To have removed iPads from the home completely.

[AlwaysGoingBackwards]

Name changed and feeling a bit vulnerable after another battle between my 2 DC.

9 and 6. Usual pre Christmas silliness but the back chat and rudeness we get from both of them is totally unacceptable when we are trying to discipline them. The phrases they use when they argue aren’t ones we use. The attitude is disgusting and, frankly, I’m ashamed of what a bad job we’ve done with them so far.

We monitor their iPad use, have YouTube kids and parental locks etc but hand on heart, we do leave them to it for maybe an hour when we need to get things done.

DH is a huge techie and Apple fan. I’m not so much. I know iPads aren’t responsible for raising our children but at the moment I cannot see one positive thing about our DC having them. They can do Numbots, Rockstars etc on the PC.

AIBU for removing them completely from our house?

I was wondering about this. I’ve never had a tablet just cause I’m a Luddite but ds10 watches YouTube on the tv. It’s absolute dross but at least I can see what he is watching… He’s not into video games yet as he is a massive Lego head.
But reading this thread is making me think I should delete it off the TV.
Sorry I don’t have any advice for you OP but I do
agree about YouTube being the devils
work

I should add that he isn’t unsettled by it and he happily switches it off when asked - but it’s still utter shite

There's lot of stuff on Youtube that is good for kids to watch. What are they watching to make them so badly behaved?

The kids version of you tube is not safe or regulated btw. Just a load of algorithms. I installed it briefly a Peppa pig cartoon started normally then pig got killed! I took it off straight away. Netflix, Disney etc you can limit and set profiles on. YouTube is only allowed on the main TV so is controlled. But I am strict with my kids about TV screen time. Their behaviour does detoriate the more screen time! And they take longer sleeping. Good luck though parenting isn't easy

My 13 year old has used technology for years for all sorts of things and he’s delightful! We talk about what he watches and plays, share funny memes and discuss what sort of job he could have in the future using technology. It’s not the technology that’s the problem.

I think this is the push I needed to stop YouTube in our house. I don't mind screens so much - my kids have kids kindles with loads of games and puzzles, books etc on them. The nearly 7 year old has a Nintendo switch.

They are absolutely addicted to YouTube. They are only allowed it at weekends and for short periods but in-between they pester and pester for it and when it's on they sit like zombies watching complete and utter shite. I think we need to somehow get rid altogether for a while.

We're pretty dreadful when it comes to screens to be honest, we use them far, far too much and constantly seem surprised that the children choose them over other things and can't regulate themselves 🤦🏻‍♀️ it escalated wildly in lockdown when we were attempting to work with them in the house and needed them to be quiet and entertained. We've never really got on top of it since then. 2023 will be that year (January might be a rough one)

iPads aren’t the issue op; do they not go to school? Meet other kids?

you need to parent them, teach them, not behave like this.

My two have unlimited access to ipads etc (except bed time) and have for years. They are 10 and 13.

We do have rules about content so we have restricted settings on (as well as Internet provider filter) but these are limited in effectiveness. So we've had discussions about when to click onto the next video etc the impact of watching not nice things.

My children really are wonderful. They aren't rude or disobedient. How we approach this works for us.

I must admit I don’t like the idea of DC each having their own iPads in their rooms but but have one iPad we all share as a family that lives in the kitchen. It’s used a lot so I can’t imagine getting rid of it. All homework is online now and much easier to do with a touch screen. I used to let my DC watch you tube kids on it while I got on with stuff in the kitchen but I soon had to uninstall it as they kept navigating to awful reality tv type videos with spoilt kids and OTT parents or just people opening toys and it was just horrendous content so I had to stop that. We use it a lot if we want to watch Netflix etc in the kitchen. I have it on a lot when I’m doing jobs and cleaning around the house to keep me sane.

@TheEvening I felt like this about you tube kids, it’s scary how addicted they get to it and mostly utter rubbish. One day I just deleted the app and showed them how to find things to watch on iPlayer, Netflix, Disney, Prime etc. They kicked off at first but it only took a few days for them to completely forget the existence of kids tube. Every now and then one of them will say something they miss watching on it and 9/10 times it’s something I can find for them on one of the streaming services. Watching actual programmes I think is so much better than being led to goodness knows what comments via algorithms.

My boys are 4 and 6 and LOVE their iPads. We manage their screen time to a degree but essentially it’s their favourite toy! My issue is, apart from clothes and books what can we buy them for Christmas that they will actually play with/get use from?

We haven't provided any devices apart from a Kindle e reader for my DC. I don't really see the point of them before they go to secondary. If they are bored they can paint, read, draw etc.