IPads for Kids

[Natsku]

I wouldn't get Maria an iPad in any case as I hate Apple products but I'd rather not get her a tablet until she's a teenager and buys it herself. I know lots of people really like them and they do have great learning apps but its just not something I'd want for Maria, I don't want her to be too into technology until she's older.
I wouldn't mind her using someone else's one occasionally as a treat though.

 

[Wobbles]

My best mates hubby banned apple products from their house 2 years later she eventually got an iphone!

I can totally get why people wouldn't want them as young as others (us included) have decided to introduce them. I think for us (especially OH) he is a gadget freak and I guess it will rub off on the kids. Actually tbf the kids wanted one when my friends kids came with their ipods for a sleepover.

 

[Tiff]

Oh god, can I chime in on the banned Apple products from the household chat? Hubby HATES Apple with a passion, I think he'd divorce me if I ever bought an iPad. So Claire has an Android Tablet.

Its honestly been invaluable with teaching her stuff. It was recommended for her as a part of her therapy as it reduces the amounts of binders we need to have (old fashioned way of doing it ) to give her visual schedules, choice boards and First/Then boards.

I can't say that we would have gotten one for her had it not been recommended... but primarily that would have been finances dictating. Also, there's something a bit off to me that my kiddo would have a tablet before I do.

 

[OmarsMum]

Those are screen shots from my iPad

Spoiler

https://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad212/wickedangel_78/bdf2fc4819fd2b4e97ddf044a75573db.jpg

https://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad212/wickedangel_78/e801b5539cdee38e28c84753e47724ac.jpg

https://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad212/wickedangel_78/0cb268d34676233e2b7a1ef4d468137a.jpg

https://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad212/wickedangel_78/76a955a29c7234c317de2ef66442817e.jpg

https://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad212/wickedangel_78/78c9927a9fd37eadab5d47093bbe9c39.jpg

https://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad212/wickedangel_78/a370126f7c6431c44002bd34b3645acb.jpg

To answer the OP question, it has loads of educational apps, Omar has been using mine since he was 18 months, he learned a lot using it. He's not obsessed,he doesn't ask to use it everyday, so I don't really worry when he asks to play a game or two every few days.

When I bought it, I bought it for him as he used to use my iPhone. But I use it much more than him. He has a leap pad but he's not interested, & the games are ridiculously over priced compared to the apps on the iPad. We have all sorts of gadgets (tag, leap pad, portable DVD, etc.) but all those didn't affect my son negatively.

He plays with normal toys like wooden letters, food toys, kitchen, etc & he runs around & jumps on his trampoline during the day, he has a very wide imagination & he spends all day pretend playing. He prefers to write on papers & doing arts & crafts rather than playing with the iPad.

 

[Dragonfly]

At the moment I can afford one of these....

 

[tasha41]

Same here DF lol! I did buy OH an Android tablet from Groupon for Christmas (mainly so I can have my PURPLE laptop back! lol) because it was $130. What apps are out there for kids on the Android ones?

 

[Ozzieshunni]

The thread was not locked at the time I brought the topic here, as suggested by a member on the thread Thread was locked at 15:01, I started this thread at 14:39.

Anyways, I agree with the PP that said children don't need one themselves. It's a rather expensive thing to buy a child. I'm more comfortable with an MP3 player (Apple brand or otherwise) when Alex is maybe 10.

 

[Natsku]

I hate touchscreen computers and phones in general. I think my fingers are too fat or something cos I can never use them properly Maybe thats why I won't get Maria one - cos she'd make me look bad when she could use it better than me...

I think it just worries me that its more screen time and I already know that screen time is bad for Maria cos on the days that she watches more than one or two episodes of the Moomins then she is so grumpy the rest of the day. And tablets are so new that we don't know the long term effects yet of them on young children. I'm sure strictly limited use can't really have much of a negative effect but I just feel safer not letting Maria have one at all.

 

[indy and lara]

Are you planning on staying in Scotland Ozzie? We are very much going the Ipad way here and children will be using them a lot in school. There are a few schools who are piloting 1:1 ipad/ tablet (school choice) schemes and I do think they will be rolled out nationally sooner rather than later.

