I’m over at Babble today talking about why I’m not psyched that my husband got an iPad for work. For all that I love the virtual world of the internet, I’m not into letting kids spend a lot of time playing with high-tech gadgets. Sure, a little tv or a few minutes playing a game on my phone in the waiting room at the dentist is fine. But I’m resistant to letting the iPad become part of my son’s daily rotation:
I’m no technology prude. We have laptops and smartphones and e-reader tablets and video game systems in the house. They serve a variety of purposes form entertainment to work and my son gets varying degrees of access to them. TV is a daily part of his existence. He plays video games on weekends when Daddy is around because Mommy doesn’t know how to work the Xbox. On rare occasions he gets a chance to play a few games on my iPhone, usually when we’re waiting at a doctor’s office or on a flight. He likes the games but seldom asks to play them and that’s how I like it.
I don’t know why I fear the iPad will be different. Maybe because it’s such a holy grail of gadgets and the world of apps is so much like a technological candy store. It just feels like crossing into iPad world will spark an interest in high tech toys and games that, so far, has eluded my son. Plus the iPad, unlike most of our other gizmos is easily navigable for a child who can’t yet read. He would have autonomy over the iPad that he doesn’t have with the DVR listings.
Read the whole post over at Babble Kids!
My niece, who is FOUR, has her very own iPad. Her parents each have one too.