Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The coolest toy in the world (and death to all others) I have a son, going on 3-years old this November. If there is an IPAD around, its hard to get him to try any other toy. I mean the only thing that compares is the large Thomas the Train set in the basement.
Sure we get him out and he loves catching balls or playgrounds. . .but if the IPAD is in the hand its a bit of a forceful exercise. I'm glad its a lot better on kids then TV (very interactive).
I think the IPAD is great, its a great tool and toy. . .I was wondering what guidelines you have for young children. I'm not going to take the thing away, but tips/tricks on setting "IPAD TIMES"
Right now, the only thing we do is put it away and tell the little guy daddy took it to work. This was posted by ChrisfromChicago a few weeks ago.
Hmmm, where do I start?
First, the parent makes the rules in the house not the three year old. If Daddy wants to use the IPad when making dinner than that is what should happen, every day, every time, without complaints, whining or tantrums from the young child. The same is true for smeary, sticky fingers, Dads make reasonable rules and children follow them.
Second, If he is too young to play with a $499 (or $200 or whatever), very breakable, toy perhaps he shouldn't have access to it. Then you won't have to worry about locking it down.
Third, An hour a day?1 I can't tell you how many parents of my young students have told me that they greatly restrict computer time or TV time or IPad time but when they actually calculate it out it is hours & hours more than they realize. Many times the parents themselves are truly shocked when they actually add up the time.
I had one parent who told me with great pride that she severely limited her six year olds TV watching time. She said that Little Susie looked at books, played with her dolls, did dress-up, played outside, built with Lego bricks, etc. almost her entire free time and only briefly watched "a little TV" every day. However, at school whenever Susie talked about what she did at home or drew pictures of "what did you do over the weekend" it always involved TV shows and movies. So, I politely asked Mom "what is Susie's typical schedule at home?". Mom said, "Susie likes to watch X and Y (half hour TV shows) while she gets ready for school. When she get home she usually watches a Disney movie. Then before dinner on Monday she watches A, On Tuesday she watches B & C., etc. and a couple times a week. she watches another Disney movie".
I am not joking, Mom really believed that she was severely limiting her six year old daughter's TV time but when we actually added up the hours Mom was stunned to see that Susie was in front of the TV from 3 1/2 to 5 hours every school day. Mom made some changes at home and Susie started to really blossom and change in several very positive ways.
I'm not saying that is true for ChrisfromChicago's child but I have seen it again and again when parents say "1 hour only" and it is actual many more hours.
Last, "If there is an IPad around it is hard to get him to try other toys." I have to admit, my relatives and friends do not allow their preschoolers to have IPads and they were not around when my children were young so I do not have experience with normal children and IPads. However, I have seen many children with special needs become so obsessed with IPads that they will never touch another toy or respond to another child or teacher if they have access to an IPad.
A fellow teacher had an autistic student who wouldn't even stop to eat when his parent allowed him to play with an IPad. The parent would feed the child when he got home from school, give him the IPad for the entire evening, take away the IPad (lock it in the trunk of her car) and give him a bedtime snack and put him to bed.
Again, I am NOT suggesting that this is anything close to the OP's parenting style, it is just a commentary on how addictive these devices can be for some children.
There are so many, wonderful creative, skill building toys available to young children why do so many parents push the electronic games so early? You don't even need toys, you can use items found around the house, draw, sing, run around, climb trees, lay on the grass and look at the clouds, etc, etc. I am not totally opposed to computers, IPads , televisions, videos and other electronic devices it is just that I see many parents allowing their children to spend a disproportionate amount of their play time with these pieces of equipment.
There are many things that are great in small amounts but used excessively can be harmful.
One of my favorite memories about my daughter is the time that she decided to "publish her own newspaper". She wrote up family news, drew pictures, added captions, and even had a cartoon and a few want ads. Her newspaper was about four pages long with some very creative spelling (as she was only about six or seven years old at the time). I often thought that if she would have had access to computer games would she have done creative things like that or just pushed the on button and got lost on the screen for a few hours?
Very good points. Especially the very first one... Kids need to learn the word "no!"
First, the parent makes the rules in the house not the three year old. If Daddy wants to use the IPad when making dinner than that is what should happen, every day, every time, without complaints, whining or tantrums from the young child. The same is true for smeary, sticky fingers, Dads make reasonable rules and children follow them.
Imo, an 1 hr a day is too much. Ten minutes a day would be better. Better off giving him some blocks or legos or puzzles to do while you make dinner. My daughter played computer games at that age, but I really had to limit her usage. It's so addictive.
Chris, you need to put away the iPad until baby goes to bed. I'm sure you can wait till 7:30 or 8, right? Just because the kid CAN operate it doesn't mean he SHOULD.
As parents, some of our habits have to change when we have kids.
