Ban iPads & Tablets For Children

[londonmummyof1]

Is it just me, or does the iPad generation bother anyone else?

We went on a family holiday to Spain with my husband and almost 3 year old daughter, and at breakfast, lunch and dinner it’s the same sight - parents bringing out iPads for their preschool children to sit and watch - while eating!?! This is something I have never seen before and I absolutely do not agree with. I think seeing the scale of the problem during this one holiday shows what a problem this is. The thing is, the children aren’t even given the choice of asking for the iPad or to watch a show, it’s just slapped down in front of them and then they are glued. No interaction, just plugged into this simulated world, at the prime time in their life they are developing their language, speech, behaviour and personality - under the age of 5.

We did not bring an iPad for our child on holiday because we wanted to play in the swimming/splash pool, go to the beach etc and we spent such quality time with our child with memories we will keep forever.

This did not happen 20 or even 10 years ago - what did parents do with their children then? God forbid did they COMMUNICATE with their children at the dinner table?

What is happening to this world? Why not have a conversation with your child or bring a sticker book or story book for them to look at if feeding time is difficult. Every parent has been there with challenging mealtimes, but lugging the iPad around during 3 mealtimes, that’s a minimum of 3 hours your child is in a zombie state of mind, you’re starving them of developing their speech and ability to play by themselves and entertain themselves through play.

Do parents understand that too much screen time is extremely damaging to young children and can pave the way to obesity and development issues later in life?

I feel so passionate about this topic, as I’ve even seen some parents putting their children in pushchairs by the swimming pools glued to an iPad, when they could be swimming and having fun with their parents or siblings.

Parenting can be really tough, but somehow I think government intervention is required as this is such a vicious cycle, what future are we preparing our children for???

Simple alternatives to iPad/Tablet entertainment:

Play doh
Stickers
Books
Playing cards
Colouring books
Drawing

Absolutely BAN iPads & Tablets for children.

They will also need to learn how to use it appropriately, and learning when and how to use it and when to put it away is as much of a skill as is learning to use a knife and fork or learning to write

Honestly OP have you seen some of the apps around? My Ds (7) has one and he does coding and world building. He struggles immensely with reading but will sit and work out on his game what the speech bubbles are saying and menus etc and has come on leaps and bounds. I'm frankly amazed at the things he can do and tbh we live in a world where being able to code will be very advantageous so I'm all for it

Of course not realistic to ban them but love the idea of it and it's not smug to say you manage to raise kids without having ipads in restaurants hotels and trains.

Sunshineface123 restaurant meals are one of the worst times to work on some children's communication. I choose calm times, not when there is likely to be sensory overload.

Moreis no-one is saying tech is bad for kids. Tech is amazing for kids but not all the time in every public space as a pacifier and most kids in restaurants are not coding

Prohibition has always been such a success ...

Yabu, and reminding me of those people when I was young, long before tablets had been invented, who would harrumph about children watching TV rather than reading, reading a comic rather than a 'proper' book, reading a book aimed at YA rather than Dickens, etc etc.

I'm not remotely ashamed of using screens when needed and a ban would be ridiculous. You might sometimes see us giving DS who is 2 our phone at a restaurant to watch Little Baby Bum. We will have spent all day playing and interacting with him and just want to eat our dinner in peace. We always start off without the phone but if DS is grumpy we bring it out. His weight is perfect and his speech is advanced so I am not worried. I see far fewer children being shouted at, marched out or smacked at restaurants nowadays which I think is a good thing.

I think you are being very patronising. All my family have tablets. My son comes home from school and plays with his friends on Xbox for hours.
We still spend quality time with him. He still rides his bike, plays games etc.
On holiday he and his cousins play, swim and have attention. They also watch Dan TDM etc together.
If you are the type of parent to ignore your child and not bother, you will do that anyway.
It doesn't make you superior to ban tablets, I pads and games consoles

tbh we live in a world where being able to code will be very advantageous

really? I could code and write webpages in html, it was fuck all use to me!

If you want to go off and do a computer science degree then yes, but playing minecraft on a tablet isn't necessarily going to help

Honestly use them by all means but not all the time, its absolutely mind-rotting for your kids.

tbh we live in a world where being able to code will be very advantageous

no, it won't - I got out of that rat race - computers will do the coding, they are getting very good at that.

We need people who can word a requirement.

Have either the op or the minority agreeing with her in the judging of these lazy parents, noticed that no one (not one person in hundreds of comments) is saying children should watch iPads all the time?
All posters are trying to say is that there are some very good reasons to occasionally use an iPad.

