I'm not a parent, but don't parents give their kids tablets all the time? The number of toddlers I've seen walking around with tablets glued to their faces makes me uncomfortable, but they're actually just ipads or android tablets. This product seems to me like just another tablet, with a slightly different build for kids.
I'd guess any parent who is already planning on giving their kid a tablet would get this but any parent who is against it will not? I'm not sure this product in isolation increases the number of tablet viewing toddlers.
If you’re not a parent, you're probably only seeing children in places which are not designed with children in mind - places where there’s no place to run and play, and kids have to be quiet. In those places you have to pacify child somehow, a lot of parents use digital entertainment. If you go to child friendly places, you would see it much less.
Our child has maybe 1 hour of tv a week, but if someone sees them only on a plane, they would guess it’s an iPad kid.
Another big part of this is the lack of support structures. As a family we need to get things done, toddlers often prevent that. When there's no grandparent who is able to be there and help watch the kids, what really is the alternative?
Books? Coloring in? drawing? Audio books? Duplo? Magnatiles?
There are any number of alternatives that don’t involve a screen.
books are fine once you hit 6-7 years old, before then they'll get bored of them after 15-20mn since they can't read comfortably
colouring in / drawing great, but same thing, 15-20mn
construction games are great but they need to be carried about, they require space and there are parts you can lose
in places that aren't adapted for children (e.g. in an airplane or train), a tablet can be a life saver. you keep them busy/playing for an hour or so, then give them their digital crack for an hour, rinse and repeat. audio books are a good compromise
> books are fine once you hit 6-7 years old, before then they'll get bored of them after 15-20mn since they can't read comfortably
Teach them to read young, buy books that are active, etc. My kids could read for a lot longer by that age, and so could I.
> in places that aren't adapted for children (e.g. in an airplane or train), a tablet can be a life saver
Talk to them, play games with them....
Honestly, when I was a kid I was dragged to a lot of places which were adult spaces with my parents and it'd be boring but I'd just have to deal with it. We shouldn't be conditioning kids that they should be kept entertained and distracted for every waking second of their day because it doesn't prepare them for the fact that sometimes in life, things will be boring.
I hugely agree with this, not so much because they need to tolerate boredom, but because I think there are huge benefits to observing things/watching the world go by, to daydreaming, and to simple activities.
> I'm not sure this product in isolation increases the number of tablet viewing toddlers.
Probably not, but it just adds another measure of normalization for something all the evidence suggests is insidiously harmful to the development of a young brain.
Yeah they do. Usually staring at Peppa Pig and crap like that. Take it away and they have a meltdown. It's awful.
Mine were never exposed to tablets and consumption based technology until they went to university when they were given an iPad and apple pencil. One science grad and one still studying at top tier universities, no cognitive issues or addiction. Their peers, not so much as since the advent of the iPad they were given an unrestricted device to stare at.