iPad Young Children with iPads

[itjw]

My toddler had an iPhone 2g at 2, then before he turned 3 we upgraded him to a Touch 5G. It has gone from being called his "me-Pad" to now his "wee-pad". He LOVES it. One night to console him after the battery died, I told him not to worry "the Apple was coming" (the bootup screen). Ever since then, he exclaims "The Apple came!!!" evey time we let him use it, and we tell him it's coming when he's sad/upset and it seems to calm him down. It's really adorable. Like his Santa Clause for now =).

He uses my mini on occasion, but I felt that the mass of the device would be an issue more with a tablet if he slammed it around. So far the 5G has held up flawlessly in a Survivor case (griffin). We tried the same case for the mini, but it just seemed too risky.

His little sister (1) is starting to show interest in his old iPhone 2G. Maybe when she's ready for the 5G Touch we'll move my son to the mini!

Either way, he has learned a lot, thoroughly enjoyed it, and it has been a great pacifier for us adults too from time to time. Literally give it to him and no matter what he calms down/behaves. He's a great kid anyway, but he is 3 after all...

 

[casavage]

Our 2 year old has her own ipad 2 and has been using it the past year. She loves the learning games, it's an excellent video player for trips and it gives her exposure to tech. We have it in a gumby looking case that has been more than enough protection and provides handles so she can carry it around. I'm sure when my wife and I upgrade our airs she will probably inherit one of those.

 

[CBJammin103]

Kids are more tech savvy today than I was at their age and even then, I was very tech savvy. I don't care how people spend their money on their kids. If they want to create spoiled monsters then they will and no study or anything of the sort, will change that. Has technology affected the way kids are today? Totally. Faces in phones and other devices are now commonplace. Parents do it as well and it seems as though that is just the way people "interact" now. The good news is I don't have to worry about other people or other people's children.

But ARE they more tech savvy? What does that phrase even mean now? It seems to me that software and GUIs have just evolved to a point that the "level of entry" for usage is so low a young child can understand modern interface metaphors.

I would argue that we are actually seeing a scarily sharp decline in actual tech literacy amongst youth in the US. Sure tech "usage" is up more than ever, but the understanding of the actual technology itself seems to be at an all time low.

Walk around and ask 100 people on the street to explain what the internet is in 2-3 sentences and probably 2-4 could give a reasonable and accurate explanation. Of course this happens with all technology (at one point, anyone on earth could understand and replicate that newfangled sharpened spear but no single person in the world could explain or replicate all of the parts in a computer mouse, for example) but it appears to be happening in a deeper way than in past eras, especially since the onset of mass mobile computing in cell phones and tablets.

Just adding in another dimension to the discussion.

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I personally struggle with what I want my daughter exposed to. Sure it's cool that she can play Temple Run better than most adults at 4 years old but am I really contributing to her development or hindering it?

Every kid is different but if you're a parent, you have to closely monitor what your kids do. Parental controls don't solve everything as if not careful, they could still watch whatever they want on apps like Netflix.

In-app parental controls are not where they should be so it is the responsibility of adults to ensure the safety of a child. Yes, I am guilty of using an iPad as a baby sitter, we're all human. But I do my best to be involved and to limit my kids exposure to content and the damage that looking at a screen for extended periods of time can do for the social behaviors of my kid.

I think we need more parents who think like this. I think that many parents today don't realize that they are setting their child free on the entirety of the internet by allowing unsupervised tablet or cell time.

That being said, the elusive hope of "I'll let my child learn something great and useful on this iPad instead of putting them in front of a TV" seems JUST out of reach still. There's some comfort to me in the idea that parents still need to be parents even with our tech advancements.

 

[enjoimorenow]

But ARE they more tech savvy? What does that phrase even mean now? It seems to me that software and GUIs have just evolved to a point that the "level of entry" for usage is so low a young child can understand modern interface metaphors.

I would argue that we are actually seeing a scarily sharp decline in actual tech literacy amongst youth in the US. Sure tech "usage" is up more than ever, but the understanding of the actual technology itself seems to be at an all time low.

why does every person need to completely understand how the technology works? What is more important, that someone knows how to USE technology, or that someone knows how the technology works on the backside?

