Ipads/Tablets/Phones and young children

[fenzy84]

Hi there, apologies if this has been discussed before or somewhere else

As parents I am sure you are aware that if you have a an iPad, tablet or phone etc in the house it can be a great tool to "entertain" your child. I can also appreciate that there are applications on there that can be very educational and aid learning for children of all ages.

My question is where do you draw the line? Is this the future of where children learn there basic skills if you like, or is it better to just stick with a pack of building blocks? I am not one sided on this either I see the advantages of both and I suppose the general answer is to just get the balance right. But do we really want children to get into the habit of being stuck in front of a screen and being anti social at such young ages?

in front of the screen for what reason?

pc/laptop - for research, study, homework, Mathletics - absolutely!

• for shooting little fluffy monsters - eh

• for violent bloody murder/ war games - not ever, not in my house

youtube - as long as they watch tips on how to make lego things, watch "you've been framed style" videoclips, listen to music (again reasonable or parodies) and learn to "cheat" on the wii - I'm fine with that

wii - mine do this too much at times I admit (especially when ill or at the weekends), but eventually the controls break or batteries run out so it's not an everyday thing. it's forbidden if they start yelling
It's ok I think as they play together, learn to work out tactics, learn to share, take turns, so just coz it's electronic it doesn't mean it's bad, however addictive...

ipad/tablet - DH has these through work, so kids did play constantly when it was new - now it's a weekend treat

mobile phone - DS1 is year 7 and has one since Sept - there was no need for him to have one before, we felt it's best to get him one for safety & practical reasons

ipod - don't have

tv - they watch CBBC, top gear, nature stuff - can't fault it, but I'm a tellyaddict, so biased

we have 6 kids, 4 at school, they have loads of friends (DS3 especially is the life of the party so to speak) so I think we are getting the balance right