To get my 3yr old a tablet?

[Poptart4]

My 3 yr old sometimes plays toddler games on her sisters tablet. I've been thinking of getting her, her own tablet. A Vtech kids one. But I'm just not sure if this is too young to have a tablet? I would obviously monitor the amount of time she is on it, maybe 1hr per day maybe less definitely no more. I'm just not sure.

YABU - Shes too young
YANBU - Get her one

As a matter of interest what is the difference between letting your child on a tablet and letting them watch cartoons? The latter seems ok but not the former and I'm not sure why

@Nonmaquillee

I don’t understand all the posters who say - but what about car trips / being stuck in traffic / waiting at the doctor / while I’m cooking dinner etc….the human race has survived millennia without being entertained 24/7. Why can’t children just sit in the car and stare out of the window? Why can’t they sit in the waiting room and have a chat with you? Why can’t they play on their own while you’re cooking dinner? Chat as you go around the supermarket?

If every bit of “in-between time” is filled with staring at a screen, how do small children learn resourcefulness and “making do” with what’s around them? Isn’t the world interesting enough?

Why do you need the internet? We managed perfectly fine without it for millennia....

Times move on.

Mine have had their own tablets from being two. Now 4 and 8.

They use them to play games, watch videos, puzzles... eldest uses it for school things too like active learning, sum dog, TT rockstars.

They also play with toys, read books, play in the garden and regularly see friends. They are not obsessed, they can take the tablet or leave it, there are no rows over it and they will always come off it if we would like them to do something else.

We don't have rules or time limits, just parental controls and age filters.
They tend to use them as and when they feel like it but definitely don't spend an unhealthy amount of time on them. Not all kids will be this way though, some do need boundaries and limits setting

They have been great for us. They learn a lot playing educational games and do enjoy being able to choose their own tv shows instead of rowing over the tv.

There's nothing wrong with making life easier and tablets/internet is a normal part of every day life now and I can't understand why so many people are horrified at the idea as long as they are part of a balanced life.

@SusieBob I think that you’re deliberately missing the point here. It’s not about Internet use per se, it’s the idea of giving a portable screen to a very young child…and the idea that aforementioned screens are used in situations where parents feel that the children need to be distracted or entertained.

@Blueberrycheesecake1

As a matter of interest what is the difference between letting your child on a tablet and letting them watch cartoons? The latter seems ok but not the former and I'm not sure why

TV is a one way device and is watched communally at a distance. The content is subject to government body oversight.

A tablet is a personal device running a variety of apps and content watched at less than a ruler length by a child. Some allow the child to direct the content and communicate with other people.

It's like asking the difference between a bullhorn and a mobile.

www.wired.co.uk/article/youtube-for-kids-videos-problems-algorithm-recommend

I bought my 2 year old one as we had planned to go on a fairly long train journey, and I thought she could watch programmes on it in between colouring and the usual train-based shenanigans. She used it a wee bit at the start but honestly, now hardly ever uses it.

I think in our case, we didn't limit access as such, but monitored what she was doing on it, and after a while it stopped being a novelty and she can take or leave it now.

So personally, I'd say yes but that's obviously based on my own experience.

My nearly four year old started to use his brother's kindle fire about 18 months ago when his brother was watching something on TV that he didn't like.
He then has progressed to playing the Lego game and can navigate YouTube by himself on the kindle (although can't search as he can't spell yet).
Both of my boys rarely use their kindles (normally playing cars) but I do think it's good that they both are able to use the technology at a young age.

My 3yo got a Amazon fire tablet last Xmas. She’s not on it all the time, it’s left for her to help herself if she wants, she charges it herself when she’s not using it. Timing has never been an issue, I think because we don’t make a big deal about when she can and can’t use it most of the time she’s not fussed about it.

@Blueberrycheesecake1

As a matter of interest what is the difference between letting your child on a tablet and letting them watch cartoons? The latter seems ok but not the former and I'm not sure why

I linked to this a while back, but it's an interesting read on the differences between watching TV and an ipad

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/09/if-youre-going-to-put-your-preschooler-in-front-of-a-screen-choose-a-tv-heres-why

[quote Nonmaquillee]@SusieBob I think that you’re deliberately missing the point here. It’s not about Internet use per se, it’s the idea of giving a portable screen to a very young child…and the idea that aforementioned screens are used in situations where parents feel that the children need to be distracted or entertained.[/quote]
No, I'm not. Tablets didn't exist 20 years ago so instead I used to get told off for having my head in a book the whole time. It's the same old argument.

"Why don't you look at the view? Why don't you get some fresh air?"

etc.

The fact is that used in moderation just like anything else a tablet can be beneficial to a child or yes, sometimes, a useful distraction. That goes for Gameboys, for TV, for colouring books - literally anything. It only starts to become a problem when the parents let it.

