Related Posts
Best Christmas things to do with a two-year-old?
She fell in love with a consultant and...
More Posts
Where is the best street to go bar hopping?
Guys pls advise me, urgent query
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Reality check, how much of your livelihood is tied to staring into a glowing rectangle?
I was born in the mid seventies, my dad was a mainframe programmer / techie, by consequence of which I had screens around me from a very early age.
Atari 400, C64, AT, XT, 286, 386 and my coveted 486DX4100
This provided me with the opportunity to learn and grow and ascend the tech curve in a gradual way, ultimately enabling me to learn the skills that became the foundation of my current livelihood (I do disruptive tech / digital).
Though I don't think it should be a free for all screen fest 24/7 I feel that there are positive screen based experiences to be had.
I give my kid very little screen time. He is almost 5. If he plays games on a tablet or phone they are educational. I have introduced him to some classic video games though such as Mario Kart, etc..
That is a very good question. Unfortunately the studies that I have seen on it aren’t very conclusive. It used to be that screen time is bad. What I’m reading more now is that it can be beneficial in reasonable amounts and with interactive content. I have a 3 year old and a 5 year old. We usually let them use the tablets when we are in the car. This tends to protect our sanity as much as anything. But it also sets boundaries of when and how much they can use them. Let’s also be real though. My wife and I have certainly pulled them out in the house on occasion when we were just totally overwhelmed. Some content is actually very good education wise so we stick to that. We probably wouldn’t have given the 3 year old a tablet but found it hard to give to the older one and not her. She doesn’t seem to get nearly as much out of it content-wise. Anyway, the 5 year old is really into dinosaurs and he now knows more than I ever have about them. He now wants to be a paleontologist (he knows what that means and what they do) and can recite so many dinosaur names correctly that it is actually kind of astounding. Our approach may be completely wrong but it has worked for us so far. I always feel like I am one step away from permanently scaring my kids but it always seems to work out.
I’m torn. I grew up ins an abusive household and my brothers and I used them a way to connect without having to talk about it and also just escape our lives for a while. I still play now out of habit and because it hits the intersection of my interests in tech/gadgets and leisure. As a dad however I want my kids to be more into sports and music and less into games. If I felt it was holding them back socially I would gladly help them get up to speed but honestly I’d way prefer they go ride a bike or draw a picture than play video games.
With my 2 year old. We do some screen time right before bed as a ritual.. relaxing song type shows (little baby bum). Sometimes we give him a phone if we are in public and he is at the end of his rope (usually our fault.. too long between naps, or he is sick or something).
I plan on letting him play video games at home as a social interaction with friends and family, but won’t be bringing the switch or similar out in public. Disconnecting is good in my opinion.
I think when we were growing up (for those in 30s and 40s) video games were still developing and were still slightly frowned upon or stigmatized. But when our kids are our age, it’s likely that people will be interacting more virtually / through screens and gaming than in person. Now people are getting paid to play video games so others can watch, empty mall store fronts are turning into video game hangouts, etc. My heart is telling me screen time should be limited, but part of my brain is saying encourage it and make it as productive as possible because virtual interactions will only get exponentially more important
There are legitimate health studies about brain development with and without screens at certain ages, particularly before 2. However, based on this convo, that is probably not the age we are taking about.
5 year old son has an iPad which is used primarily to watch movies when traveling. Also has ABC Mouse on it which has educational type games (counting, spelling, etc.) which I am ok with. As for getting a PlayStation or XBox, not until 10
We have a 6 yr old and a 3 yr old. No video games ever. One kid movie per week, and occasional kid learning games on ipad. All other play is in person (with their friends, with us, or with each each other). Sunny days...they have to play outside.