Toddler and iPad - slippery slope?

[CityDweller]

I'm worried about DD's increased obsession with our iPad. She's 22mo and we first let her use it a few months ago on a transatlantic flight. Since then she has become increasingly obsessed with it, or rather the things on it - toddler apps (most of them educational), but she's mostly interested in watching Peppa and nursery rhymes and asks for it all the time She's gone from having no clue who/what Peppa is to an addict in two months

It makes me sad because until recently she was interested in a variety of play activities at home - drawing, stickers, make believe, etc. Now she'd rather watch or play on the iPad. And I just got a text from our childminder saying she's been asking to watch it at hers.

I guess I could take it away all together, but it is handy at times. I suppose I'm looking for reassurance that it's not going to stunt her imagination and general cognitive development! If you can't guess, she's our only DC. iPad is her only 'screen' contact (no TV, etc).

Guilty of this. YouTube. 22 month. Suggestion is to put a time limit and go out of the house and leave Ipad at home.
I do think that at this age they get new obsessions all the time

That's true about obsessions. DD has gone through many intense phases of things. And we do limit it - max about 20mins a day and nothing in the 2hrs before bed.

I suppose it's the intensity of her interest in it. She's taken to asking for 'old donald' (old McDonald nursery rhyme video) within about 5 mins of waking up.

My son is the same and given the chance would play with and watch the iPad over playing with toys. After all the iPad is colourful and brigjt and makes all kinds of noises. However I have limited the use of it to afyer breakfast for 10 mins then after dinner for 10 mins. When he's not on it I put it up high in a cupboard and he forgets about it.

(My son is 20 months)

but it is handy at times

Can you limit it to just these times? We let DD (2yo) use a tablet on public transport journeys and in waiting rooms to save the sanity of the other passengers. DD asks for it then, but not at other times, as she knows that it won't get her anywhere. Could you do something similar? Or use it only at very specific times of the day when you need your DD to sit still?

Yup, currently I mostly let her use it only for 10 mins or so when I'm getting breakfast and lunch together on days that she's with us at home. Although she asks for it more and gets stroppy when I take it away. And that then doesn't help with mealtimes, which are anyway a bit challenging as her palate and interest in food is rapidly shrinking.
I'm a bit perturbed by the text from the cm though and I'll have to think of a way to tactfully ask her to limit her access to it there.

We have had this too with our 20 month old - obsessed with diggers and trucks and has to watch them with me (very boring)

I'm trying to keep him out of the house for as long as possible and hide the ipad now. I'm a bit scared it's going to affect his attention span - YouTube basically means that he can watch diggers, trucks etc on demand.

Interestingly, DH and I were worried about DS and the ipad at about that age. He was obsessed, wanted it all the time and often the only way to distract him was to take him out. We did impose limits but stil, it was very tiring.

What we started to notice though was that he was particularly focused on it when he was tired. And frankly, he was tired a lot at the time as he wasn't sleeping well, was doing different types of childcare etc etc.

He's now 3.8 and hardly uses it at all. Sometimes in the morning he'll watch some you tube and in the evenings he'll use it to watch Octonauts or similar. The rest of the time he's driving us mad by making us play long involved make believe games that require complicated character changes, voices, movements and blindfolds.

That's interesting WorkingBling about the being tired connection. DD is very tired at the moment (she's had a horrible cold for a week and it's knocked her out) and she's been wanting it a lot.

Reassuring to hear that the obsession has tailed off though with your DS.

dd is nearly 18 months and loves the cbeebies apps on my phone and the ipad and when in full on meltdown mode I put frozen on as it's about the only thing guaranteed to calm her down.

she only gets it for 5-10 minutes at a time unless it's the film though so maybe ot would be worth limiting her to one episode or 10 mins on the apps