I say, it's far more important to know how to use technology. For a job, you might need to know how to use MS Word, Excel, etc. You don't have to know how to write a word processing program from scratch, you just need to know how to use what's available.

I'm sure that you own a car.... do you know every single detail about how that car works and what each part is for??? I highly doubt it. But again, what's more important? That you know how to drive that car? Or that you know exactly how the car was built and how the design affects the drag coefficient of the vehicle, or how the fuel injection works and is affected by the variable valve timing? Surely it's more important that people know how to drive their vehicle than to understand how said vehicle works.

Things are far too complex to expect people to completely understand how they were built and what each part does, but it's much more realistic to expect people to know how to use things in their daily life.

We don't expect you to know how to build a vacuum cleaner, how to make a washing machine, how to build a house, how to assemble a television/bluray player, or how to plumb your bathtub... but surely you use almost all of these items in your daily life. Why should all of a sudden people be expected to know how their technology works just because we are seeing that technology saturate daily lives to the same levels as vacuum cleaners, cars, televisions, etc.??

 

[donnaw]

Each parent must decide for themselves and the individual child what's best.

1). My 9 and 5 year old grandkids each have a hand-me-down iPad from me. They are responsible for the care. They mostly play the educational games we put on them but I admit my grandson (the 9-year old) loves MineCraft. He's also an Aspie so having the iPad in the car on the way to school really helps keep him calm in the mornings.

My grandson also has his own 'gaming rig' that sits right by my son's PC. again, they play MineCraft together most nights. if he has a good day at school he is rewarded with 30 mins of screentime. The better news is that he's so into tech that my son (his father)bought him some simple program on his PC and he's actually learning to code.

When my son was young he had what they called back then 'learning disabilities'. He especially had a hard time with actual writing. They recommended typing instead. Although we had a typewriter computers were coming out and I bought him a Comador 64. He started coding at age 13 and it lead to a very well-paying network admin career.

Tech devices are neither inherently good or bad things. It's all in the parenting. And the controversy is the same for each generation, only the devices have changed. When I was growing up it was cars that were corrupting us kids, why should a kid have a car? never mind that to getfrom point A to B was several miles (including home to school). When my son was growing up it was 'how much TV is the right amount?'

Everything changes but everything actually stays the same.

 

[Pompiliu]

It's all part of the plight of modern kids. Nothing is too good for them. No expense too great. Everyone's kid is sooper speshul. Parents coddle and pander to their every whim, lest they develop some horrible new psychiatric syndrome that will somehow hinder their ability to become a prince or princess.

Pre-school graduation ceremonies. Kindergarten proms. Tiaras and cupcakes for just showing up to class. Catered play dates. Spring break vacations at luxury resorts. Today's kids deserve/demand everything they have coming to them, and more, to the tune of massive parental debt.

Today's kids make "spoiled" sound like a compliment.

U jelly?

 

[mcdj]

U jelly?
Image

Jealous of a bratty 6 year old with an iPad, a psychotherapist, spineless, coddling parents, and a lifetime of unrealistic expectations/under achievement ahead of them?

Yeah, totally.

 

[Pompiliu]

He's also an Aspie so having the iPad in the car on the way to school really helps keep him calm in the mornings.

What the hell is Aspie?
I had to google that one.
FFS, it's called Asperger syndrome/disorder; it's some form of autism. It's kind of a big deal, calling it aspie sounds fun and cute. Well, it isn't.
Wake up and face his problem like a man!

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Jealous of a bratty 6 year old with an iPad, a psychotherapist, spineless, coddling parents, and a lifetime of unrealistic expectations/under achievement ahead of them?

Yeah, totally.

Just because you were treated differently (in a bad way) doesn't mean it's the right way.
Not all parents suck!
Haters gonna hate, i guess.

 

[comatose81]

Jealous of a bratty 6 year old with an iPad, a psychotherapist, spineless, coddling parents, and a lifetime of unrealistic expectations/under achievement ahead of them?

Yeah, totally.

Wow, someone's got an axe to grind.