I wish someone else would acknowledge that it is the new way of teaching in schools. You can't avoid it! Whether you want to or not, all books, curriculum, lessons, homework, are on there.

But my DD is not only nearly 3, but the OP needs to realise what's ahead.

No more Enid Blyton OP. Sorry.

Oh to be the perfect parent............

It was like the childless student MW telling me how painful breastfeeding was (the MW who had actually had children soon described it perfectly 😂)

I also laughed at the nose in a book comment meant as a criticism, oh so true. I remember that.

Also, why would we cut down more rainforests for 'colouring' when an ipad will suffice, perfectly.

At 2? an ipad no. But then I wouldn't particularly think it excellent to take a tiny child to a restaurant, late, or fair on others. Just my opinion OP.

At 6/7/8/9 normal. Fact.

You need to adjust your thinking a bit.

You do realise the irony in your post op whilst your on holiday on your smart phone on MN? You’re quite the hypercrite.

We are a new generation who are using technology in ways they weren’t use before. IPads are like portable TVs they are brilliant when used in the right situation such as going on flights, meal times or winding down. You’re a stranger who has seen a snap shot of a families day. The child in the pushchair might be sitting the the shade for abit with the iPad, they could be tired from the sun you have zero idea. Also a lot of IPad apps have plenty of educational games on them such as problem solving, memory games, number games and drawing. I think you need to remove the stick up you’re arse.

no, it won't - I got out of that rat race - computers will do the coding, they are getting very good at that.

We need people who can word a requirement

^^ This
I worked in computer programming/analysis for years and the important thing is to know how to use the technology to achieve the end result. Children learning to code is not going to provide them with a stellar future.

dreadrydeardre

I couldnt agree more. Writing the requirements, understanding programming and coding to achieve the end result, problem solving, thinking outside the box, languages and resilience —> key to the future

Dancing monkey - op is not suggesting that adults should limit their use - just young malleable minds. So not sure of the hypocrisy there

But then I wouldn't particularly think it excellent to take a tiny child to a restaurant, late, or fair on others

I've never understood that. There are quite a few restaurants in the area that aren't child friendly, and not many that welcome children (good kids menus, crayons for at the table, staff interacting with them). People who don't like 2/3 year olds or whatever in restaurants can just go to one that isn't child friendly? The closest restaurant to home does not encourage children, you won't find high chairs or an outside play area etc, so we go a bit further afield and find ones that can cater us.

Entertainment comes within many forms and has evolved over the years. Many years ago children who only liked reading books and didn’t like going outside were seen as rude or unsociable. Nowadays it is iPads and other screen-based systems. In a few years time it will be something else. I genuinely do not understand why people are so critical of this.

Yanbu My dh is a coder and we have very tech savvy kids,one was coding at quite an early age etc.He and his siblings were never allowed screens at the table and still aren't even thought they're early teens. Kids don't need to have them at such an early age,it is easy to pick up. I have nephews at 10 who have had next to no access to screens and are picking it all up very quickly. Very gifted able kids who haven't been held back in any way.

Schools are seeing children just not school ready and with language delays. Many have poor motor skills. This shoving of screens into tiny tots the minute they squawk is often attributed to it.The meal table is a huge opportunity for language ops and one of the reasons eating round a table is recommended for Lang development. Activities such as playdough is better for pencil grip and kids who are used to coping with boredom can concentrate better.

SEN aside there is no need for screens,other mindful activities are far better for children educationally and mentally. Sticking screens in their hands the minute you want quiet is pretty much encouraging future smartphone addiction. And no they don't need this addiction in school. They are banned all day in school for a reason. Homework is often online but kids only need to be able to access it on a laptop,piss easy and no excuse.

Never once did we need screens to get through a meal. You bring paper activities or get off your backside and take them for a walk. Failing that wait until they're old and you've trained them to cope with eating out better. The easy route is selfish and damaging.

mariemalade
Just seen you commented on my post. My point was op ignored everything everyone else said and made herself look like an ignoramus. It was not meant as a dig at others. We didn’t have tablets of any description until dd was 7 btw and I was surprised myself the first time I saw a young child glued to a tablet. Just because it simply wouldn’t have occurred to me to do this with dd because it was unnecessary. However I absolutely defend others rights to parent differently and appreciate that not all children are the same.

Great post cowparsley I agree

Ok. So why is colouring or reading - both of which are apparently ok to do at the table - not ok on a device?

I’ve never used anything in restaurants with DD. Because we’ve never needed to. That doesn’t mean our way was the right way, just what worked for us.

As with everything there’s degrees, because your children have tech, doesn’t mean they have or want them all the time and aren’t able to manage without.

I choose to relax on tech sometimes, I believe DD should have the same choices