You can cook without watching CNN. I enjoy watching the news while I cook also, but it gets REALLY tricky when they are old enough to understand what they're hearing. I mean, my three boys all love to watch SportsCenter while they eat breakfast, but during the Jerry Sandusky saga I had to turn it off because a lot of the content was inappropriate for my youngest.
Yes, electronic devices are integrated into modern life, but a 3-year-old has so much more basic stuff to learn, like fine motor skills, for example, before they get on that track.
And most of us have ancestors who made it through the bubonic plague, yet we still take out antibiotics. Likewise my grandmother got though childhood without computers, tv or thinking women have the same rights as men. That doesn't mean I would wish it on my daughter.
Just because something is new does not inherently make it wrong.
There are WONDERFUL, educational and interactive games for small children on ipads and iphones.
Example, my best friends five year old has candyland, hungry hippos, and a variety of other "classic" games that she takes to her grandfathers house to play with him. The ipad allows him to play these games easily since his parkinson's disease makes any game with pieces impossible to play.
Tablets, phones, and any other technology is no worse or better than TV, and anyone who is complaining about letting a child play with technology, and isn't living the amish life is basically a hypocrite. As with any technology, it is what you make of it.
Try to remember at one point, it was considered the height of indulgence to give a child a BOOK.
Has limited ipad time today, but always asked for it. Normally the prime time for ipad is during dinner preparation. . .He plays a few games, maybe watches a video. No more than 1hr per day is what we are striving for.. . .normally its less than that I think
The problems
Daddy wants the ipad too, so he can watch CNN in the kitchen while cooking
I have to keep cleaning it. . .somehow he always finds a way to touch it with smeary fingers.
Ipads are hard to "lock" down. . .at least really well
they are expensive. If I got a second one they start at $499
Solutions
My in-laws bought their kid a leapfrog device. Yet at $100-150 i'm not sold. Sure its durable but. . .their kid still asks for the iphone
I'm leaning toward a NEXUS 7, available at about $200 from the Google Store
1) things like playsafe allow you to limit the android. Android is more flexible system
2) Netflix as well as movies I can transfer to the device are avaialble.
3) lots of educational apps: memory games, stories/books,etc
4) youtube - ipad doesn't have this app anymore.
My idea/plan is to have the Nexus 7 more locked down. It only allows certain applications, only certain rated you tube stuff. Hopefully lock down the amount of time. . .and keep the kid off the ipad.
I don't know why people are upset by this. I have a 3 year old (3.5) and I am also an educator. He steals my iphone all the time and can use most of the apps on it (books, games, videos), and at night sometimes he takes my Kindle to read his own books. He has plenty of other toys, but as those with 3 year olds know, they are not entertained long by any one thing, and they always want what mom and dad have.
I have a leapfrog and I don't like it. There are limited games, they are not very good, and they are darned expensive. My iphone makes a much better toy. We were thinking of getting a Wii for him, but I'm really unfamiliar with different gaming systems. I'm not even sure what Nexus 7 is. However, it it does games and has a lot of kids apps, including the kind of books and games they make for iphone, it sounds like a good idea. But how breakable is it? My son always throws my iphone, but it hasn't broken yet. I don't think I would get him anything that couldn't take a few good crashes.
Chris, you need to put away the iPad until baby goes to bed. I'm sure you can wait till 7:30 or 8, right? Just because the kid CAN operate it doesn't mean he SHOULD.
As parents, some of our habits have to change when we have kids.
You can cook without watching CNN. I enjoy watching the news while I cook also, but it gets REALLY tricky when they are old enough to understand what they're hearing. I mean, my three boys all love to watch SportsCenter while they eat breakfast, but during the Jerry Sandusky saga I had to turn it off because a lot of the content was inappropriate for my youngest.
Yes, electronic devices are integrated into modern life, but a 3-year-old has so much more basic stuff to learn, like fine motor skills, for example, before they get on that track.
This is about discipline - for you and your baby.
You don't think fine motor skills are learned by using a tablet or iphone?? As someone pointed out, just because it's new doesn't make it bad. Iphones and tablets have all kind of educational things on them, including books, drawing programs, reading and math stuff, and so on. You wouldn't complain about a kid drawing or reading a book, but since it's on a screen, suddenly it's bad. My kid has always used these devices, and he's fine. He does very well in preschool. He reads and writes a little at 3.5 years. I think you all are overreacting.
Our 3 1/2 yr old twin boys love our nooks.... we download puzzles on them and they do those....watch videos on trucks and watch Dora. In fact they can count to 10 in Spanish and English. They also play with blocks and role play being a fireman, power ranger, etc. We live in a technology world, and having them use such devices I think are fine as they can be great tools for learning.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I meant without my KIDS having one to occupy them.
That's the first thing I thought of.