 

[Droidrage729]

Some people here assume cause a kid had an iPad their spoiled . How bout the kids like mine who get straight a's do chores (more then some adults) and are all around good kids. Just cause a child is given an iPad it doesn't mean their a spoiled rotten child.

 

[mbhforum]

My parents just bought my son a new iPad for his first birthday. While he is too young to master it yet, he will grow into it. For now we put educational games like alphabet on it and play cartoons for him in restaurants. By age 2, I have seen toddlers master the iPad. It's the age we live in and as long as you put aside time for social interaction (he's in day care all day), then I see no concerns.

 

[xNYMetsx]

It seems that there are many, many children out there in what would be considered the "middle class" (or something close to the socioeconomic middle class on either side, upper or lower) that are carrying around iPads by age 5-11 or so. I know this is a big spread, but I do not recall any time in history that it has been commonplace for children to have such relatively expensive and powerful technology at such a young age.

Admittedly, I do not have kids of my own yet but I feel that the nature of this shift in tech usage is entirely unprecedented and unstudied. Has anyone noticed any effects of this with your own or other children? What are these devices being used for (e.g., mostly games? mostly educational uses? videos?) on the whole? Also admittedly I am referring to US children but I'm sure this phenomenon is occurring elsewhere as well.

Everything is on the iPad now, from games to books. I'd say its worth the money.

 

[PhoenixMac]

Young Children with iPads

My kids 3/4 both have their own iPad minis in otterboxes. Are they spoiled, hell yes they are. But they get ample social time(all day preschool) they are also mentioned by their teachers that they are at the heads of their classes mentally and physically. I don't understand the need to judge other people's parenting off of an outside view. You have no idea what that family is doing outside the couple minutes you see with the child with a piece of tech in their hand that you could barely afford, and get upset.

Notice I mention "that you can afford" as I haven't seen people who could give their kids tech if they wanted to criticize others that do. I did not buy my kids iPads to try and keep up with the Jones', I bought it because it is a great tool to help them learn and play. They have creativity apps that cannot be replicated using real toys.

Case in point my older son has the Disney infinity app where you essentially make your own game map and then can explore through it. Being able to create 3D worlds and knowing how to trouble shoot certain problems is vastly superior than building blocks and Legos. I grew up with Atari, virtual boy, Nintendo, game gear, sega, etc., and my own personal computers but I've always had time playing sports and doing after school activities and I think that it has helped me as a person because I can relate to the computer nerds, jocks, and everyone.

It's not the tech that ruins kids, it's the parenting. The parents that give their kids tech as a babysitter and fail to check up on their kids and monitor them are the failed parents. But if those parents couldn't afford tech it will still be those same kids who are always out in the street being troublemakers.

Money doesn't make you a bad parent, bad parenting makes you a bad parent.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

Oh the MacRumors parenting judgement threads are just awesome.... Especially when the non-parents get on their high horses.

Are there parents that are mucking it up? Sure.

But I'd like to think that I'd be given the benefit of the doubt that I could arm my kids with tools and be smart about it.

If you had seen mine last night at urgent care you'd have made comments. But the one with the iPad was doing school work on it (truly, using notability on PDFs), the oldest was reading the Hunger games on her non-data iPhone, the sickest kid was probably playing a game. It's ok, because she got all her school work done while being sick with strep.

Most often you don't have a clue what controls on on the devices the kids have, or what they are using app wise. You see the tech and flip out!

Oh and I did buy my kids iPod touches instead of game boys/DSs. I wasn't doing the cartridge thing.... I think that makes me a smart parent!!

 

[GoCubsGo]

What the hell is Aspie?
I had to google that one.
FFS, it's called Asperger syndrome/disorder; it's some form of autism. It's kind of a big deal, calling it aspie sounds fun and cute. Well, it isn't.
Wake up and face his problem like a man!

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Just because you were treated differently (in a bad way) doesn't mean it's the right way.
Not all parents suck!
Haters gonna hate, i guess.

I have to say that when someone fails engage in any kind of conversation and has to pull out the stupid term "haters gonna hate", then I have to side with the guy who obviously has a very rough opinion of kids today. What is even more ironic is that you will openly tell someone to man up and face someone's problem like a man when it comes to Asperger's, but you'll just tell someone that haters are gonna hate when they do not share in your opinion. So I say to you, man up.

