whatever.

Of course spending hours glued to the TV or iPad is a bad thing, but so is banning it completely imo. A bit of everything is the way forward, not obsessively going one way or the other.

Also, when you judge other people for their own choices surely you're just seeing a small snapshot of time. How can you possibly know what they do with their children every hour of the day?

I think children are more likely to lose their imaginations when constantly being entertained by parents and not by spending an hour on a computer.

Well I am all for kids playing educational games, puzzles and even watching TV shows on ipads/tablets when the time is right, such as on long journeys, rainy days, quiet cool down time etc.

However last year when we were on holiday in Greece there was a 4 year old boy on the beach with his parents just plonked on a sun lounger all day with the ipad. This really saddened me as when you are 4 the purpose of being at the beach is to play with your bucket and spade, dig, bury your Dad in the sand, splash around and generally just have fun. That is the whole fun of it isn't it? Of course I don't want to judge and don't know their cirucmstances but he looked like your average healthy 4 year old, who knows if he was given the ipad because that is the only thing to keep him quiet or if his parents just couldn't be bother to play with him.

Gaiming can make a better world

I am going to be severely limiting the amount of screen time my children have (when I have them). I want to limit my screen time (I'm about to start a job that doesn't involve computers and requires me to be outside all day and I am so excited!)

I truly feel technology is unwholesome - it is addictive and therefore turns into a massive waste of my time. My eyes dry out, I barely move any muscles while staring at screens, and sometimes my mouse-clicking fingers ache and I get headaches. In my current job, where I spend a lot of time in front of a screen, I feel like I am wasting my life (hence the massive job change).

On the whole I'm going through a bit of a technology rejection.

My 8 year old DD is in the process of using the computer to write a 'book' - I think that's a jolly good use of technology. So far, I have not restricted the childrens' computer or tv time and they tend to go through stages of having quite a bit of screen time followed by periods of none at all - it largely depends on the weather. I know that, given the choice, they would much prefer to be out on bikes/roller skates/swimming etc.

I think if I was to start limiting time spent using technology/watching tv, it would only make it seem more attractive and sought after.

I think properly-managed access to technology is fine - it's just another 'thing' for people to do/use/enjoy.

I do wonder though if we as a species will lose anything by never having any 'empty' time any more. You know, when you're waiting for a bus or sitting in a waiting room, the time when you'd just stare into space - that tends to now be filled by a phone or a tablet. I can understand why, it's more fun to play Angry Birds tbh but I do wonder if there's some benefit to our brains in this down time. I guess we won't find out till it's too late.

*I dont like the instant infornation or entertainment that comes with technology.

I worry that our children will not know how to research in a library or debate a side of an argument as they can just click a button and the answer is there for them.*

But that's one of the amazing aspects of the internet? A click of a button and you can access information. No more schlepping to a library and spending ages leafing through encyclopedias or reference books. The info is immediately available to EVERYONE.

Sorry - ballsed up my bolding.

technology is unwholesome ... what? i don't understand this point of view at all.

I EMBRACE technology, and all it's potential for our future. Who knows what our children will be doing with IT when they are our age? I can't wait to see the changes that will happen in my lifetime. Children growing up with computers and technology as part of their every day lives is one of those changes, IMO.

'its' not 'it's', dammit.

I'm worried about those trains. Every serious phrenologist knows the human body cannot cope with speeds of above 15 miles an hour. We are going to raise a generation of children whose bones drop off.

haha, i was just going to say the same thing about cars, soloman. why are people so afraid of progress?

I'm so glad it's not just me. Apologies for typos in op - was on iPad with toddler next to me jumping up and down in excitement over a particularly amusing episode of Fireman Sam!

For me, I also love technology but perhaps more importantly, I accept it's here to stay. My children therefore need to grow up knowing how to use it responsibly and appropriately. I have no problem with them using the Internet to do research but they will have to have even better critical faculties than we did to sift through the crap - broadly, I assumed if it was in a book in the library, it was legit. They will not have that luxury.

As for losing downtime, well, I don't know. When washing machines were invented did people worry that we'd lose that time to let our minds wander while doing repetitive chores like washing? I often use time at the bus stop to catch up with friends on FB, or research something.

Totally agree BlingLoving. I have no problem with children using technology from a very early age. All my grandchildren do and they still have plenty of time and enthusiasm for imaginative and outdoor play. I don't buy the generational argument (all grannies are against) either, though we were early adopters in our family. I do sometimes have to wrestle with my GD for the ipad when I stay there, though.....

There was a lot of agonising over the coming of household appliances and the fear that middle class housewives would sink into depression when they had nothing to do. And in the 19th century a lot of worrying that the useless lives of upper class women with nothing to do led to neurotic disorders.

Nobody ever seems to worry about men though.

I always want to point out that knives and forks are also 'technologies' (just much older technologies than iPads), And people are generally very keen on getting people to use them.

Well dontcha know that my DD's severe speech delay is caused by us allowing her to use the iPad, and watch TV. If only we had shoved her outside the back door every morning and let her romp in the mud, she would be speaking at an age appropriate level by now. Or so my mother in law tells me. And she wonders why I don't want to spend any time on the phone with her, or let her have my children to stay.

I don't think my brain has been rotted by technology, and I am a HEAVY user, and always have been. On the other hand, those dastardly books have deffo ruined my intellect and feminine sensibilities for ever.

Judge me all you like on buying the bratlings leappads, but does that mean I get to judge the parents who only buy their kids wooden toys and make their own playdoh? luddites

I was a total luddite and my ds still won't touch a book; he prefers staring blankly into space to reading- in fact, as far as I can make out, he prefers anything to reading. I have noticed that his vocabulary and general knowledge have picked up since we bought a television, though.

I grew up a bookworm, with just 3 part time channels of TV (black and white until I was 6) and technology was my cousin's stylophone.

The power was off from 10-5, yesterday and by 1pm my hands were too cold to do anything requiring any amount of dexterity and I was flipping bored! There's only so much housework that doesn't entail non-existent warm water that I can be bothered to do in one day.

DS1 has been using a computer since he was 4. He writes stories, makes powerpoint presentations, makes lists for his "shop", plays games on Webkinz and creates all sorts of virtual lego masterpieces using Lego Digital Designer.

DS2 is unable to use a computer, though he's learning to use a touch screen. He's just recently learnt to play games on his leapster and has better control of the stylus than I do. This is the 6 year old who has never been interested in mark making and struggles to feed himself with a spoon.

We're an unashamedly technology heavy household, though we don't actively watch much tv. DH is a programmer, so it would be hypocritical of us to eschew technology, really.