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Wow, what a great discussion. I should have known the sharp minds here at C-D would pull out all the stops in this thread.
My daughter doesn't watch TV -- EVER -- and currently uses our smartphones maybe a few minutes per week at most. Interestingly, she mostly prefers to either listen to music and sing along, or look at photos of our family and herself and her friends on the phone rather than playing actual games. She has some small electronic toys that make a lot of noise and have lights (the ones meant to teach you to write or read), but she actually prefers playing with dolls, blocks, duplo/lego blocks, or some new games we recently got that are age appropriate. We go outside all the time and we as parents spend every non-school hour with her doing things interactively, even if it's going to the grocery store or running other mundane errands.
Our goal isn't to "indoctrinate" her forcibly into the electronic world as much as expand her mind's way of thinking. If you've seen some of the apps available for tablets and other computers, they are sometimes mind-blowing, making you think altogether in a different way, seeing things in 3D, watching the impossible or imaginary become real, or whatever the case may be. I know that can be educational to a young child in many ways, but also detrimental if used too much. True, we didn't have these things as children and we turned out fine, but I also don't want her to miss a life-changing experience or way of thinking and you never know where things like that can come from. The world truly is her oyster and I want her to discover as much of it as possible.
This isn't about us looking for a babysitter device or trying to shirk our parental responsibilities. We're good parents and I am not concerned about rotting her brain by allowing her to play with a tablet for a few minutes a day. Let's face it, computers and tablets are part of our everyday world now, so we can either embrace them and guide their usage appropriately or we can dictate abstinence and have our children overindulge at a friend's house or at school later. My gut feel as a parent is to introduce limited usage to her and ensure the rest of her life remains well-balanced.
She won't. These things are toys, they are not going to change her life.
As a parent of one about to turn 28, I'll say, do what you think is right. There is always someone around to tell you you're wrong.
These things are toys, they are not going to change her life.
That wasn't my intended implication at all...but I do want to expose her to as much as possible, especially things that are part of our everyday life. It's not imperative, I was just feeling it out. We aren't sure yet whether we want to do anything computer based for her right now. She has plenty of other toys already, anyway.
That wasn't my intended implication at all...but I do want to expose her to as much as possible, especially things that are part of our everyday life. It's not imperative, I was just feeling it out. We aren't sure yet whether we want to do anything computer based for her right now. She has plenty of other toys already, anyway.
I think you're putting way too much thought into this.
IMO, anything in moderation, even the evil TV is fine. You need to give them exposure to a broad variety of technology, media and experiences on your terms. I think where the harm starts coming from is allowing these things to replace actual social interaction and other activities.
When it comes particularly to things like computers and iPads, you are very much correct that they are becoming a very mainstreamed part of our society. At my sons school, they use smartboards for the lessons, basically giant projector tablets. In preschool they had computer workshops. In Kindergarten they were learning basic web browsing and using some computer programs for math. In 1st grade he is doing some of his homework on an iPad. I would hate to see how he would have handled those things if he didn't have a basic familiarity with them at home. Something we started when he was around 2 1/2.
We now have three kids and we are taking the same approach with all of them. We have even introduced things that are purely for entertainment like the Wii. However, we tend to use it as a family, no one is hibernating on the other side of the house by themselves playing video games. Chances are all five of us are Zumba'ing or playing baseball together. Even my son, whose video game system it technically is, is more likely to play a game with me, his mom or sister then he is to do it by himself.
Basically, anything in moderation is fine. Don't let either extreme govern your decisions and the key to most of these things (video games, tablets, computers, TV, etc.), IMO is making them social interactive things as much as possible. Don't hand your kid an iPad and say here. Sit down and use it with them and talk about it. Same thing with TV. Don't use it as a babysitter, use it socially and interactively.
Wasn't really asking for parenting advice here, just "which platform works best." LOL - funny what this developed into. Anyway, thanks for all the advice. Maybe we should close the topic or something.
What do you all recommend? She's just turned 3, and we don't allow her to watch any TV at all, but various people suggested something like a small tablet computer with educational games might be fun as long as her usage isn't too long at any one sitting and she remains physically active.
Thoughts? Which platforms are best for educational type programs? I figured a tablet is probably best, because it travels well (we travel a lot) and is small, and not something we have to leave in one place all the time.
There are quite a bit of new studies today saying that "educational screen type" toys are actually MORE harmful than originally thought; and can inhibit a child's imagination and creative though processes.
IMO the best toys are still the age old ones like books, dolls, blocks, and the like.
You start this type of topic and you expect that it WON'T develop into parenting advice/opinion thread? Hmmmm....
It always does. Next time be warned.
Lesson learned for sure.
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