 

[AP]

I think it's difficult to appreciate the benefits of these things unless you see it with your own eyes. Alex really has learnt a lot from the iPad/iPhones, they have the tendency to encourage the child to interact physically by touching the screen and anticipating things.
. All in moderation of course.

Apple knows that, which is why the new operating systems take this into account. Many charities like Hearts & Minds give them away, and Family Fund can help towards the cost of them if they deem it fit. These are for children with special needs.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Are you planning on staying in Scotland Ozzie? We are very much going the Ipad way here and children will be using them a lot in school. There are a few schools who are piloting 1:1 ipad/ tablet (school choice) schemes and I do think they will be rolled out nationally sooner rather than later.

No, we are planning to move back to California in 5 years. I don't have an issue with them being used in an educational setting. I do worry about children losing the value of handwriting, spelling, and reading due to technology, which is why I'm not overly keen on IPads being used daily.

 

[tasha41]

I hate touchscreen computers and phones in general. I think my fingers are too fat or something cos I can never use them properly Maybe thats why I won't get Maria one - cos she'd make me look bad when she could use it better than me...

I think it just worries me that its more screen time and I already know that screen time is bad for Maria cos on the days that she watches more than one or two episodes of the Moomins then she is so grumpy the rest of the day. And tablets are so new that we don't know the long term effects yet of them on young children. I'm sure strictly limited use can't really have much of a negative effect but I just feel safer not letting Maria have one at all.

Not trying to be argumentative but curious as to what you feel the long-term effects could be? Just so I can consider them myself.

I'm sure prolonged use of ANYTHING is a bad idea (like having your eyes too close to a TV screen, that's what comes to mind for me straight away) but I think most people (especially those on parenting forums, who, IMHO are generally better informed than parents who aren't, we just seem to be exposed to more information, more ideas, different ways of doing things?) aren't allowing their kids free reign- more supervised and somewhat limited play. Like my daughter is allowed to use my iPhone but unless she's wandered off with it, she is usually at the table while I prep dinner or using it in her car seat. I sit beside her or with her on my lap and do ABC mouse on the computer, usually 20 mins in the evening.

 

[RedRose]

We have a Samsung tablet (also has husband who hates apple products ) which Lily uses for her apps, I think it's great. I don't think I would buy her one for herself just yet though. Not sure why exactly, it just seems a bit extravagant to me, although I do think it is a great tool to have in your toddler kit.

They use iPads at the preschool she will be going to when she's 3, which makes me feel much happier that she is able to use one at home.

 

[tasha41]

Are you planning on staying in Scotland Ozzie? We are very much going the Ipad way here and children will be using them a lot in school. There are a few schools who are piloting 1:1 ipad/ tablet (school choice) schemes and I do think they will be rolled out nationally sooner rather than later.

No, we are planning to move back to California in 5 years. I don't have an issue with them being used in an educational setting. I do worry about children losing the value of handwriting, spelling, and reading due to technology, which is why I'm not overly keen on IPads being used daily.

I agree learning to print/write legibly is extremely important and at real risk now that all projects etc are to be printed off or submitted electronically. I was in a school on Saturday morning and was genuinely alarmed to see posters children had made for projects lacking all sorts of capitalizations, horrible spelling (ie: sooper vs super).. it wasn't limited to one child which was the red flag for me.

At school our "rough" was to be submitted on paper, handwritten. Then we had to self-edit, peer edit, and the teacher would edit our printed out copies with red pen, even if they were going up on walls. I think that if I see what I saw on Saturday reflected in Elyse's school work, I'll have to do work with her outside of the regular school day. And have words with the teacher!

However I've generally seen accurate spelling, correct use of grammar/punctuation, proper capitalization on paid kids' apps and children's computer software (educational, which most tends to be for the younger ones).
Instilling the joy of reading is a major priority for me; we currently average 2-3 books each night before bed. Elyse loves it and it's good electronic-free bonding time for us as well. But ultimately it's up to the individual parent I guess to decide what's important for their kids/to their family and to make it happen.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I'm curious about the free apps. Seems to me those are the ones most people will go for because they are, well, free.

 

[Dragonfly]

I do agree it should only be in moderation, I have also noticed the lack of handwriting, spelling and reading skills now with focus on electronic devices. I prefer books and paper. Not against electronic learning, its a good tool also but easy to get your head stuck in to. I would hope in schools they wouldnt always use them. Maybe I am just old fashioned. I used to have nice handwriting in school to. Loved to practise it.

