The iPad And Your Kid: Digital Daycare, Empowering Educator, Or Something Bad?

Megalith

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The debate on how tablets and other digital devices impact children continues. This study seems to echo the idea that these devices can certainly serve as learning tools for even very young children, but use should be regulated and they shouldn’t be “digital pacifiers.”

Young children are captivated by contingency. They are fascinated by the iPad in the same way they enjoy throwing toys on the floor (after you’ve picked it up the hundredth time!). They see something happen as a result of their behavior. And unlike the action and reaction of a traditional computer, using an iPad is much more intuitive. Anyone with a finger can do it—literally even a baby.
 
I use iPads for both educational and baby sitting. This is with a 2 & 5 year old.

On one end my kids can watch Netflix for a while and be couch potatoes. But then there are things that teach letters and numbers and shapes and tracing.

And my son can figure out some stuff on some of these games that I have trouble on.

It's a little crushing having a 5 year old say "No Daddy, not like that, here let me show you how to get up there".

Here's how I approach it. When I was growing up my parents gave me TV, game consoles and a Walkman. These devices provided the exact same solution. Which is "How can I satisfy my child's needs, while still getting done all the crap I need to do?"

And I'm sure my Baby Boomer parents were given something by their parents to placate them while they were young.

The second aspect is that all these kids are being raised like this. My son has been in kindergarten for 6 weeks now and he already is being shown how to use a computer in class....both with a mouse and a touchscreen. It's inevitable. This generation will grow up with electronic devices at their side at all times.
 
If I'm not doing anything then the kids can have their tablets. If I'm doing something I will take them away and involve them.

*Also if they don't respond to my wife and me, whine about them, don't clean up their room, fail to get ready in the morning for school or leave them where someone walks they lose them for how ever long I deem necessary.

*My kids are without their tablets often.
 
Well considering it's already been demonstrated that giving young children these types of devices can be developmentally damaging (toddlers given tablets instead of physical toys are not developing basic motor skills and spatial recognition like they do with hands on play/learning) and many countries and pre-schools are banning their use for children...

You'd have to be a pretty craptacular and neglectful unfit parent if you are using this shit to babysit your kids.

Any competent child developmental expect will tell you kids really shouldn't be touching digital stuff until 4-5 years old... at least not very often.
 
This generation will grow up with electronic devices at their side at all times.

My son will not. He will know how to use them, and probably will eventually be able to understand them better than I when I get to *that* age....but he will not be completely and utterly dependent on them.
 
Well considering it's already been demonstrated that giving young children these types of devices can be developmentally damaging (toddlers given tablets instead of physical toys are not developing basic motor skills and spatial recognition like they do with hands on play/learning) and many countries and pre-schools are banning their use for children...

Demonstrated by who? I haven't seen any actual evidence for these claims. Do we have hospitals full of children with no motor skills now?

It's clickbait/think of the children nonsense disseminated by helicopter parents who need something to worry about. Just like how video games were supposedly somehow going to inhibit our developing minds and turn us all into blubbering idiots or psychopaths.
 
If I ever have a kid, I definitely will not let them touch a smart device until they can demonstrate self control, reaches the age of 18, buys it with their own pocket money or if the school requires it.

I do not want them to develop smart device addiction from single digit age.
 
My son will not. He will know how to use them, and probably will eventually be able to understand them better than I when I get to *that* age....but he will not be completely and utterly dependent on them.

While I appreciate the sentiment here I'm not sure if it's realistic. I certainly believe that just handing kids devices without thought or supervision is not a good idea but computing devices are like any pervasive tool or technology in modern society. While we may not like nor want dependence on cars, trucks, electricity, telecommunications, computers, etc. just doing our day to jobs without becomes impossible without these tools in many cases.
 
I will certainly not introduce my child to a tablet or smartphone until they are old enough. Their early development won't be based on zoning out and ADHD 'at the second' responses of a tablet.
 
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with introducing a child to technology. Actually there is a great deal of benefit to it. The problem is you have lazy parents who are going to find ways to be lazy and worthless no matter the device giving these things a bad reputation. The result is...well some of the responses in this thread.
 
Here's how I approach it. When I was growing up my parents gave me TV, game consoles and a Walkman. These devices provided the exact same solution. Which is "How can I satisfy my child's needs, while still getting done all the crap I need to do?"
I was given toys, physical toys, when I was at a young age, sure I had access to a TV as well but the trick there is how long do you let your child stay with said "distraction to give you time to do what you need to do"
 
Everything with moderation. Yes my kids love their iPads. They probably do use them too much, but I limit them to average of 1-1.5hrs/day. I'm actually more worried about their eyesight and posture issues than BS about mental development. They can be very creative on their iPads as well. You also get good at technology. If I'm not mistaken there are other articles saying video games make you smarter :). Had I not be a computer geek, I'm sure I wouldn't be nearly as successful professionally.

So to each their own. If your kid is draining their iPad battery on a regular basis, there is probably a problem there. If it's an hour or 2 a day, I suspect it's fine. Also I suspect what they use the iPad for has some impact on benefit/harm. Watching mindless tv is probably less beneficial than problem solving in games or educational apps.
 
I was given toys, physical toys, when I was at a young age, sure I had access to a TV as well but the trick there is how long do you let your child stay with said "distraction to give you time to do what you need to do"

How many people are going to say "I let my child play with hot wheels, but only for 37 minutes a day, not a second more". The toy is still providing the exact same usage and experience. It's still just a thing that they interact with.

We're not talking about parents who love their children versus parents who beat them.

If they didn't have an iPad, it might be a game console, if not a game console it might be toys, if not toys it would be playing outside....see the pattern?

Besides.....were living in a country where letting your kids play in the neighborhood or even the front yard can give the government the right to take them away. WTF is that all about?
 
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