To write off a person who believes that children are coddled more today than ever before as a guy who was mistreated during childhood is short sighted and ignorant. I was treated very well and had a great childhood and I believe that children are coddled today. I don't share all opinions that this other guy has, but I do share in the opinion that children just aren't brought up the same. When I was a child, adults felt the exact same way and the children today will utter the same words when they're adults. This is called life. It is how it is.

CBJammin103 you raise a decent point. Are children more tech savvy today? To question what that means today is actually quite insightful. What it meant when I was a child is certainly different than what it means today. Being able to navigate through an iDevice is not tech savvy but parents undoubtedly will describe their children as such. I believe that the perceived definition of tech savvy has even changed today. At least as long as I think about it now.

It is okay to own iPads and computers at 10 and not understand how they truly work. I'll go on and continue to say that I don't care what kids own today. It would just be nice if kids spent more time outside with other kids.

Oh the MacRumors parenting judgement threads are just awesome.... Especially when the non-parents get on their high horses.

Just an FYI, there are many people in this world who have insightful opinions regarding parenting regardless of their status as a parent. It doesn't take birthing a child to have an opinion that can be valued.

 

[CBJammin103]

Oh the MacRumors parenting judgement threads are just awesome.... Especially when the non-parents get on their high horses.

...

You see the tech and flip out!

Perhaps it is just parenting discussions in general that spark people to become instinctively defensive? Seems that people on both sides of the fence here are preemptively defensive to me. Part of that is the way that we are used to "debating" (read: screaming at one another) on the internet, I think.

Everything is on the iPad now, from games to books. I'd say its worth the money.

No doubt it's worth the money objectively speaking, I've just been more curious as to what the actual usage tends to be. Seems to be mostly games with some creative applications based on what's been reported here (in addition to uses for children's classes and school).

 

[comatose81]

It would just be nice if kids spent more time outside with other kids.

Why? It could be argued that sitting inside all day playing on a computer or iPad is preparing them for the real world a hell of a lot more than "going outside with other kids" would. How many people on this forum have jobs where they socialize all day? Considering we're all sitting here chatting about devices geared towards white collar families, I'd say none.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Why? It could be argued that sitting inside all day playing on a computer or iPad is preparing them for the real world a hell of a lot more than "going outside with other kids" would. How many people on this forum have jobs where they socialize all day? Considering we're all sitting here chatting about devices geared towards white collar families, I'd say none.

A job where there is all-day socialization? I think that's called an office job. Unless you meant a job where they're forward facing the public. In that case, who knows. Even still, a child who is socialized is likely going to be better equipped in their adult life. It doesn't mean they're going to be ill-prepared for the real world of playing desk jockey.

 

[comatose81]

A job where there is all-day socialization? I think that's called an office job. Unless you meant a job where they're forward facing the public. In that case, who knows. Even still, a child who is socialized is likely going to be better equipped in their adult life. It doesn't mean they're going to be ill-prepared for the real world of playing desk jockey.

An office job involves all-day socialization? What century are you living in? In my world, an office job involves sitting in front of a computer for 90% of the day and having the occasional small talk with your cube neighbors. Unless you're a middle manager that needs to cover up the fact that you really don't do any work by scheduling meetings all day, this is pretty much what the corporate world is like.

 

[caesarp]

I plan to buy my 9 year old son a pre-owned mini (1st gen) for Hanukah -- gamestop sells pre-owned devices. Right now he has a 4th gen ipd touch, which is way too slow (and the screen is too small for the more complex games as he gets older).

We do not allow him to use his Touch (nor the upcoming mini) when in a family social situation (like out to dinner). I hate seeing families out to dinner and not talking, since the kids are playing games on devices. And he only can use it on long (over 2 hour) car rides.

So I think as long as you don't allow them to use it wherever and whenever they want, its fine. Just like TV, moderation is the key.

