How much time does LO spend with ipads/touch devices etc?

[musicalsilver]

And how do you all regulate LO's iPad/kindle/other touch device time?

We just gave LO his, and it's on a shelf in our office/den that he can access. For the first week, he wasn't that into it at all, but now he wakes up asking for it and is just about all he wants to do (which is a great motivator for having him get dressed, brush his teeth etc, so that's a win anyway). Once he's had some time on it, I just try to redirect to other things, as I'm hoping this is just a phase of infatuation with its newness that he'll outgrow. Or maybe not.

Thoughts?

[melohdy]

Lilly became obsessed with playing her games on the iPad. Usually she gets about 20 minutes in the morning while I'm getting ready. However, she was throwing nasty tantrums when we'd take it away. When she does that, she loses the privilege for a day or two.

She also finally understands her Leap Pad thing so we switched to that instead of the iPad. The last few days we've kept it in the car for her to play while we're driving.

[musicalsilver]

Aug 25, 2015 12:09:17 GMT -5 melohdy said:

However, she was throwing nasty tantrums when we'd take it away. When she does that, she loses the privilege for a day or two.

I like this.  LO has been getting increasingly upset about when it's time to take put it away (despite all the warning in the world that it's coming up), and I think limiting his privileges might be a good way to help nip that.

[vasc]

DD sees us on the iPad all the time, but it wasn't until our summer road trips that I ever loaded any games for her to entertain herself in the car. Since returning from traveling, she hasn't asked for it at all. So, aside from FaceTime, she doesnt choose to play with it.

[melohdy]

Aug 25, 2015 12:18:58 GMT -5 musicalsilver said:

Aug 25, 2015 12:09:17 GMT -5 melohdy said:

However, she was throwing nasty tantrums when we'd take it away. When she does that, she loses the privilege for a day or two.

I like this.  LO has been getting increasingly upset about when it's time to take put it away (despite all the warning in the world that it's coming up), and I think limiting his privileges might be a good way to help nip that.

We also do a 5 minute warning and 2 minute warning before taking it away.

[anw39]

She spends alot of time on it in the afternoon. But if she doesn't nap she doesn't get to play on it.

[kames12]

DS gets his kindle in the morning while DH is getting ready or on weekends when we want to sleep more.

We give him warnings and then when it's time for it to disappear (or turn the TV off), he's told that it's going to sleep. That seems to limit the tantrums.

[ordinaryme]

Maybe once every few weeks. I have some games set up on my iPad for her, but she doesn't use it often.

[peachey]

We try not to use it too much for the exact reason you mentioned. The melt downs about taking it away and the insistence that it is his ipad.

He generally only gets it on the weekends, for 30 -60 minutes. For instance this weekend we got it out when he woke up from his nap not feeling well thanks to teeth and we couldn't be outside as much as we'd like thanks to the smoke he had it for about 40 minutes.

The parental timer on youtube kids is the best!

[cl8badb]

It depends. Sometimes he goes days without it.
On days that he does play on the ipad id say that he gets about 15-20 minutes in the morning and probably the same once or twice again later in the day. So about 40-60 minuts a day?
Yesterday he had it as much as he wanted bc i wasnt feeling well.

When im feeling better i try my best not to give him much ipad or tv time anymore.

[sympkin]

El technically has her own. An old tablet we've loaded up with apps for her but she doesn't play with it too much unless we are travelling.

[catalinapink]

I let him watch tv, so he doesn't really get the iPad except for weekends. On the weekends we let him watch it for drives to the nearest large town, 40 minute drive and he gets to watch a 20 minute show. We have some alphabet games but usually out a show since it's easier.

[anustart1]

Aug 25, 2015 15:08:14 GMT -5 violet said:

0. Mostly because he doesn't have one and I don't know what apps to d/l. He does watch a Bubble guppies episode on it each morning though..

Same. The boys watch some shows on it from the PBS kids app in the morning but neither of them know how to work smart screens. G has just started playing a few games on it when he wont nap and he's 4. DH is super anti-technology for the boys but now I'm trying to catch G up a little!

[lioness13]

She uses my old cell phone as her phone. We keep it in a drawer she can access. She knows it goes there at night. She actually doesn't ask for it often. I suggest it as a distraction in the car on longer rides and sometimes when we go shopping/grocery store. Sometimes she doesn't want it so we definitely haven't hit the obsession stage. Maybe her apps aren't interesting enough. lol

[everydayimshuffling]

K gets my phone during diaper changes (throwback to when I was super pregnant and she was kicking the crap out of my stomach) and the iPad on a plane or if there's a long wait at the doctors office or something. Not the car though ::shuddering at the memories of puke everywhere::

We have gotten out of the habit of TV and she doesn't really ask anymore but she probably gets an episode of Thomas on Sunday mornings and we have a movie night maybe once a week. She used to be much more interested in iPads than she is now, I think the novelty wore off.

[anustart1]

It also kind of shocks me how many of you guys mention them having their own tablets. Is this a thing? This is totally not the norm in my IRL circles. I have never gotten my kids any toys besides second hand stuff though so I'm definitely the other extreme.

[everydayimshuffling]

anustart1 In our house K has "her" iPad but it's not one we bought especially for her or anything. It's an older iPad mini that we put in an otter box case and keep kid apps and a video or two loads on to. It's mostly "hers" because the last time she got a hold of my phone unattended she started my car. In the garage. With the door down. It's just a safe device that I don't have to be on top of her with. And right now it's dead and hasn't been charged in months.

