Which is the lesser screen evil: computer, tablet, or TV?

[MmmIceCream]

Just that, really. I have been giving this some thought recently as my DS (2.5) is allowed about an hour of screen time a day, and was wondering which of the above was better. Of course I know that all are less than ideal etc etc (an idea which while it may be true is just going to make me feel more guilty, not reduce his screen time as I will never get anything done otherwise!) but was wondering which, in your opinion, is the lesser evil?

Or AIBU to even wonder this, as they're all the same?

I think today's technology is different.It 's very easy,cheap and accessible and addictive.Consequently there is a lot of pointless crap out there.I speak as a mother of a 10 year old child G&T in computing who is coding in several languages.He is also G&T in literacy and could devour and read anything at 4.We are a very techy family,dp is a coder.

Said child had very limited screen time as a pre- schooler(and now) and spent the time surrounded by real books,play dough,the outdoors etc.

Yes some screen time is good and useful.But endless poor quality apps on crappy phones/tablets that don't teach kids to code/create and encourage hours lost when they could be reading or playing at 2 sorry I don't think there is any need.

My DS probably has the least screen time of anybody in his year group.Quality and quantity matter and there are masses of crappy apps and the ease of wasting far too many hours which could be better spent doing something else.

All 3 of my dc have read literally piles of books over Easter and are currently reading in bed as usual instead of on ipods/tablets.

This is because at pre- school age they became addicted to books,reading and playing instead of screens.Their screen time has always been limited.Get them hooked on reading first and then introduce some quality limited screen time a lot further down the line.It's not hard to pick up and there is no hurry.

Off to ahem follow their example for a while.

Screens are not evil and books are not the holy grail. Yes some books are better than some screens but they both have their merits? You can have a book which explains in great detail a piece of music or dance or how something is made but you don't get the real sense of that without sound and in some cases moving pictures.

at Douglas Adams. He hit the nail on the head.

Oh and to clarify - my DS does read an awful lot, probably about 15 - 20 books a day with me. The screen time, though, is a necessary evil I find as there are times when I just need to tend to my baby (6 m/o) and do other things, especially as he doesn't sleep during the day. So while I'd love to be that mother who doesn't let her 2 y/o watch any screens at all, I'm not.

I would say actually tv more than tablet/games - depending what TV programs they watch. (Cartoon channel vs Cbeebies).

We know what so many things in the world we have never seen (and probably never will) look like through television....
You know people in the world look different, have different lifestyles.
There are different animals and different climates.
The list is endless

We can see this on the internet - but we need to know where to look - what to search for.

Tablet games are good for certain things...but at the end of the day you could learn just as much and more by interacting with people - playing physical games, using pen and paper, touching and feeling things. Not saying that screen games don't have benefits or a role...just perhaps not as a great as we want to believe to soothe our conscience...

good point unlucky. I was listening to a reunion programme about the first ever Life On Earth series, and how no-one (in our country) had ever seen many of the things it featured - hunting lions, gorillas in their natural habitat. Properly good telly can be a wondrous thing.

I think there's a place for all 3. My general rule is computer or tablets in the day time & TV in the evening (in moderation before I get flamed).

My kids all read books / run about / draw / interact with other humans etc etc, but technology is here to stay so why deny them? Tablets & computers can be fun and educational and TV can introduce many ideas that they didn't know existed. OK, so we could get some from books, but flicking through the TV one night for family viewing we came across Bear Grylls. They loved it and it has inspired them to build dens & play at survival.

Someone was asking about apps for 2 year olds - the Cbeebies one is great, as is Monkey Preschool Lunchbox and Animatch.

None of them are evil.

Retro pear - so you think my DCs aren't being challenged because of one app I highlighted in response to a question about apps for a 2yo? Not too many assumptions about a stranger's home life going on there, jeez!

If you saw the use that Lego, for example,is put to in this house you would realise that they are way more advanced than that particular app in pattern recognition, and indeed both hitting targets above their actual age.

I used the ice cream app as an example of an app that has educational use from age 2, but that is fun enough that my 6yo still gets pleasure from it when he fancies it. And even if it is simple, it is reinforcing pattern spotting techniques. Watch my 3yo doing a 'spot the differences' picture in a book (yes, surprisingly we do have paper in addition to screens!) Just because she is way more advanced than that app doesn't mean she can't do something simpler when the mood takes her. Same for my 6yo.

I read Harry Potter as an adult and read trashy mags a fair amount despite having a degree from Cambridge which means I have the training to challenge myself with quite complex intellectual ideas. I do simple mental arithmetic and puzzles for fun despite being part way through an OU maths degree. Adults are allowed to challenge or not challenge themselves as they see fit depending on whether they want to learn or relax. Are children only allowed to do things that are challenging them with everything else being a waste of time? Wow, what a fun-free hot-housing mindset you have! There, that's me making an assumption back about you

Right off to read some books with my
3.6yo, who will read some of the words to me, because she is bright and given a variety of opportunities to develop by me. And is clearly undamaged by a little bit of screen time.

Oh and some books are shit. I'd rather my DC had a good app over a crap book any day.

As I said before, and will say until I'm blue I'm the face, some focused controlled thought-out screen time is unlikely to damage a 2yo or older and indeed is likely to enhance their learning and skills.

Sorry I don't think screens enhance learning for 2 year olds.There is no need and a shed load of other things to do which would be far,far better.The op is talking about a 2 year old.

I also think children are far more likely to spend far too long on crappy apps than crappy books.

In all my years as a parent and teacher I have come across very few crappy books I wouldn't be happy with my kids reading but in the last couple of years during the app explosion a shed load of pointless apps which are a waste of time as regards kids spending hours on.

well I dont see the difference between a bit of cbeebies and a bit of ebeebies website/App it is all screens IMO children need to chill out as well as adults do and we would be really annoyed if somebody tried to get us to do X Y Z because it was better for us than a screen for a hour a day there is nothing wrong with screens any of them children are growing up with technology they can all work them nowadays. letting them veg out all day is different from letting watch a bit of telly or a film

Sorry I don't think screens enhance learning for 2 year olds.There is no 'need and a shed load of other things to do which would be far,far better.The op is talking about a 2 year old.'

Completely agree Retropear. I'm an Early Years SLT. I can totally understand parents needing to collapse in front of the TV with their little ones or using the TV/tablet/computer to keep little one safely occupied while you get on with something else for brief periods, but parents shouldn't kid themselves that their very young children are learning all sorts of wonderful things while they do it.

We have an alphabet app which says letter sounds. Now many children dd2s age are probably past that stage but because she has severe language delay it actually complements her speech therapy. Likewise with apps that repeat colours and shapes. It engages her and she actually concentrates better and for longer on that (she uses them when i am driving to school in the morning) than she does with the one-on-one work with her assistant in school.

DD1 is currently learning to use a very basic coding app. As a child with reading difficulties an app is much better for her than a book is - it presents in an interactive and hands on way which suits her better as a learner. She can independently work on this which she likes.

Funny enough neither of them like the game apps I zone out on - Candy Crush Saga for example - as they find them totally boring!

We have book cases full of kids books, play doh is constantly ground into our furniture, and they run around outside torturing the dog on a regular basis. This isn't about having an ipad or similar instead of good old books and human interaction, but along with. Tablets or iPads with good quality apps - and there are thousands of amazing apps out there, many of which are free - is putting a huge amount of information into the hands of a child and that is very, very positive. Very young children can learn all sorts of wonderful things from apps, just as they can from books, TV and human interaction. It is all about how you use it, not if you should.