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how addicting is this? aren't we trying to avoid this? do we want our kids to glue themselves infront of a tablet all day in the name of "it's helping them? As

how addicting is this? aren't we trying to avoid this? do we want our kids to glue themselves infront of a tablet all day in the name of "it's helping them? As young as 2 year olds will be now asking for tablet instead of licking the floor.

saagarjha 8y ago
If it genuinely helps them, then why not? That’s what technology is supposed to be used for…
sangaya 8y ago
Pretty sure gaining an understanding of technology is more beneficial than licking the floor. Besides, parenting allows the parents to say, "let's sit and play word games together in your tablet." My 5yo loves playing in the tablet, and it's not used as a baby sitter. Either we do it together, or she plays the simpler games (colors, letters, numbers) with her younger sister. Teaching and explaining to others is a beneficial skill as well. Being on a tablet, does not necessitate that it be antisocial.
avip 8y ago
I'll put it blatantly, without citation, and accept the downvotes with love: do not give your 2yo anything that has a screen. Just say no. And yes - licking the floor is order of magnitude healthier for them.
- em-bee 8y ago
  the only time our 1 year old gets to see the phone screen is on video calls with family and friends
- EvanAnderson 8y ago
  It's anecdote, to be sure, but I credit our 5 1/2 y/o daughter's ability to be amused and contented with books, imaginative play, and art (as compared to her cousins and classmates) to our having nearly completely disallowed "screens" in her life. (We even go so far as to plan restaurant seating to keep her back to TVs after we saw her "veg out" when a TV was in her sight line once.) In the last year we've let her watch some YouTube cooking videos in a supervised setting, and she and I have started working thru some educational titles on my old Apple IIgs. We've tried very hard to avoid "twitch" stimulus, if only because I have an unscientific belief that such stimulus "dulls" ones' sense of novelty. (I know that I find myself struggling to deal with "slower" movies and video games that I enjoyed when I was younger.)
dragonwriter 8y ago
> As young as 2 year olds will be now asking for tablet instead of licking the floor. As a parent of two young children: (1) It's not “will now” as in something that hasn't been true already. (2) It's not “as young as”, if they are around, children will ask for them younger (much younger, like, before they have words, when asking is done by gesture.) (3) It's not “instead of licking the floor”, but “in addition to licking the floor”. Also, they'll lick the tablet.
la6470 8y ago
No it is just wonderful and magical since it was made in France. There are thousands of kids software made for iPhone or Android but just because they were made in Asia and were culturally a little different got a lot of bad rap here in HN two weeks back. Fucking stereotypes.
jerkstate 8y ago
You have a valid point. I think most people can agree that all day long is too much. But is there no acceptable amount of screen time? I think the repetition in this kind of game very much does help kids memorize numbers, shapes, letters, colors, counting, etc. so we do allow our kids to have some screen time, but we follow some rules. The hardest parts are to transition away from the tablet. We always supervise and use a countdown and replacement with another favorable activity (5 minutes and we're going to put the ipad away and play with trains.. 3 minutes.. 1 minute.. time to play with trains) and then following through even if they get upset. We also only allow like 15-20 minutes at a time (the longer they play, the harder it is to pull them away, such is addiction) and only a few times per week (if that). We also are not afraid to say no to tablet time and redirect to another activity. I think kids can learn a lot from technology but it requires parenting to minimize harm.

saagarjha 8y ago

If it genuinely helps them, then why not? That’s what technology is supposed to be used for…

sangaya 8y ago

Pretty sure gaining an understanding of technology is more beneficial than licking the floor. Besides, parenting allows the parents to say, "let's sit and play word games together in your tablet." My 5yo loves playing in the tablet, and it's not used as a baby sitter. Either we do it together, or she plays the simpler games (colors, letters, numbers) with her younger sister. Teaching and explaining to others is a beneficial skill as well. Being on a tablet, does not necessitate that it be antisocial.

avip 8y ago

I'll put it blatantly, without citation, and accept the downvotes with love: do not give your 2yo anything that has a screen. Just say no. And yes - licking the floor is order of magnitude healthier for them.

em-bee 8y ago
the only time our 1 year old gets to see the phone screen is on video calls with family and friends
EvanAnderson 8y ago
It's anecdote, to be sure, but I credit our 5 1/2 y/o daughter's ability to be amused and contented with books, imaginative play, and art (as compared to her cousins and classmates) to our having nearly completely disallowed "screens" in her life. (We even go so far as to plan restaurant seating to keep her back to TVs after we saw her "veg out" when a TV was in her sight line once.) In the last year we've let her watch some YouTube cooking videos in a supervised setting, and she and I have started working thru some educational titles on my old Apple IIgs. We've tried very hard to avoid "twitch" stimulus, if only because I have an unscientific belief that such stimulus "dulls" ones' sense of novelty. (I know that I find myself struggling to deal with "slower" movies and video games that I enjoyed when I was younger.)

dragonwriter 8y ago

> As young as 2 year olds will be now asking for tablet instead of licking the floor. As a parent of two young children: (1) It's not “will now” as in something that hasn't been true already. (2) It's not “as young as”, if they are around, children will ask for them younger (much younger, like, before they have words, when asking is done by gesture.) (3) It's not “instead of licking the floor”, but “in addition to licking the floor”. Also, they'll lick the tablet.

la6470 8y ago

No it is just wonderful and magical since it was made in France. There are thousands of kids software made for iPhone or Android but just because they were made in Asia and were culturally a little different got a lot of bad rap here in HN two weeks back. Fucking stereotypes.

jerkstate 8y ago

You have a valid point. I think most people can agree that all day long is too much. But is there no acceptable amount of screen time? I think the repetition in this kind of game very much does help kids memorize numbers, shapes, letters, colors, counting, etc. so we do allow our kids to have some screen time, but we follow some rules. The hardest parts are to transition away from the tablet. We always supervise and use a countdown and replacement with another favorable activity (5 minutes and we're going to put the ipad away and play with trains.. 3 minutes.. 1 minute.. time to play with trains) and then following through even if they get upset. We also only allow like 15-20 minutes at a time (the longer they play, the harder it is to pull them away, such is addiction) and only a few times per week (if that). We also are not afraid to say no to tablet time and redirect to another activity. I think kids can learn a lot from technology but it requires parenting to minimize harm.