[lioness13]

Aug 25, 2015 18:37:41 GMT -5 anustart1 said:

It also kind of shocks me how many of you guys mention them having their own tablets. Is this a thing? This is totally not the norm in my IRL circles. I have never gotten my kids any toys besides second hand stuff though so I'm definitely the other extreme.

KJ will most likely inherit our old devices as her own - like she has with my old iPhone - but we haven't bought her anything new specifically for her own use yet. I don't think it's out of the norm to do that though. My kid wants to use her phone when she sees me on mine. If I give her mine, I have no phone. I like that she knows that my phone isn't her toy to play with when I feel like giving it to her. It's always off limits.

[cl8badb]

Aug 25, 2015 18:37:41 GMT -5 anustart1 said:

It also kind of shocks me how many of you guys mention them having their own tablets. Is this a thing? This is totally not the norm in my IRL circles. I have never gotten my kids any toys besides second hand stuff though so I'm definitely the other extreme.

Its pretty common around here but J doesnt have his own. He uses our old ipad. I guess he uses it more than we do bc we have iphones and really dont need the ipad though.
Its "his" by default?

[melohdy]

Aug 25, 2015 18:37:41 GMT -5 anustart1 said:

It also kind of shocks me how many of you guys mention them having their own tablets. Is this a thing? This is totally not the norm in my IRL circles. I have never gotten my kids any toys besides second hand stuff though so I'm definitely the other extreme.

Lilly uses our iPad but has her own leap pad. MIL bought it for her for Xmas. She was way too young until pretty recently - she didn't understand how to make it work.

[musicalsilver]

Aug 25, 2015 18:37:41 GMT -5 anustart1 said:

It also kind of shocks me how many of you guys mention them having their own tablets. Is this a thing? This is totally not the norm in my IRL circles. I have never gotten my kids any toys besides second hand stuff though so I'm definitely the other extreme.

DH upgraded his ipad, so he had an old ipad 1 lying around collecting dust. We bought a kid case for it and are letting LO play. Obviously still trying to figure out how best to limit technology while still wanting him to be on top of technology if that makes sense. Maybe not for a 2 year old. Dunno.

[sctiger]

Not much really. She will grab my phone and press the buttons but it's locked so she can't do anything else. We let her watch 10 or 15 minutes of TV a few times a week. She usually wants to see the wheels on the bus, 5 monkeys jumping on the bed, or animal videos. We have to work to limit it because she will throw a tantrum when we turn it off. She's pretty good most times though.

[kames12]

Aug 25, 2015 18:37:41 GMT -5 anustart1 said:

It also kind of shocks me how many of you guys mention them having their own tablets. Is this a thing? This is totally not the norm in my IRL circles. I have never gotten my kids any toys besides second hand stuff though so I'm definitely the other extreme.

I got him his kindle as I was sick of sharing my phone and then having to grab it from him when my alarm went off (kids mode). I also didn't want to give him my kindle

[kames12]

I also was using my dad's computer at the age of 2 (1986).

[peachey]

E uses my iPad mini, he thinks it's his sadly because I never have it out when he is awake.

[heelibrarian]

DD will grab Ds' tablet and use the drawing app once in a while, and we've shown her some educational apps on the kindle, but it's not really a regular thing.

[cynthia2007]

A has a leap pad my parents got her for her bday that she can play with on the weekends for 30-60 minutes. Doesn't really ask for it during the week. She'll get my phone if we are out to eat on weekends and she's getting fussy or antsy. If she gets it during the week it's about 20-30 if I'm making dinner and she's not entertaining herself. She was getting it more but was getting mad when we took it away so we had to take it away for awhile

[nursemommy13]

Hmm I would probably say 30-60 minutes a day. But not every day. And not consecutively. She will start playing something and put it down and play for a while. I'll turn it off and move it and when she finds it later, she picks it back up. I usually bring it if we're going out to dinner or somewhere I know there will be a wait for something.

She has her own because I got a new one from my work and so I had my old iPad mini. I bought a good child proof case for hers and that became hers. I didn't buy one specifically for her.

[skk]

We let B use an ipad or tablet usually if we're out at a restaurant or having a long wait at the doctors office kinda thing. He doesn't ask for it much at home so it hasn't been something we worry a lot about. I think initially he wanted more time with it but the novelty wore off quickly because we didn't keep adding new games/videos.

[numbersgirl08]

N really only uses a tablet when we need her distracted if we're out and about and she's starting to get impatient. Or every now and then while I'm getting ready. I have a Kindle with kid free time on it, which is pretty awesome. It already has a bunch of kid books loaded and you can set it up so that it reads to you. I feel better when she's reading books on a tablet

TV is another story. I think she watches too much (about 1-1.5 hrs/day) but I think that's just how it's going to be while MH is a SAHD. She watches TV while he showers and gets ready and then starts watching around 5/5:30 everyday until I get home and dinner gets on the table (we eat around 6:30/6:45). I know he does it because she starts to get fussy then. Once he starts work and we have a nanny I'll request that the nanny not let her watch TV during the day, and then she will probably only watch while I get dinner on the table. And while I've been exhausted the last couple of weeks she's watched more TV on weekend days than I'd like. It's sad but we determined to not let her watch any TV this past Sun and considered it a huge success when it happened.