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 can buy £5 phones that only text and have so internet you could never convince me why a small child needs a phone of their own

Why would I contribute to throwaway culture when we had perfectly serviceable smart phones being unused.

Makes no sense to buy another item when you have one to use.

Maybe look to your own household before criticising others? It’s a revelation.

Most people on here who belittled the OP and rounded on me (plus maybe others I haven't seen) are more than likely people with noses out of joint for having their parenting style exposed for what it is.....lazy. I don't mince my words. If you don't like that, tough.

And you "speak as you find" and "I'm straightforward me" blah blah blah. Honestly you just sound really ignorant and closed minded. How you can type that paragraph knowing that you're on thread with multiple parents with children with additional needs is beyond me. I'm a single parent with TWO with additional needs, I also home educate one of them because he couldn't manage in mainstream school. You should be ashamed of the some of things you've posted here. I know plenty of people that think like you and like to trumpet their silly thoughtless views like you do too, they just generally aren't the parent of a child with additional needs. Makes me think YOU need a bit more technology and to do some research on how other families struggle and to drag you kicking and screaming into the real world.

What's this obsession with coding? Absolutely everything is going to be much more tech-based, hence why being au fait with technology is a benefit in general, not just for a career in coding. Industry 4.0, the IoT, 3D printing - they're all coming, they'll be here to stay and all these things will require a comprehensive grounding in tech.

Getting my kid used to it at an early age is, to me, beneficial. He will have no fear of it, know how to use it, be able to self-regulate his use of it and embrace future iterations of it. So he won't be all at sea when his washing machine breaks down and his 3D printer automatically prints the spare part he needs. Not because he'll be in a dark room typing reams of code.

I grew up knowing basic DOS commands and messing about on an Acorn desktop (dad's an IT nerd). I'm a humanities grad, so vastly different, but my google-fu is still better than most of my contemporaries' because I have no fear of it.

And everyone going 'oh, we didn't have them in my day' - I bet you would have killed for an iPad when you were a lass.

@zzzzz I don't like your tone and therefore I won't say a lot. Recent research has shown that nine out of ten children in the UK use a gadget at the dinner table at home. It's not just in restaurants. In fact, people are likely to present their best image in public so if they're all using gadgets at the table in a restaurant then that is probably the best case scenario for them. Everywhere I go to eat in public, I see a sea of bent necks and stroking thumbs, and I hear very little chatter. If nothing else, it's very sad and I think we can all agree on that.

What research?

Recent research has shown that nine out of ten children in the UK use a gadget at the dinner table at home

Could you provide a link to a peer-reviewed study please?

In fact, people are likely to present their best image in public so if they're all using gadgets at the table in a restaurant then that is probably the best case scenario for them.

Lazy thinking. Your bias is showing.

Absolutely BAN iPads & Tablets for children.

And how would you police that?

My dd is 9, has asd and loves drawing. However, using a pencil and paper is hard for her, as she pushes very hard and so it is hard to erase mistakes, and the paper often rips.

She has animation software on her tablet and honestly, she has improved so much in such a short space of time. No more tricky part erased lines, no more starting again because of a ripped page. Her confidence has grown so much too, and she now has a interest in common with a couple of kids at school, so has made new friends.

It has also helped improve her pressure issue with pens/pencils slightly too.

@RebelRogue. Don't forget it's children we're talking about. Children do not need to be taught adult work skills. They need to have lots of free-play, training in basic manners, creative outlets, musical tuition, face-to-face conversation, nature......FIRST! On top of that, they need numeracy skills, literacy skills, general knowledge. Next they need skills and knowledge based on their specific talents and interests. If there is time after all that is dealt with, sure, teach them computer studies....teach then Excel if you like. But aren't the statistics coming out saying more and more children are lacking in basic numeracy and literacy skills? Lacking in basic social skills? In other words, the basics haven't been covered because parents have been led to believe children need to be immersed in the artificial world to do well in adulthood. Children need to do well in childhood if they are gong to succeed in adulthood but childhood has been sacrificed on the altar of technological advancement as few have dared let their child be seen to go without the latest gadget.

If you homeschool your child, you don't have to stick to the curriculum. You can teach your child in whatever way yo see fit. You can even 'unschool'. You don't have to stick to a timetable. You don't have to download lessons from the internet. I have to use random methods as Pathological Demand Avoidance requires lots of novelty. I started teaching my child fractions at the age of about five....at the dinner table using apples and oranges. I encourage musical abilities by learning several instruments alongside my child, as an element of competition helps with PDA. Creative skills are developed by watching and copying.....woodwork, jewellery making, art, etc.

