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 can't see a link. Dd suspected adhd and autism. Wouldn't touch a tablet until she turned 6. It's actually been a godsend to us in a lot of ways but we do restrict her on it particularly through the week.

Also has homework to do via an app.

That can definitely be possible, my son won't watch TV, never did, couldn't sit down for 2 minutes at a time. Discovered gaming. Could quiet his body as his mind was busy. 10-20 minutes of Minecraft or Mario or other age appropriate strategy games and he can settle himself to focus on other tasks.

If he becomes overwhelmed when at the science centre or a museum a 15 minute reset in their sensory room rolling on the floor gaming and he can keep going, he's able to access educational environments that would otherwise be unthinkable for him.

Although dyslexic he forces himself to improve his reading so he can independently read gaming instructions, that is the motivation that now has him reading roald Dahl books independently.

My autistic nephew used his tablet when preverbal to let my sister his wants and needs and massively reduced his communication frustration.

There are so many positives for neurodivergent children

My dc (now 7 & 12) have never had tablets apart from travelling (in train, plane, in place of tv when we were staying somewhere and they needed downtime). Though I’ve generally not allowed apps/games, it was for watching iplayer or Netflix. Even then it’s a nightmare and I’m glad to shove the thing away when we get home. We don’t generally allow gaming either. They can watch tv or play or I put them outside to run around, even now with my nearly 13 year old.

Secondary age dd though has almost all her homework on apps. They don’t even read books. 😩 It’s all scrolling on an app. Obviously she reads actual books outside of the school ones, but it just depresses me to see her scrolling on her phone to do her reading. I know it’s a financial issue (no money for books that everyone will just lose), but I hope eventually they actually read real books.

Wouldn't we rather kids spent their time drawing and looking at books? Are you limiting the time your child spends drawing and looking at books

Links to some of those studies please.

DGS is 21mths old. He’s not allowed any screen time. They do FaceTime us when he’s in the room, but he wanders around, doing his own thing and will bob in and out. He can talk in sentences, play by himself, do simple jigsaw puzzles, and sit still while books are read from start to finish. When he’s taken out he has a few toy farm animals or cars to entertain him, and if they go on a long journey one of his parents sits in the back with him. They feel really strongly about him not having access to screens, especially DDIL. He won’t be having any kind of tablet when he’s 4 or 5.

I really hate seeing babies and toddlers with phones and tablets shoved in front of them while they’re in pushchairs. There’s a whole world around them for them to learn about.

My girl's Dad got her one when we got a flight so she didn't disturb other passengers on the plane. We never used it apart from when she was sitting on the plane.

We go to restaurants and use public transport without screens. I agree, it's strange kids are so hooked on them. I'm a bit anti-screen too.

https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-024-18447-4

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/12/health/children-screens-tablets-social-media-wellness

I remember when TV would give me square eyes my mother said as she switched it off back in the 60s. Technology has caused issues for a long time.

Oh dear, I thought you were talking about the other kind of tablet….💊

I’ve got 6 children (including grown up children) and we’ve done all combinations between unlimited screen time and no screen time over the years. Like most parents we sleepwalked into exposing our children to tv, tablets, phones etc. I do agree their overall effect is negative, our younger ones are now completely screen free except unfortunately when in childcare

There is no evidence that tablets themselves harm developing brains.

There might be some evidence that using them for certain things is harmful - such as leaving a kid to sit and watch YouTube Kids for hours or letting young kids use social media.

However, using a tablet for homework, listening to audiobooks, creating music, coding, making artwork, watching a film or CBeebies on iPlayer, playing certain types of game, Zoom-calling grandparents, taking and editing photographs, learning to create animations and edit videos and many, many other applications is not remotely harmful.

That’s really interesting. Did you read the full thing in detail though? It has lots of caveats in it and the language difficulties and screen time info were self reported by parents rather than actually assessed. I do get your point though - it’s sad to see very small kids with screens.
and the irony is…here we all are. On screens….

I have been drafted to support childcare as my son has separated. I’m living with him and he has shared care of a 4 year old.
I am troubled by his parenting - junk food is the main diet, swearing is normal around the child, reckless behaviour is allowed - climbing onto high surfaces unattended, experiment with dangerous things - matches, knifes, sharp objects - supervised mostly. The child is allowed to try dad’s alcohol, bedtime is usually around 9pm
Lots of screen time, no routine with getting to daycare early - often gets there towards lunchtime.
dad drinks heavily most nights …
what to do ? I get on with my son but this isn’t acceptable but how do I approach it?
thanks in advance

Scottish Government are not giving all kids from P6 onwards ipads. They had a commitment to every child having an iPad or laptop, but it's completely unworkable financially and practically. Devices going missing, difficulties with security restrictions etc etc etc etc etc

Some but certainly not all local authorities are choosing to provide pupils with on ipads from their budgets.

It’s a great research tool for anything from drawing sewing volcanoes I could go on . There is a song created about nearly everything you learn. However I would never set that as a homework.

but often parents are very anti worksheets “ we did this when we were young haven’t things moved on”

so there is always criticism whatever you do .

I do like some of the maths times tables songs , as long as the children understand what x actually means .
Because otherwise it becomes meaningless when you have to swap it into division.

I think you should copy and paste this into a new thread. It's a very important issue. Someone on here will know the best place to put it.

I am sorry.

It’s the world we live in. Is it ideal? No. But as with anything, it’s about balance. My dc have both used tablets to watch videos and play games. Their development is fine, both very academic. They weren’t on it for hours on end, it would be used for stints so I could get jobs done.

‘Back in the day’ I don’t think parents were juggling as much. I work, have two dc, dogs, a house that constantly needs cleaning and tidying, endless life admin…and yes I will choose the odd bit of screen time to enable me to get shit done in peace when I need to. I’m sure someone will be along to tell me what a terrible parent I am but providing my dc are developmentally ok, kind and good kids I really don’t care.

And let’s not forget schools and workplaces are mainly using this sort of tech for learning and work now. Life moves on.

Media report headlines of studies. If you click the link, read the study paper, there are significant limitations in this one, too. Was done mid-pandemic, behaviour was parent reported not observed under conditions.

I have no problem with children having tablets so long as usage is monitored. I do have a problem with smart phones and social media. Children/young teenagers do not need smart phones. Social media is the cause of mental health problems imho. Easy way to bully others and damages self esteem/confidence etc.

I worry about my husband's use he's on it all the time. He can't watch a TV programme he wanted because he picks the damn thing up and gets lost in it.

He sounds pretty similar to DS1. He also had a tablet, watched some TV and had his own little portable DVD player. It's possible and even beneficial to have a healthy amount of screen time.

While I do agree that little ones should not be on them for long periods of time, I do wonder if the "No screen time ever" parents are aware of how much this sort of technology will be used in their children's future education.

They will sadly be at a disadvantage compared to those children whose parents didn't ban tech for the sake of it.

OP -
if you haven’t already, read the book - the anxious generation

it pulls together evidence that screen time increases mental illness in children and teens