 

[tasha41]

Free apps have been hit/miss. IMO the 99 cent ones are far greater quality and still very budget friendly. But you can often find "Lite" versions of paid apps to test out.

 

[Natsku]

I hate touchscreen computers and phones in general. I think my fingers are too fat or something cos I can never use them properly Maybe thats why I won't get Maria one - cos she'd make me look bad when she could use it better than me...

I think it just worries me that its more screen time and I already know that screen time is bad for Maria cos on the days that she watches more than one or two episodes of the Moomins then she is so grumpy the rest of the day. And tablets are so new that we don't know the long term effects yet of them on young children. I'm sure strictly limited use can't really have much of a negative effect but I just feel safer not letting Maria have one at all.

Not trying to be argumentative but curious as to what you feel the long-term effects could be? Just so I can consider them myself.

I'm sure prolonged use of ANYTHING is a bad idea (like having your eyes too close to a TV screen, that's what comes to mind for me straight away) but I think most people (especially those on parenting forums, who, IMHO are generally better informed than parents who aren't, we just seem to be exposed to more information, more ideas, different ways of doing things?) aren't allowing their kids free reign- more supervised and somewhat limited play. Like my daughter is allowed to use my iPhone but unless she's wandered off with it, she is usually at the table while I prep dinner or using it in her car seat. I sit beside her or with her on my lap and do ABC mouse on the computer, usually 20 mins in the evening.

I honestly don't know really, its just a bad feeling I have about them. I have read things about them having a dopamine-releasing effect which is something to do with addiction if I remember right, and also something about it affecting muscle memory (I think thats the term) - that young children aren't learning the muscle memories needed for certain things but instead learning muscle memories for using tablets. I'm pretty sure these things can be avoided by limiting use and ensuring that other activities happen too (for the muscle memory thing) but for Maria at least, I think that if she is like me then she will be easily addicted to things, so in that case I don't want the risk of addiction with the dopamine release so in that case it does depend on the child.

 

[indy and lara]

Are you planning on staying in Scotland Ozzie? We are very much going the Ipad way here and children will be using them a lot in school. There are a few schools who are piloting 1:1 ipad/ tablet (school choice) schemes and I do think they will be rolled out nationally sooner rather than later.

No, we are planning to move back to California in 5 years. I don't have an issue with them being used in an educational setting. I do worry about children losing the value of handwriting, spelling, and reading due to technology, which is why I'm not overly keen on IPads being used daily.

I agree learning to print/write legibly is extremely important and at real risk now that all projects etc are to be printed off or submitted electronically. I was in a school on Saturday morning and was genuinely alarmed to see posters children had made for projects lacking all sorts of capitalizations, horrible spelling (ie: sooper vs super).. it wasn't limited to one child which was the red flag for me.

At school our "rough" was to be submitted on paper, handwritten. Then we had to self-edit, peer edit, and the teacher would edit our printed out copies with red pen, even if they were going up on walls. I think that if I see what I saw on Saturday reflected in Elyse's school work, I'll have to do work with her outside of the regular school day. And have words with the teacher!

However I've generally seen accurate spelling, correct use of grammar/punctuation, proper capitalization on paid kids' apps and children's computer software (educational, which most tends to be for the younger ones).
Instilling the joy of reading is a major priority for me; we currently average 2-3 books each night before bed. Elyse loves it and it's good electronic-free bonding time for us as well. But ultimately it's up to the individual parent I guess to decide what's important for their kids/to their family and to make it happen.

I teach P4. We have daily handwriting and spelling lessons on top of language/ literacy. I would do 1st drafts handwritten but often have kids type up redrafts. We read twice weekly in reading groups as well as literacy circles which promote higher order reading skills. There is always a part of the day where we read a novel for pleasure. However, I use apps from the Oxford Reading Tree and others too. Using technology to support learners is another way to ensure you are addressing the learning styles of all children. I'm all for it when it is used properly as another tool in your 'pencil case' so to speak!

 

[tasha41]

Makes sense, Nat! I think I know a fair few adults glued to their devices- makes sense it could apply to kids.