The outlook for children with Pathological Demand Avoidance is very bleak as I think it is 90% end up institutionalized in one way or another. I could resign myself to this frightening prospect but, instead, I'm taking it on. My main message, if you can listen to it without getting cross, is that I am a single mother with a very challenging child with no help whatsoever from anyone or anything, but I am seeing good results after twelve years of traditional parenting techniques and the complete the complete elimination of modernity. Do with that information what you will.

They need to have lots of free-play, training in basic manners, creative outlets, musical tuition, face-to-face conversation, nature

It’s completly possible to do all that and allow tech.

My main message, if you can listen to it without getting cross, is that I am a single mother with a very challenging child with no help whatsoever from anyone or anything, but I am seeing good results after twelve years of traditional parenting techniques and the complete the complete elimination of modernity. Do with that information what you will

All that information shows is you have found the solution for YOUR family.

Do you think that way would work for everyone?

Its a sad development.

I only hope with time people get more sensible.

Its lazy parenting in my opinion, plus the lemming mentality (everyone's doing it) plus peer pressure (when the kids get to 7 or 8). A bit of TV in the afternoon never hurt anyone of course . But its got to a ridiculous degree for some families. For children to bring out Ipads and Smartphnes at a restaurant! FGS. Still, I guess its the same with dummies - another thing I can't abide! Anything to shut children up basically.

Pathological - you're still talking shit. You have no academic background in what you're talking about to back yourself up. You have no qualifications. Your experience is so limited it's laughable. You can't provide research for anything you've claimed. You seriously do not have a clue.

Oh, and I always do fractions at 5, so you're not special.

I have a child with ASD and having a tablet is the only way we get to go out and do things. We bring it everywhere and it's our back-up when it all gets too much for her, before we bought it we used to have to leave places, the Zoo, parks and restaurants as soon as she got distressed, which meant having to bring the other children home early too.
Now she will go on her tablet when she needs time out for herself and when she's feeling better she joins in again.
My DD (10) has taught herself graphics and animation on our home laptop and it's amazing to watch her.
Tablets and Laptops have a place, not 24/7 but sometimes they are a necessity.

When I was a child, there was a children’s programme entitled:
“Why Don’t You Just Switch Off Your Television Set and Go Out And Do Something Less Boring Instead?”

The irony was not lost on us

I suppose what I’m saying is that adults have been moaning about kids watching screens for decades! The difference now is the interaction rather than sitting passively, watching a flickering screen.

It's been identified within the autistic community that too much 'training' (ABA, female masking) can be detrimental to mental health in adulthood.

Indeed as an autistic adult I know that constantly having my stims corrected as a child and being encouraged away from solitary behaviour I engaged in to decompress caused my mental health issues - anxiety and depression.

As a diagnosed adult I now stim if I need to and don't give a stuff what anyone thinks. I also let my kids be themselves and exhibit their natural autistic behaviours. If they are doing anything that will cause harm to themselves and others or cause a real nuisance I divert the behaviour to something that will achieve the same aim of soothing or get them to a place where it won't cause harm or nuisance.

Using technology to give them mental space from something they are finding overwhelming in whatever situation they are in is very effective. It's always either on silent or using headphones that aren't so loud they're emitting hiss. Indeed I do it myself - I'll get on my phone if I'm in a queue for example.

I really don't care about theories and that guff. I prefer my lived experience as an autistic person and what helps and has helped me cope and instinct as to what my kids need.

A wick google says that PDA isn’t in DSM5 or ICD10, what criteria has your child been diagnosed to, and by whom? @zzzzz, I can't find where PDA has answered you after you asked about the diagnostic criteria of PDA, so ...

It's not a diagnosable condition, that's why you can't find it in the DSM5. We are pretty sure my friend's dc all "have it" to a degree, but they can't get anyone to diagnose it. And they have had some of the best people in our state helping their children with asd etc. These professionals "recognise" it exists and will help manage the issues that it creates, but as yet, it isn't a bonefide "diagnosis"

Same way with sensory processing disorder. Dd "has it" if it were an diagnosable condition. It's not, therefore no one will say she has it (expect our lovely OT and her team, but again, they are at pains to explain that they can't diagnose it, and no such diagnosis would hold any weight)

Yes, yes @BishopBrennansArse

It's been identified within the autistic community that too much 'training' (ABA, female masking) can be detrimental to mental health in adulthood

My daughter is 9, and too much masking has already had its own detrimental effects on her, inc self harm. We only realised that something was going on mid '16 and the anxiety that she developed at having to be someone she wasn't (because of a teacher) is massive.

Now, the tablet is her escape, her safe place. I am not about to take that away from her.