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.

@ICantCopeAnymore. Any idiot with eyes to see can see that children are becoming more and more sexualized. Girls dance in raunchy and aggressive ways because of sexualized media, if not porn. Children are being exposed to explicit images at school in unsolicited messages. Social media encourages sexualisation and superficiality. Society is being moved towards a new era of zero morals and most children are exposed to the degrading material. The thing is, if you're part of this world then you won't be as aware of the constant decline. I am on the outside looking in and it isn't pretty.

You said, 'Porn is a normal habit for most adults' and that it hadn't harmed you. No, watching other people have sex is not normal but has been 'normalized', and so many adults think it's OK to do it. It's of OK to snoop on other people having it off, whether that is in the flesh from behind a bush or in your bed from behind a screen. Either way, you are a voyer, a peeping Tom. You try and convince yourself otherwise but you will not convince me. Besides, watching porn can render you impotent and can also lead to even darker inclinations.

My 7 year old severely autistic daughter would be non-verbal if it wasn't for the iPad. So no, I don't agree with you.

@different name to this. My child was sexually assaulted by a relative 100% because of the internet.

Who said it was a given?. I'd just rather not encourage my kids to do something they could get addicted to that could potentiially damage them

PDA boo yah for you. It works. For you.
I think I have a bit more insight into how my autism works and my kids'. So we do what works for us.

I'm saying that instead of sticking headphones into your child should they be a bit difficult at the table in public then, instead, engage with them MORE instead of less and you might find the difficult behavior lessons, as in my case. It's that simple. Twist it into all sorts of other things if it placates you

Or do you think maybe other parents have tried other methods and by trial and error found the one that has worked?

I mean I have no experience of Autism as a parent. But surely every parent isn’t parenting “right” because there is no such thing, but parenting right for THEM.

I have no interest in judging what other parents do when we’re out and about. I’m more concerned with doing what’s right for me and my DD

I wondered how long it would be before someone brought up Fortnite 🙄🙄🙄

@zzzzz. My male relative was allowed to use the internet in his bedroom from the age of four, unsupervised and with his door closed. A recipe for disaster. His mother would brag that he knew every sexual position by the age of ten. Not only was he prematurely sexualized but also extremely mysogenistic and aggressive. He saw every female as sex object no matter what age or relation to him. He not only watched porn but also played violent video games. Sadly, his childhood is not unusual. My child's childhood is the unusual one. I am more likely to be criticized online for my style of parenting than someone who goes for the internet n the bedroom and delight in sexualisation style. The world has gone mad.

Your relative’s issue wasn’t the tech. It was the parenting.

What PathologicalDemand says, though her views will be unpopular, as they are challenging. There has always been a certain level of media sexualisation tbf, certainly since the advent of television, but I think its off the chart now. Teenage girls suffer the most in a way, but they will drag their behaviour into their adulthood too. Its really sad to see women downgraded and degraded in this way.

I’m so sorry you had to read that @zzzzz

I’ve reported too. Hope you’re ok

Smh

Reported too.

It sounds like you have your child's future all sorted out. What about his/her childhood?

Oh, you! Of course because I'm thinking of DS's future, I have completely given up on giving him a childhood!

So you can gradually release your white-knuckle grip on your pearls, this weekend we went to the shops and the park with the ride-on trains and slides he loves so much. I even bought him an ice cream. Today, we've been on the bus, tram, round the city, tried sushi for lunch (he likes chicken katsu and doryaki), been to the toy shop, and come back on the tram and bus again. All without screens. Now he's watching CBeebies and having a rest after all that walking. We might get the paddling pool out later since it's a nice day, or play with his 300 miles of wooden railway. Tomorrow, he's off to his (forest-ish) nursery where he runs around with his peers all day. Does all this meet with your approval or should I be flogging and punishing myself a bit more because he's not done 6 hours' finger painting today?

You can't extrapolate from one snapshot of a family scene how that family is all the time. You can both let your kids have tech and run around the park (but probably not at the same time) and teach them good manners and social skills. They are not mutually exclusive.

Woah, I would have been less restrained in my last post if I'd read what PDA just posted beforehand. Reported too.

@PathologicalDemandAvoidance

You absolutely disgusting, uneducated POS.

I wouldn't change my daughter who has autism for anything! It's you who needs fixing.

JFC.

It always shocks me how people like PDA actually exist.

That wasn’t the only post that needed deleted MN

PathologicalDemandAvoidance

I thought that was your agenda. Your disablism is disgusting.