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.

You're free to say whatever you want. And I am free to think you're being mean spirited and judgy.

@Lethaldrizzle that's fine. Your opinion,your kids,your way.
The issues appear when you make statements about kids that can't write and use of ipads or that use of ipad excludes use of pencils,playdoh etc. It's not even facts,just assumptions and judgemental ones at that.

Lethaldrizzle - say what you like, the fact that you can’t see your disabilist attitude for what it is says more about you than it does about me.

Lethaldrizzle - you would have no idea that my child had special needs to look at him. You could sit and judge in a restaurant for an hour and have no clue and that is point I am trying to make and that is the problem with many people on this thread.

Exactly. My childs additional needs are also invisable so to the unknown stranger I am precisely the type of parent many are describing here. The same type of people who look at an older child in a buggy and say he is too old without knowing if they have an invisible disability. If someone elses parenting choices make you uncomfortable then look away.

But an iPad keeps your walls clean.

Play dough
Colouring books
Pencils and Stickers don't.

It's not even just disabled children.

DD is NT ,one day she stopped eating(still no idea why,and it still scared the crap out of me if she's poorly and off her food). The first two weeks were the worst,the most she'd have was a bag of chips and an ice cream and that was at my insistence. Docs weren't particularly interested,she was(still is) a happy,active playing etc little girl, she lost weights but not dangerously so and everything was fine. "She'll eat when she's hungry"...except she bloody wasn't. It took a year of strict routine and meal times for her to start recognising hunger.

We had to reintroduce every single food,except now she didn't like it and would freak out(even things she loved before).

The Ipad meant I could distract her,talk to her about what was going on while sneaking food in her mouth.

Right or wrong...it helped(when no one else did) , it's what worked.

Chiming with me. And DS who is 22 and is def v paternal (not sure his gf is so keen mind!) is of the same opinion. He hates seeing small children glued to tablets and devices in the most mundane situations. I am old but I don't recall it being hard to keep children behaved at a dinner table or on a bus or train. And DS def appreciates the time he remembers we gave him. In fact (old reactionary that I am) when I see a child with a parent and the parent is talking to him or her or reading,I think 'that child will do ok'.
So shoot me!

As a single parent I'd go spare without my electronic babysitter.

longtall then maybe have a read through this thread to show you that seeing a small child with an ipad is not always as black or white as on the outside.

Watching a snippet of someones day then judging them on it is so close minded... an ipad at a mealtime doesn't equal the child never being spoken to. I'm sure no parent talks and reads to their child 24 hours a day.

longtall Not surprised your ds's gf is iffy about having kids with him, I would be too if I was going out with such a sanctimonious know it all.

Do you suppose that those of us who allow our dc screen time also never read to them? I spent 4 hours this morning reading to ds, painting with him and playing with his trainset with him. Then for 30 mins while I prepared his lunch, he used his tablet.

@longtallwalker yes because no parent ever talks or reads to their kid if they also use ipads .

You are absolutely right in everything you don't say and you are also right to feel passionate about this list important issue. I have, for many years, written on forums and spoken out publicly about this issue and generally received a lashing for it. Of course, parents who have taken the easy option of handing over an iPad rather than either teaching table manners or interacting with their children will not agree with you. Agreeing with you would mean admitting they were wrong and that is impossible for many people, especially when child-rearing is involved. Admitting you have made mistakes isn't the worst thing n the world. It is, in fact, positive as it allows you to change and improve.

Children do not need to know anything about technology, just as children do not need to know how to drive a car. Children need to be children....they need a childhood. They do not need to be immersed in the adult world to prepare them to be adults. They need to be immersed in childhood in order to prepare them to be adults. Besides, the technology most parents have rushed, like lemmings, to buy for their children will be obsolete in a few years. By the time a toddler is old enough to get a job as a computer programmer, there will be no such role as 'Computer Programmer' as the function will be performed by robots. However, if the toddler has been granted a proper childhood, which is the greatest gift a parent can give their child, they will have developed many abilities and traits that will arm them in life's battle....creativity, flexibility, stamina, physical strength, agility, imagination, speech, humour, role play, patience, survival skills, inventiveness, practicality, resourcefulness.

When I look around, I generally see children who are grossly overweight, sloth, round-shouldered, dim-looking, uncommunicative and with unused bodies with absolutely no muscle definition and dainty fingers, both girls and boys. Most boys now appear feminised and most girls are now overly sexualized and hardened. It's not just what they lack when glued to their iPads but what they're being influenced by on the internet and in music and games. If you don't spend time with them teaching them everything you know then the people who make the games, etc, will do the job for you. I, for one, want to know what is going into my child's head.

Well done for speaking out with such conviction and, remember, the mob always comes round in the end when the truth comes out.....and, in my eyes, the truth is staring us in the face.

P.s. despite my child having the rare form of autism 'Pathological Demand Avoidance', she behaves beautifully in restaurants and eats all her vegetables because I've spent the time teaching her table manners and educating her on the health benefits of healthy food.

Your ps is irrelevant except I would have hoped that a parent of a disabled child would be a lot less judgmental and more able to realise that every child is different

I know that.
I also know that even 10 years ago parents (single and otherwise - and I have personal experience of both!) weren't as reliant.
And I also know that of course children need access to technology and that it covers a wealth of different applications.
The op was asking for opinions. Mine is the balance has tipped too far away from gazing out of windows and into space and having books read with a cosy cuddle. That's what I see with my eyes. And I find it interesting that my son (who is as techy as the next young adult) sees it too. Just reporting.
If you're confident in your parenting methods don't feel judged.

And Pot - talk about taking a snapshot and seeing the whole movie - the gf is simply switched on and career minded and I celebrate that fact!

@PathologicalDemandAvoidance you do realise ICT/Computing is part of the curriculum don't you?

"Most boys now appear feminised and most girls are now overly sexualized and hardened."

Seriously?

despite my child having the rare form of autism 'Pathological Demand Avoidance', she behaves beautifully in restaurants and eats all her vegetables because I've spent the time teaching her table manners and educating her on the health benefits of healthy food.

That's not why. You just got lucky and didn't have a child who throws up as part of their autism, immediately, every time food of a certain type, smell or texture is in their vicinity. That's ALL. You just got lucky.

Why are people so convinced that their child behaves a certain way because of their exquisite parenting?!?!

I am one of four. All totally different.

My dh is working 12 hour days this weekend, out of the house at 6am and back around 7.30pm. I have 5 year old and 8 month old DS. At 6.30 this morning we were crafting, by 9am we were on the park with the dog, we spent hours playing with building blocks and figures, we’ve been in the garden in the sandpit and playing with water. I’ve had them both in bath to get rid of sand and sun cream as we’re going out for my brothers birthday later and while baby naps I’ve given the 5 year old a tablet while I get ready to go out. Shoot me. I’m a terrible parent.

I saw this with a friends teenager when we were all out for dinner. His mum ordered his food and the waitress carefully placed it under his nose. He never looked up once, let alone said thank you.

Everything in moderation I suppose.

My p.s. is very relevant. Despite having a child prone to extreme distractibility, demand refusal and attention seeking behavior, I have managed to train her to be well behaved in restaurants and to eat whatever food I put n front of her. Being judge mental isn't necessarily a bad thing. The next generations coming through are ours and therefore we are all motivated to see them become the best versions of themselves. Or at least we should be. You seem more concerned with closing down the conversation than thinking about the issue.

The ignorance in your posts is outstanding!

It's a big wide world out there and my world is very different to yours and my child's very different to your child's.

I home school and focus on subjects best suited to my child's talents.