To get a tablet for 2 year old?

[Scotlandma]

I feel like I often see very young children with tablets and I’ve heard they can also be very educational but I’m not sure if it’s recommended for 2 year olds?

(my child is not yet 2 I’m thinking for their birthday)

for background my child is in full time nursery so doesn’t get very much screen time in the week and on the weekend I tend to be out running errands but TV does help whilst I’m trying to cook dinner or occasional send a quick email in the evening.

I’m not thinking of the kind of situation where we have to bring an iPad to a restaurant (I’m not judging that situation but DS behaves quite well out) more so for car rides or almost as a toy that DS can choose to play with.

Audio books are much nicer if you do need something for the car. Then you can share the story together and talk about it afterwards etc.

DD got one when she was 3 (she's 4.5 now). She actually rarely uses it. It's free for her to pick up when she wants just like any other toy but I don't think she's played with it in at least three weeks at this point. She does use it on long journeys sometimes, and sometimes she will pick it up and play the Reading Monster games or CBeebies ones for 30 mins or so. But I'm comfortable she isn't a screen addict or that way inclined, she doesn't really have that kind of personality if that makes sense? Maybe she will in the future, who knows, but she doesn't see her tablet as anything particularly special, just another toy.

Arguments that you g children need tablets in order to 'navigate technology' really are bogus. My kids are mid twenties and so the tech didn't exist when they were tiny. Yet they cope just fine. One of them uses very complex tech in a science based job.

What they did have when they were young though was books and toys.

A lack of a tablet at a young age will not hamper a child. Quite the reverse!

We bought DS a Kindle Fire for Christmas when he was 2 years and 9 months, mainly for car journeys as DHs family are a four hour drive away. We had some CBeebies games on there - he loved Dip Dap - some films, and some eBooks. He used it on and off outside of long car journeys, never excessively.

(He's ten now and things are very different, in that we cannot get him off screens, but we're waiting for an autism assessment and Minecraft is his current special interest, and screens are only a problem if his special interest needs one, so this is probably not typical.)

I wouldn't. They don't need their own, they can borrow a tablet or phone from a parent on the rare, rare occasion when a distraction really is needed. The only time we used one when dC was that young was when they needed to be kept still for an ecg.

We got a tablet for DDs 2nd birthday as we had lots of holidays/breaks away over the summer.

On a train journey we always start with the usual - colouring, play doh, looking out the window but its pretty difficult to keep a 2 year old entertained in a seat for long periods. She has her tablet and headphones, she sits quietly and enjoys the novelty of it. She watches things like Yakka Dee and Mr Tumble.

She also has it for long car journeys.

She never has it at home - any screen time we have is shared screen time with the TV so we can talk about what we are watching.

I am not against people using them in a restaurant/cafe as long as they use headphones or no volume. DD loves going out to eat but even so, I wouldnt hesitate to let her have it if I was stressed, needed the break and wanted to eat my meal in peace for 5 minutes.

Even when you feel your DC is old enough I would hold off until they actually requested one of their own.
Plenty of time to become familiar with the technology and meanwhile opportunity to use their own imagination and fall in love with books. It saddens me that so many children now prefer to entertain themselves on a tablet or pc and who can’t be bothered with books

Delay as long as possible. Brains are trained when used. There's more to learn in the world around us than on the screen.

The wondering minds when they observe the changing scenes around them, the inquisitive nature is encouraged. It's a wonderful thing to watch as parents.

Not mentioning their rather short attention span at this stage, it's just not the right thing for them.

The best gift a child can have is the learning of independent thinking and playing, problem solving - in real world. The passive learning from screen gives no space for them to develop.

I don't think 2-year-olds need tablets. I have an 18-month-old and while he loves TV (too much!!), I wouldn't get him a tablet.

We got one for each of our children when they were 2. Really handy in my opinion! We don't use it on car journeys as they are pretty good at listening to music and falling asleep, but great for waiting around in airports or holidays in places that don't have a TV. Neither used it by themselves at that age obviously but would watch Peppa etc that we had downloaded and we played simple games on it with them.

