Small Kids and Tablets/Phones

[edro]

What's your stance or experience with your kids and using smart phones and tablets?

We have a 20 month old who loves them and it's hard to keep him away.

Any time he sees our phone or the shape in our pocket, he says "phone" and tries to get it.
He loves sitting on our laps and scrolling through the photos.
He loves tapping each app to see what it does, then hits the home button to return.
He is quickly learning how to use the devices and what each icon does.
Pandora plays music, FaceTime calls family members, YouTube opens to Ryan's Toys Review, etc.

Sooo, I assume we can't let him get addicted to them or he will end up like the people on Wall-E.
At the same time, he is a very busy boy and is constantly running around.
It is nice for him to settle down for 5min and watch YouTube or family photos.

Also, part of me views it as watching TV. He isn't interested in TV yet.
I have heard too much "screen time" can limit their development because they aren't practicing their spacial awareness with real world objects.
In his case, he seems very good for his age in physical world interactions, so I'm not worried about that.

Overall, I don't see much wrong with personal media consumption, as long as it is limited per my ambiguous guidelines.

What is your experience and where do you draw the line?

 

[MomentsofSanity]

My son loved it. There were some nice apps geared to small kids. That being said as he has gotten older we have slowly weened him from this as I find it begins to create issues of entitlement if they become to attached to it.

 

[local]

We have two year old twins. They are not allowed to play with our phones or tablets. They definitely want them because they are "pretty" and see us using them but now they mostly just bring them to us when they find them.

The main reason we don't let them play with them is because they will just call someone or jack something up. Sometimes we let them play games with us but even then they are not allowed to hold the device.

When they get a little older I will give them some sort of basic tablet but they will still be severely limited in play time. In my opinion there are better things for kids to do than sit on an electronic gadget all day.

 

[TwiceOver]

We didn't really introduce our son to devices until this year (he is currently 5). He used to watch TV fairly often but once he started school that went by the wayside really. He plays on the phone every now and again (like once a week) but he does play games on the PC often (ABCMouse.com). I am getting him one of those $100 Amazon Kids tablets for Christmas.

He hasn't shown much interest in TV or device games since school started. He wants to do more word and math based activities and play with toys (Legos, Transformers). I guess that's a good thing since I'm sure in a year or so he'll be glued to some sort of screen until I smack him.

 

[dainthomas]

On Kindles you can set up a kids mode where they have to read for a predetermined amount of time before it will let them run apps/games. That seems fine to me. A phone/tablet where they can spend unlimited time effing around with is not okay.

 

[purbeast0]

my son is only 7 months old and he already loves technology. sometimes i worry that he was introduced to it too early and have that talk with my wife almost daily. but it's just part of life now.

my wife and i have tv on constantly, it's just in the background. and i'm constantly on my laptop at home too doing work, so he's around that a lot too in the main living room. so he just sees it. it also stimulates him big time, which is good imo.

but there are very specific kids songs that he already loves and knows, and when i put my youtube app on my tv, as soon as he sees the red youtube logo screen, he starts to get excited because he knows that he is going to be seeing the videos for the songs he likes very shortly.

i try not to overdo it though for sure, but i won't have a problem with him enjoying technology. that would be hypocritical of me. but i will make sure he's not obsessed with it and that it will be in moderation, just like when i was younger.

i had this exact conversation with my brother on sunday, who has a 4 year old and a 1.5 year old, and he said he won't let his kids get into video games. and i said i will let my kid get into it because i'm into it, and it is a big reason why i do what i do now (software development). i make more money than my brother (probably at least double) and am in better shape than him, so it didn't hinder me financially or physically at all playing a lot of games growing up (and to this day but not nearly as much)

 

[Kaido]

What is your experience and where do you draw the line?

Depends on the kid, but basically, limit screen time per day (minutes or hours). They can get addicted easily & it starts affecting their behavior. Older kids are a different story, but it's like giving candy to kids...easy to get hooked & then throw fits & have other behavioral side effects from too much screen time.

 

[PricklyPete]

My 18 month old twins play on our tablet daily. We have already discussed getting a second one for them.

I really don't see an issue with letting them use it. It only holds their attention for so long. We will certainly keep the time they play with it limited.

 

[edro]

he said he won't let his kids get into video games. and i said i will let my kid get into it because i'm into it, and it is a big reason why i do what i do now (software development). i make more money than my brother (probably at least double) and am in better shape than him, so it didn't hinder me financially or physically at all playing a lot of games growing up (and to this day but not nearly as much)

I agree.
I look forward to playing video games with my son.
I also look forward to playing real sports with my son.

My nephew is 10 and plays XBOX daily, for hours.
He also plays football and is a beast on the field.
Video games teach logic, reasoning, budgeting, etc.
I see nothing wrong with a good mix of video games and physical activity.

 

[dank69]

There are plenty of educational apps, just limit their time. Same for TV. Our 3yo watches an hour of tv at most per day and often none. Maybe a bit more on rainy weekends. The tablet interest comes and goes. There were weeks where she would play games for an hour a day maybe 3-4 times a week but now I can't remember the last time she wanted to use the tablet. Probably been more than a month now.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I don't see any real reason to discourage it. Learning to navigate the interface of a gadget is something he's probably going to have to do over and over again throughout his life. If you're worried about them getting sucked into time waster type games, just make sure there aren't any installed. When he gets old enough to figure out how to download stuff set a password so he can only get stuff you approve of.

 

[Kaido]

My 18 month old twins play on our tablet daily. We have already discussed getting a second one for them.

I really don't see an issue with letting them use it. It only holds their attention for so long. We will certainly keep the time they play with it limited.

For now...wait until they figure out Minecraft

 

[ImpulsE69]

Technology should not be allowed until age of consent, or age of being able to drink - at the earliest. Do not be responsible for your kid being a lazy slob with poor social skills that only knows how to call someone names in COD and send naked pictures of themselves in group texts at school. You'll end up with a felon locked up in juvie

 

[Thump553]

Remember if it's a phone, 911 still works even if the phone doesn't have service. I know of at least one couple that gave an old phone to their daughter to play with. The police came knocking when grandma was babysitting.

Personally I'd say keep the electronic junk away for as long as possible. That way the kids have at least a chance at normal physical development for their early years. Kids should be active, running etc. all the time.

 

[rh71]

As long as you set a limit, it is fine (and inevitable), even at that age. They're now 7 and we limit screens to Fri-Sun only and not the whole day. We had done 2hrs each day but that's too little considering they wait all week for it - even I feel bad. They have team sports to take the energy out, then they just play games with breaks in between if we're home.

I've come to discover that at this age, there's very little that interests them except for video games. We got through the Hot Wheels & Legos phases. I suppose we can inject some more family board game time too, but when we're out and we need them to sit quietly while the adults talk, tablet/phone games are perfect.

Other patrons see kids with their faces in tablets and just assume that's all day every day. If these older generations grew up with such access to entertainment on-the-go, they wouldn't be saying what they say.