My 2yo has a kids kindle and he uses it to watch Peppa pig on when I need to use the bathroom alone. He might also take it to his dad's but seldom uses it. So less than an hour a week.

He's not addicted to it and could take it or leave it.

But it's useful to have.

So I think it depends on your child.

My mum bought my 3yo DD a tablet. We loaded it with some gentle educational games, put a strict time limit on it, etc. She’s generally pretty good at regulating herself when it comes to TV etc but we had to remove the tablet within a week because her behaviour was so so bad. She was screaming at it and hitting it, having enormous tantrums when her time was up. I don’t think her little brain was equipped to handle it.

I was literally on the internet every spare hour I had from the age of about 11, 12 hours a day during the holidays etc and I turned out fine, with reasonable social skills and some pretty good computer skills too, so I’m not an anti screen person at all. But I think you need to be cautious with kids that young, especially because lots of games nowadays (even nice cbeebies ones!) are designed to be addictive

My view clearly will go against the grain judging by votes but my 22 month old uses her sisters tablet and it's pretty good at it.

We do have to limit the time on it and usually when we are having quite time but both my near 4 year old and the 22 month old flit will put them down and find other things to play with, books to read, dance, play in the garden.

From a development and keeping up with the world I see it as no bad thing. As much as some resist we are becoming more reliant on technology in day to day lives. Even bus services now use tech to advise users when the next bus it coming (real time passenger information) and waste disposal to weigh and monitor waste.

Giving kids an early head start in that and getting use to it and not afraid can only aid them in their future prospects

We bought one age 4 for a long plane journey. I didn't let him have it every day but it's been handy and times. It is the family iPad though.

I never thought I would be the sort of parent to get a 3 year old a tablet, but I did. She had a Kindle Fire which is locked down and limited to an hour a day. She rarely uses her full hour and, when she does she will simply say ‘all done for today’ and put it away. She plays educational games and ‘reads’ spoken books and never makes a fuss when told to put it away. She is exceptionally articulate for her age and can use cutlery and the toilet. I don’t use the tablet as a baby sitter and it never comes out to restaurants or cafes with us. She also draws, paints, plays, goes outside and all the other things that a 3 year old should. It is one part of life, certainly not the dominant part of her life and if you asked her what she wanted to do in a day, she would never say ‘use my computer’.

I think it depends completely on the child and how you intend to use and police the tablet. I also think if you make something accessible in a healthy and controlled way, it loses the allure. Having said that, I think her younger sibling may be a different kettle of fish entirely.

We've got one that is my dps and my dd who is 4 asks for it and we allow her to use it. We also don't have any issues in telling her when she's been on it too long and tbh most of the time she just gets off of it with no problems.

If you do remember you're the parent and you are able to take it away

No chance at that age.

MN makes me laugh! All these perfect parents professing their child only has only the barest minimum screen time and willingly hands the device over when requested. Ok then. When in reality most children have way, WAY too much screen time overall, mine included. Although it’s much better now we really let standards slip during the initial lockdown. My DD didn’t have any screen time until the first lockdown aged 2.5. This coinciding with moving to a country where it rains all the time wasn’t a great mix. Just today I saw a little boy start hitting his mother because she wouldn’t let him watch something on her phone. The other day a child given a phone to watch at the playground while the other siblings played. What a terrible disservice being done to children nowadays IMO. I’d be happy if all screens and the internet disappeared tomorrow tbh. Honestly don’t even go there unless you have a resolve of steel like all the PPs and their children. This isn’t really reflective of real life though IMO where young children have a huge amount of a screen time overall.

If one of my dc ever hit me over a phone they'd never clap eyes on a screen again for a long time 😆. Please don't think that's the norm. I don't need to actively police screen time as we are so busy in our daily lives there isn't much time for it anyway. It's handy at times though.

My DS got an amazon kids one when my old ipad broke. Its so terrible he can't be bothered using it and it has lay uncharged for months. He loves tv but would much rather have a full indepth conversation around the film that watch it on an ipad alone.

I really wanted to hold off but lockdown & remote learning meant i had to introduce tablets. Really pissed me off actually as they now want them a lot.

Depends on the child. Mines 4 he's had his tablet for over a year and it's rarely used.

Dd has had an iPad since she was 1. She goes on YouTube kids every so often but It's barely been used. She's not really interested in it.

Ds got one when he was 2 and loved it. He still does now at 10.

I’d be happy if all screens and the internet disappeared tomorrow tbh.

Oh the irony

@Caffeinemonster

I’d be happy if all screens and the internet disappeared tomorrow tbh.

Oh the irony

People think they’re so clever with quips like this 🙄 yes I know, I’m using a device AND the internet. In reality there’s a million other things I should and would rather be doing but most people just default to their phone nowadays, myself included, which is a problem that’s only going to get much worse as time goes on.