My oldest is 6 and for now is pretty good at regulating her own time on it. She will play games for a bit then put it down and go do something else. Youngest prefers TV so rarely asks to use it.

We have the fire kids ones which are hardy, have good parental controls, and not too expensive. I think the problem comes when the screen is used as a babysitter rather than being just another toy.

No way! My oldest is 7 and we still don’t have tablets and I plan to hold off as long as possible.

On a recent holiday I think our kids were pretty much the only ones on the plane (and it was half term, so lots of kids) who weren’t plugged into a screen - people even had them for c.18 month olds. Yes, that meant we had to parent fairly intensively for the 3 hour flight - lots of card games, colouring, stickers, reading etc. - but parents managed it 15+ years ago!

My children do watch TV, but that seems to me to be more interactive - they watch together, talk about what’s happening, act it out, have to negotiate over who gets to pick the next programme etc. rather than all staring at their own individual screen, lost to the world. And my 92 year old great aunt can work an iPad, so I hardly think we are holding our children back in their development by not buying a tablet until they are older.

We have tablets for (just) 2 yo and 4 yo. (since she was about 2) Used only for short periods of quiet time as an alternative to TV, or on planes/holiday. We don’t use them in restaurants unless it’s a holiday meltdown situation and we don’t use them in the car. We only have CBeebies games and downloaded TV content so they have very limited and monitored choice of what to play and watch. We don’t let them sit and scroll through YouTube. 4yo uses a tablet at (state) school (reception) so that’s worth bearing in mind. There are some lovely educational and age appropriate games and activities available which the kids love and they’re learning as they go - tablets are great if you control access, hold your boundaries on use and monitor the content.

DS will be fine next birthday, not getting a tablet. He also does not resolve anything on our phones regardless of location.
We go on long car journeys, fly etc he's fine. Colouring books, stickers, toys, books, audiobooks played through the car stereo or yoto.
We play table top and card games as a family.
They're not necessary.

My nearly 3 year old does a 4-5 hour car journey regularly without much entertainment. She just doesn't know any different. I'm not judging anyone in any direction but they're definitely not needed for successful car journeys!

*five

I agree with holding off as long as possible, although a lot probably depends on the child. My children got a shared tablet for games when my son was 8 and my daughter was 6. Ever since it has been difficult to keep my son away from screens, although my daughter has a wider range of interests and is much more balanced in her usage (they are now 12 and 10).

Regarding tablet use in the car, I don't think anyone else has mentioned the safety aspect of this. Unless the tablet is secured in a holder, it becomes a very dangerous heavy projectile in the event of a collision, and can kill or injure a child. https://news.sky.com/story/girl-3-dies-after-tablet-computer-hits-her-during-car-crash-11510044

Two is way too young and they don’t need it for car trips. I regularly fly long haul with my six year old and he will get it for last hour of the flight. We do other activities for the rest of the 9 hours. It’s fine and it works for the both of us.

I don’t know about SEN children, so this is not a comment on how they use tech to communicate etc.. however I disagree that young children need to learn their way around an ipad or they risk being “left behind.”My son only started using one when he was in year 1 and he’s fine. There’s a lot more that goes into learning how to use/create tech than using an iPad.

we also do all this and have zero problems traveling.

Well I wouldn't. kids only have short attention spans but giving them screens is not going to help. Bad parenting IMHO. Sorry OP.

Each to their own imo.

My DD is 8, she has occasional access to a tablet, but she doesn't have one. There's no need.

Not an ipad, but mine’s got one. She’s 2.5
It works wonders on long car drives, plane rides or if/when I struggle with work vs childcare.
She’s not on it all day, not even every day, and usually plays puzzles or memory games.
Full parental control (I work in cybersecurity so that’s important) and no internet access.
We love it

Fully fully agree.
Imagine telling these folks commenting here that you would take away their smartphones

Same for my children. Though I'd say "bollocks" rather than "bogus".

I haven't got a smartphone and have no desire to have one.