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Parenting

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Original poster

Would you let your child take an iPad to the beach?

65 replies

Justgettingbye · 13/08/2021 17:49

I'm on holiday in England and we plonked down next to another family. I first saw the boy running around holding an iPad and then he spent most of the time sat glued to it.

Do other parents take iPads for their young kids? I'd probably count teenagers out of it.

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flameycakes · 13/08/2021 19:11

No, but more in a practical sense that it would get broken. I'm not sure any of mine would even think about taking one to be honest.

Bostonbullsmumma · 13/08/2021 19:17

I am going to the beech this weekend with a friend who mentioned today she was taking her iPad for her DD so she could have a rest and was I bringing mine for my DC- it hadn't even occurred to me as something to consider packing for the day! I don't think my DC would be tempted to watch it even if I had it as he's not a fan of sitting still at the best of times!

MoggyP · 13/08/2021 19:18

No, not to a beach - I'm not rich enough to replace scratched/damaged ones.

Ok - damage could happen anywhere, but I'm not going to increase the chances of it happening

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Bostonbullsmumma · 13/08/2021 19:18

*beach! Silly phone!

Halfpastfun · 13/08/2021 19:21

Ideally no.

None of your business though is it.

MistyFrequencies · 13/08/2021 19:24

Like everyone else said, my son is Autistic and screens help calm him when overwhelmed- YouTube videos of slime etc. So while I've never taken an ipad to the beach I have given him my phone there when he needed it. I've seen the clicking tongue/slight disapproving shake of the head from other parents too and it's not nice. We are all just doing our best.

Ragwort · 13/08/2021 19:24

No & I'm such an old fuddy duddy that it still amazes me that DC have their own iPads ... I was 60 before I had one (my 85 year old mum bought one for me .)

ISaidDontLickTheBin · 13/08/2021 19:25

No, but more because salt damages electronics than it being a parenting decision

AmazinglyGraceless · 13/08/2021 19:25

No, never. My eldest is 13 and he's not allowed to sit glued to his phone on family occasions or day trips at all.

You've obviously already been shouted down for not considering SEN but come on...we all probably know plenty of NT kids who are allowed to sit glued to a phone or tablet for far too long. It's just as likely the kid was NT with parents who just allow it. Which is really sad.

itsgettingwierd · 13/08/2021 19:26

@MoggyP

No, not to a beach - I'm not rich enough to replace scratched/damaged ones.

Ok - damage could happen anywhere, but I'm not going to increase the chances of it happening

Ours is screen protected with security case.

It keeps out sand and prevents breakages!

Tbh I have taken my iPad to the beach if I go just ds and I. When he's chilling on his I listen to audiobook or podcasts off Bbc sounds (I download them).

I don't like to use my phone as with ds being disabled I like to know I have enough battery in an emergency!

Sirzy · 13/08/2021 19:27

Ds is autistic his iPad is part of his coping mechanism so wherever he goes it goes.

Tinabn · 13/08/2021 19:32

A couple of years ago I saw a couple of mums at a local garden, both with DC about 18 months to 2 years old in pushchairs. One DC kept on wanting to get out to look at the pigs/hens/fish etc talking to his DM, the other DC had an IPad and was glued to it whenever our paths crossed, her DM only talking to the other adult. When we went to the cafe we saw them going to get food with the little girl toddling behind still looking at the screen. I have to admit I judged, while admiring her coordination skills!

NoNotMeNoSiree · 13/08/2021 19:41

I'm on the fence
As in no, I wouldn't let my kids take an IPad to the beach.
They're on the beach, we're more likely to be burying each other in sand, building sandcastle or paddling in the sea lol
Oh, and just NO to screens on the beach.
I have no idea what's going on in other families though so not going to judge them as you never know.

spooney21 · 13/08/2021 19:44

I wouldn't intend to, but I have been on the beach (hot country) when dc and it had got too hot so after an hour or two of playing in the sea/ sand I have put them in their buggy/ under a parasol with my phone so that they could chill out and cool off for a while. I don't see a problem with that. Same at the pool.

Original poster

Justgettingbye · 13/08/2021 19:49

Fair point about being able to see the screen on the beach! Didn't think of salt damage either.

Screens are so controversial and it seems like you can never get the balance right anyway.

I guess in the moment I thought if you can't go without it on the beach (disabilities/sen etc aside) then it's a bit sad. Maybe I'm just talking from an adult perspective as I enjoy the beach so suppose some kids may find it boring.

It's different to when I was a kid we just didn't have portable technology so the option wasn't there. We had to cope with being bored. I'm not even particularly old either.

OP posts:

miltonj · 13/08/2021 19:55

No.

But there might be special needs, or they might have a lot going on, so the parents caved for an easy life that day. It's best not to judge.

HavelockVetinari · 13/08/2021 19:57

Obviously children with SEN may need screen time in less obvious places than most.

However, whilst I don't judge individual random families whose kids are on screens (it's a snapshot of their life, possible SEN/bad day) I would judge a friend or family member with NT DC allowing screen time on a beach, how ridiculous.

LemonRoses · 13/08/2021 20:03

No. A bucket and spade not an iPad.

Ticketchancer · 13/08/2021 20:04

No - I’m pretty relaxed about screens but I do find them taken to activities a bit much- also car journeys, in my day we could just cope with sitting in a car without the need to be “entertained”

N4ish · 13/08/2021 20:06

No, never ever but I recognise different families have different rules around tech use.

toolazytothinkofausername · 13/08/2021 20:09

@AlfonsoTheMango

It's the family's business, no one else's.

Hear hear.

Pravi321 · 13/08/2021 20:10

No, I take my kids to the beach to get them off screens for a few hours. If I let them take an iPad to the beach we might as well have stayed home!

Although I can see that if you wanted to spend some quality time with one kid and needed the other kid occupied to allow that to happen you might let them watch something in a tent while you gave quality time to another child. Sometimes the juggle is difficult and needs must.

allfurcoatnoknickers · 13/08/2021 20:11

No, because my child is feral and it would end up in the sea or buried in a sandcastle.

Sirzy · 13/08/2021 20:11

I used to take a book with me to the beach as a child. How does that differ from taking an iPad (assuming proper cases etc to protect)?

HerRoyalNotness · 13/08/2021 20:11

Nope. Plenty of things to entertain themselves with at the beach.

Resent away to the beach for3 weeks and I left them at home, hoping to wean them off them. Walked in the door when getting home, where’s my iPad?

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