I've read the book and think it's brilliant however we have a tv,computer and my 6 year old's have just recently got a DS. Toxic Childhood does not advocate no TV etc just not hours of it. As in anything re raising kids it's all about balance.
I do not like my kids(6,6 and 5) on the computer for hours as it's a very anti social activity(back to everybody else)and the web contains far more trash than TV imho. A lot of computer software aimed at kids is also trash imho. As a result they have the odd half hour at weekends.
I don't like my kids watching hours of trashy tv but they are allowed to chill out after school with CBBC etc(it was Cbeebies before). We have a no TV before school rule. We will never have TV's in bedrooms,we only have 1. They watch DVDs sometimes instead. We are all total bookworms and they read masses. We also talk a lot,eat together etc.
The boys have just had DS's for their bdays. They were forbidden before they were 6.I was pleasantly surprised as they're fab. Nintendogs has taught one of my son's a lot about patience and saving up for something(he saved for ages to have enough for a lab puppy and has trained it). They are only allowed on them instead of TV. We lump everything into screen time. We don't have XBoxes Wii etc as non of us are that bothered and I'd rather we did other stuff collectively. Never say never though and I don't think they're any worse than a game on a pc.
When adverts come on 9 times out of 10 my dc call the toys on show trash as we have explained the majority will break and are overpriced. We have explained the advertising men want your money. They never ask for anything they see on TV. They only have toys at Xmas and bdays so know asking isn't an option anyway.They never whinge to go on their DS and quite often they lie unplayed with for a few days.
My Dc go to bed when I say,eat what I serve up and watch what TV I think is ok and switch it off when I say. They very rarely argue as they know it's fair and they get their screen time albeit limited. Sadly they argue about plenty of other things though.Sue Palmer does point out I think (either in TC or elsewhere)that parents should call the shots.
I think children should have exposure to these things and learn that a little is ok otherwise you can bet your bottom dollar the ones who haven't been taught a bit of self control as have never had access to such items will be the ones up in their bedrooms for hours on electronic equipment come teenage years when they are earning their own money. They are growing up in a world surrounded by it after all.
All this aside I have 3 bright, articulate,imaginative children.My 6 year olds are very fluent readers. They are all book mad and actually ask for new books far more than anything electronic. To be frank they'd also sooner rather read a book more often than not than any of the above so clearer exposure to said items does no harm if balanced correctly.
I actually think all of my dc have learnt masses from TV,computers and their DS's. They have learnt things I know they didn't get from the books we read -general knowledge and some quite imaginative things in play. I also think you'd be shocked at how interactive schools are these days. The stuff my dd's rec class was doing in their computer suite was staggering. Every lesson also seems to have some involvement with the interactive white board which are amazing teaching aids.
I do think under 6's are too young for Ds's. My dd5 would like one but she won't be having one until she turns 6 like her brothers. I'm glad my boys had 6 good years of quality play with toys, I do think it's given them a good grounding and what some of their take it or leave approach to electronic stuff is down to. I also think under 6's just don't get the most out of them. I didn't like any of those electronic toys when my dc were little,they had a couple but I far preferred the toys that made them do something instead of distracting them with lights and sounds. Our Lego and Playmobil still gets far more use than any of the above.