We also found that these devices (while expensive to initially purchase) are cheaper in the long run than consoles or other game devices, since those consoles require $30 to $50 for each new game. Here an ipad can be loaded with games for free or for $4.99. So it is way more cost effective in the long run. Even if they don't like a $4.99 game, its better than spending $40.00 and finding they don't like it.

 

[urkel]

It seems that there are many, many children out there in what would be considered the "middle class" (or something close to the socioeconomic middle class on either side, upper or lower) that are carrying around iPads by age 5-11 or so. I know this is a big spread, but I do not recall any time in history that it has been commonplace for children to have such relatively expensive and powerful technology at such a young age.

You may need to look back at history because carrying around "technology" at such a young age is NOT something new at all. It only is more noticeable because the technology we see the kids carrying has become more and more desirable to us as adults.

As much as we may judge the actions of others for failing to see the big picture as clearly as these "lazy parents", if you look back at our youth and our own parents then we're guilty of the same sort of social distractions. Comic books, paper/pencil, gameboys, portable DVD's etc. Yet, despite being told "that stuff will rot your brain", then anyone participating in these forums is likely successful enough to have little regret about wasting so much time on Pokemon.

I'm not trying to dismiss your point because I do feel that "kids vs tech" is definitely an issue worth keeping an eye on. But if we can learn anything from the generation above ours, its that their ideals on what is "good and bad" for the development of kids tends to be based on imagined results rather than actual ones.

Admittedly, I do not have kids of my own yet but I feel that the nature of this shift in tech usage is entirely unprecedented and unstudied. Has anyone noticed any effects of this with your own or other children? What are these devices being used for (e.g., mostly games? mostly educational uses? videos?) on the whole?

My kids were born after the iPad and I had long discussions with the wife about how we were going to introduce tech into their lives. Before they were born I felt that "Kids dont need tech at such a young age, they'll learn the old fashioned way" (as non-parents tend to say). But after just a few weeks of using my iPhone to play lullabies and facetiming with relatives I realized that "If tech is a major part of my life then why would I make it an exclusion for theirs". So we went the more sensible route and allowed her to learn and develop with tech as part (but not all) of her life. And after 3 years then I give credit to the iPad for helping her advance through quickly in Language, writing, reading and even potty training.

Personally, I still have my "old-fogey" rules that I'll adhere to like "No electronics at the dinner table" or "no games that arent educational" because I get so disgusted when I see a teen eating with their parents and using headphones or a kid playing an iPad in a stroller at Disneyland (yes, I did see that). But I'm also a big enough fan of tech that I want them to learn to love it the way I do. (once they can afford it)

 

[cardfan]

Growing up with an ipad, my daughter doesn't really get that excited about them anymore the way I've seen others. Only educational apps or books have been allowed. No movies, no games. It's just a tool.

I agree with the one who mentioned kids and others are even less tech savvy now. I've seen nieces and nephews go through high school and into college and still don't know how to use Office, navigate Windows or MacOS, create a half way decent resume, etc. Spreadsheets? Forget about it.

We'll keep the ipads around for books but recently we've given our 7 yr old a PC with printer. It's more important she learns to use a computer and learn to rely on this vs an ipad for anything beyond reading.

Her most wanted items for Christmas are not tech related at all. It's dolls, toys, a new bike, etc. That's the way it should be.

 

[2010mini]

My wife works in the Early Intervention field which provides help for children that are developmentally delayed. All the therapists in that field use iPads/tablets with these kids. As the touch interface works so well in helping these kids.

My own daughter at 1 1/2 learned on her own to use my wife's iPod. and at 4 has mastered my iPad, so I use it as an educational tool. helping her learn words, to read and play games that help her figure out solutions on her own.

 

[Poisonivy326]

Personally I cringe more when I see college/high school kids with quad-core, maxed out 15" rmbp's. They really need a near $3000 computer to gchat and skype and write papers?

 

[Artofilm]

I wouldn't really say it's too much an issue kids using things like iPads (except for the fact that they are expensive toys).

I'm more concerned that a lot of people (mostly outside of this forum), don't realize that there are security settings for kids to prevent them from getting into areas and places on the internet that are no good.

I feel that a completely open iPad with no security settings or lockdown is way too much control for a child.