Tablets are fine to use a few hours a week. The teacher who says she can tell if a kid uses a tablet at all vs not at all is full of shit.

Get real.

The constant hyperventilation on this board that if too much of something is bad the only answer is NONE is just insane. NO sugar, NO tablets, NO tv… you guys suffer from serious anxiety. Use some critical reasoning.

I don't think kids need their own tablets. My oldest is in 6th and does not have her own tablet. We have two family tablets and the kids ask if they can use it maybe 2-3 times a week for 30 minutes or so at a time. They watch tv every day after school, so it's not like we're limiting screen time, but I don't see the need for a child to have his or her own tablet.

My 6th grader isn't going to get a phone until high school. Until then the shared family iPad and the Apple Watch we buy her for "graduating" from elementary school will suffice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On airplane flights, we all use the seat back video screen. We put our DD's into kids mode. And no, we do not fly Spirit or whatever, so yes, there is a seat back screen. DD does not have a tablet.

These are going away. Lots of planes, even on major carriers, don't have screens anymore. They just have a little bracket to hold your phone or tablet and streaming movies by wifi.

My kids got the cheap Kindle Fire tablets when they were 3 and 5 yo for a plane trip. They watch them for an hour or so on weekend mornings for cartoons and then on airplanes and very long road trips. They're really no big deal. I'd bet that lots of of the folks on here who are anti-tablets have kids who get significantly more screen time.

Yep that’s me. I am not buying tablets for my kids but I will let them watch 3 hours of tv on a Saturday.

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 8 and 11 and they share a tablet that they only use on weekends.

Sorry I should have clarified - neither of them used a tablet until they were in kindergarten. They are not allowed unsupervised tablet time. They use it in our family space.

My kids are 8 and 11 and they share a tablet that they only use on weekends.

I probably won't ever get my 2.5 yo one. We'll probably go straight to a smartphone at 11/12. And that phone will just have messaging, GPS, and calling features. More access given gradually as they get older.

At some point in elementary school once you get tired of them always using yours.

Definitely shouldn’t even be in this age group - as old as possible, 14?
I know schools give them out in middle school, but they have guardrails on them - just go with one of those, no need for another

Anonymous wrote:On airplane flights, we all use the seat back video screen. We put our DD's into kids mode. And no, we do not fly Spirit or whatever, so yes, there is a seat back screen. DD does not have a tablet.

These are going away. Lots of planes, even on major carriers, don't have screens anymore. They just have a little bracket to hold your phone or tablet and streaming movies by wifi.

My kids got the cheap Kindle Fire tablets when they were 3 and 5 yo for a plane trip. They watch them for an hour or so on weekend mornings for cartoons and then on airplanes and very long road trips. They're really no big deal. I'd bet that lots of of the folks on here who are anti-tablets have kids who get significantly more screen time.

We got a family one when the kids were little and used it when we needed portable emergency entertainment.

When that one got old, we got a new family one and the then 9 year old claimed the old one. She couldn't do much on it.

We inherited 2 more in recent years so the 11 and 13 year old both kind of have ones they use but they are all family tablets. Both have their own phones.

Get an educational Leapfrog instead

Great

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely do not get one until at least the teen years. I am an elementary school teacher. The really smart kids are from families that don’t allow technology at home. I can always tell which kids spend too much time staring at screens and which kids don’t. This is one of the most important parenting decisions you will ever make. Schools are starting to turn away from screens for elementary learning.

My pediatrician made a similar comment about being able to recognize the differences between kids who have limited access to screens and those who do not.

I want to hear more about this...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think tablets are that bad - 2 years old is fine. What IS bad is using a tablet while eating. You need to be mindful while eating to not overeat. Enjoy your food. Converse with the people at the table. Screen time while eating is how you get fat. It's a bad habit.

Well, then, you are an idiot. Try doing some research.

The WHO says 2 years old is fine for one hour a day of screen time. It’s a shame that you are someone’s parent or you’re just an indecent troll