Why oh why are people giving their under 12s tablets?

[Bigpinksweater]

The evidence regarding the effects of tablets on developing brains is damning. They are absolutely not necessary and barely existed 15 years ago. We are seeing huge rises in behavioural and developmental issues while steadfastly ignoring the fact screen time and in particular tablets can contribute to virtually all of them.

Why oh why are people still handing their toddlers and primary school children tablets?

I also disagree with this idea that it's always lazy parenting. I don't have a tablet yet for ds because I don't let him have enough screen time to justify getting him one. However as a lone parent sometimes I also need to get shit done - a prime example is when ds is just home from nursery, glued to me and I need to get dinner on the table. Some nights when he's especially tired or under the weather he will not leave me alone to play independently and he won't settle for bringing his toys into the kitchen with me, I'm not going to leave him upset, nor do I feel its safe to be cooking over a kitchen floor filled with a small child and toys. He's only 2 but has outgrown his wrap so I can't wear him anymore which I used to do in those moments nor would my back let me. So those are the types of moments I save screen time for. I don't see that as lazy in the slightest.

Genuinely thought this thread was going to be about vitamins & paracetamol

My MSN messenger was never quiet. I was often in group chats trying to keep up.

There were also chatrooms, Camfrog, and online gaming.

Mine wasn't slow, I was on MSN messenger on my PC (and AOL Messenger during a brief period in America as a teen) and I studied and wrote coursework with my msn messenger in the background. I chatted to friends and formed relationships and researched research papers for hours. Ended up with a degree and a social life.

We also LOVED Google! We'd sit in the computer rooms at school and Google any old rubbish (and ask Jeeves, remember when you could ask Jeeves stuff?) we loved it! We became intelligent professional adults. I used to spend 4/5/6 hours a day on a weekend reading book after book of whatever series I was obsessed with which is not vastly different to my child building an extensive animal crossing world for himself.

Yep! Add in a child who won't watch TV. Gaming was a genuine godsend.

Did you ever venture into Yahoo chatrooms? It was like the wild west in some of those rooms.

Also we were absolutely green! No idea what was out there, no.idea of security etc, kids nowadays at least bloody know

@Barnbrack Mine wasn't slow, I was on MSN messenger on my PC (and AOL Messenger during a brief period in America as a teen) and I studied and wrote coursework with my msn messenger in the background. I chatted to friends and formed relationships and researched research papers for hours. Ended up with a degree and a social life.

It would be typical for people to receive slow responses, or no responses at all, when using instant messengers.

I used to spend 4/5/6 hours a day on a weekend reading book after book of whatever series I was obsessed with which is not vastly different to my child building an extensive animal crossing world for himself.

Yes... books... this is a hobby that requires focus and an attention span...

I look back with horror.

Nope! No focus or concentration on this ADHD brain actually, because what I didn't mention is I was REREADING books I'd already, hyper focussing on subjects, researching in detail the same way I NOW do online but with books. The way I'd devour an encyclopedia I see my son do the same about subjects, you wants to see a 7 year old hyper focus? Google David Attenborough after watching a documentary, the number of facts that boy can find. That is not the same as scrolling Tok Tok.

It would be typical for people to receive slow responses, or no responses at all, when using instant messengers.

That's simply not true.

I see your point but our kids have to live in the world that exists today and prepare for their future. A future that will involve using this sort of tech.

We can't keep them away from it, then hope when they are older they won't be miles behind the kids who are adept.

Tablets will increasingly be a feature of those kids' working lives. They need to know how to use this stuff, just like they need to know how to read and write.

That includes teaching them the risks and pitfalls. It's like letting them use a pair of scissors. You don't give them the biggest, sharpest pair, you keep an eye on them, you teach them how to use the tool safely. You don't refuse to let them cut anything out until they reach the age of 12.

Like most tools in life, it's all about how it's used. Of course, if you are leaving your five year old in front of crap on it for hours, that's not good. But the alternative isn't not having one at all, just like the alternative to leaving your toddler playing with your sharpest scissors isn't never letting them cut anything out.

I'm not an advocate but I'm pretty sure the same thing was said about television and computer games when I was growing up, the times, they are a changing!

Educational books do exist

Not really in a good way though are they

The research is a great deal more complex and nuanced than this. There are active benefits to young children using tablets with parents where scaffolding, modelling, quality language expression and bonding is taking place. It is no where near as simple and give or don’t give the tablet. What you do and how you do it are instrumental in the outcomes of use.

What will the findings be finding in 10/15/20 years when these kids brains have matured? Tablets and phones haven't been around long enough for a lot of young people to be experiencing the full effect yet.
Cigarettes were deemed fine years ago until the light switched on, oh, nicotine isn't so good after all. Just saying...

My ds had his first tablet age 11, he had my old laptop when he was 5 & learned how to use it to put music on his IPod shuffle which we used for car journeys. He used his tablet for games that designed railways & airports, both of which have fuelled his interests in transport & designing towns & cities. He designed extensions for the Supertram network in Sheffield when he was 13 & when he joined the Green Party at 14 was able to join the local Green controlled transport committee, his designs were taken up as policy to campaign for improved transport networks, he is now the transport guru for the National Green Party & is studying Urban Studies & Planning at university. Technology can be used to fuel interests for children who want more than just playing video games, especially for those with autism & other learning disabilities.

If you engage with it and use it well instead of thinking the tool itself is good or evil then it can be very good.

Amoung other things, my kids stayed in touch with distant family through tablets. One learnt to code when they were in primary and taught herself Welsh and Latin. One became a prolific writer and storyteller, producing written and animated stories that gained a niche but loyal following. They were a social lifeline during COVID.

They've both gained huge amounts from tablets.

Most kids in the world, if they had never seen a screen, if given one aged 12, with some guidance could pick it up within a few days. Guaranteed. They don’t need to start age 2. My elderly parents are at a different stage of learning and cognitive development altogether.

But does it have to be done? Our school uses apps for homework and we refuse to do it, along with many other parents in the school. Just give your child paper based homework.

Why 12?

Glib answer to your question- keeps em quiet, innit?

Semi serious answer... because during Covid I'm not sure how else it was possible to juggle working full time and having children at home doing "home learning". So that genie got let out of the box fairly quickly when all the work shifted online overnight.

I think they are wise. In the absence of evidence, why not err on the side of caution? At these young ages, brains are neuroplastic and developing. We don’t know what fast moving images, scrolling, rapidly changing content, will do to kids’ brains.

I know that I am on my phone far more than I should be. But I am old and in a professional career, relationship etc already, so the stakes are just not so high.

I am surprised that so many people are so blasé about it, given the other anxious aspects of modern parenting. You can have long threads about whether or not to say no to a child, whereas the same parents happily give their little ones iPads in restaurants.

Anyway let’s hope it all works out for the next generation and that screen time from toddlerhood is found to be ok. We need decent quality research really.

Does he have a smartphone?

The denial and self-delusion are really strong on this thread.