[Pooks*potters]

I'm not worried.

Parents were worried about TVs and PCs in my day and I turned out fine

[xela1974]

Maybe it is...I guess we'll see what the next 20 years shows. We might be a bit odd, I don't know, but we're rather geeky folk (both have been IT professionals, both previously involved in online gaming) and have taken a much slower approach to technology with our daughter.

The only things she's ever done on any gadgets of ours are to talk on the phone/skype with family, help flip through photos (usually of her) and a bit of Toddler Lock app during our 14hr flight. She has a few "toy gadgets" like a phone and a colors-numbers laptop. We're giving her a see-and-spell kind of thing for Christmas. That's it, and to me it seems like enough. I am not going to be getting her any additional gadgets anytime soon, nor allowing her increased access to ours. I think mimicking is a great way to learn and she can do that just fine on a toy. I don't see the need for her to have more before she can even say her full name. I'm really fearful of the day that she starts demands of "iphone, iphone, iphone!" instead of the current "Want book! More book!"

YES YES YES!!!! Similar here, though we are and never really have been gamers!

@ the article: Your kids couldn't handle an 8 hr trip??? ARE YOU SERIOUS??? What happened to paper and pencils????? or A BOOK???
Seriously, last summer when my kids were 6 and 1/2 and not yet 3 we travelled over 500 km's (which all in all was probably more than 8hrs of car time) to our holiday destination (and back) in a VW Golf!!! Not once did my kids have an issue or a tantrum or a problem. And there was not an iPad in sight - in fact, no tech gadgets (except for a kid photo camera for them to take kid's view pictures) in sight full stop! Not even a portable DVD! My kids got books, a travel table with textas, crayons, colouring books and writing pads, and some stickers to keep themselves busy - they get similar when we go out to dinner (and we constantly get complimented by the restaurant staff of how well behaved our kids are).
It also helps to break up the long journeys with frequent enough stops (coffee, toilet, lunch, etc) and also stop overs (good to get a nights rest to break up a long journey).

Work around the kids' capabilities, don't numb and dumb them with useless tech devices. Count trucks, cars, sheep/horses en route. sing songs. Play I-spy. Get them to notice the scenery being passed - let the admire nature and the country side. And yes, allow them to GET BORED!!! That way they will truely appreciate the destination when they get there! And it will also teach them that it is OK to be bored. Boredom and be a great tool... And a great inspiration for CREATIVE THOUGHT!!!

Sheesh!!!

[missgeorgina]

YES YES YES!!!! Similar here, though we are and never really have been gamers!

@ the article: Your kids couldn't handle an 8 hr trip??? ARE YOU SERIOUS??? What happened to paper and pencils????? or A BOOK???
Seriously, last summer when my kids were 6 and 1/2 and not yet 3 we travelled over 500 km's (which all in all was probably more than 8hrs of car time) to our holiday destination (and back) in a VW Golf!!! Not once did my kids have an issue or a tantrum or a problem. And there was not an iPad in sight - in fact, no tech gadgets (except for a kid photo camera for them to take kid's view pictures) in sight full stop! Not even a portable DVD! My kids got books, a travel table with textas, crayons, colouring books and writing pads, and some stickers to keep themselves busy - they get similar when we go out to dinner (and we constantly get complimented by the restaurant staff of how well behaved our kids are).
It also helps to break up the long journeys with frequent enough stops (coffee, toilet, lunch, etc) and also stop overs (good to get a nights rest to break up a long journey).

Work around the kids' capabilities, don't numb and dumb them with useless tech devices. Count trucks, cars, sheep/horses en route. sing songs. Play I-spy. Get them to notice the scenery being passed - let the admire nature and the country side. And yes, allow them to GET BORED!!! That way they will truely appreciate the destination when they get there! And it will also teach them that it is OK to be bored. Boredom and be a great tool... And a great inspiration for CREATIVE THOUGHT!!!

Sheesh!!!

Amen to the above. We usually take books, pencils, kids music and play I spy on long car trips. We also try and stop regularly. No ipads or dvd players to be seen..

[Elskye]

xela1974 I couldn't agree more!!!

[HeroOfCanton]

YES YES YES!!!! Similar here, though we are and never really have been gamers!

@ the article: Your kids couldn't handle an 8 hr trip??? ARE YOU SERIOUS??? What happened to paper and pencils????? or A BOOK???
Seriously, last summer when my kids were 6 and 1/2 and not yet 3 we travelled over 500 km's (which all in all was probably more than 8hrs of car time) to our holiday destination (and back) in a VW Golf!!! Not once did my kids have an issue or a tantrum or a problem. And there was not an iPad in sight - in fact, no tech gadgets (except for a kid photo camera for them to take kid's view pictures) in sight full stop! Not even a portable DVD! My kids got books, a travel table with textas, crayons, colouring books and writing pads, and some stickers to keep themselves busy - they get similar when we go out to dinner (and we constantly get complimented by the restaurant staff of how well behaved our kids are).
It also helps to break up the long journeys with frequent enough stops (coffee, toilet, lunch, etc) and also stop overs (good to get a nights rest to break up a long journey).

Work around the kids' capabilities, don't numb and dumb them with useless tech devices. Count trucks, cars, sheep/horses en route. sing songs. Play I-spy. Get them to notice the scenery being passed - let the admire nature and the country side. And yes, allow them to GET BORED!!! That way they will truely appreciate the destination when they get there! And it will also teach them that it is OK to be bored. Boredom and be a great tool... And a great inspiration for CREATIVE THOUGHT!!!

Sheesh!!!

Even I get bored in the car, I'd go mental without something to do. Reading, drawing or writing makes me motion sick, and did as a child, same with my brothers.
Good on you for having such perfect kids that don't whine in the car, but for some people, the complaining & tantrums can get dangerous.

[tmandie]

there is certainly a place for it. All in moderation. Chocolate is ok! SOmetimes good for you! Maybe not if you ate it all the time.....

[katniss]

Wow, something must be wrong with my children. 8 hours in a car with them would be hell! They are 5 and 3. They can't sit still for even 5 mins. They want to be on the move constantly. Paper, pencils and books wouldn't keep them entertained for 8 hours straight yet they both do love reading and drawing. I wouldn't let them use the iPad or watch a dvd for 8 hours straight but I would definitely be using it in conjunction with other things like drawing, reading, talking to eachother and singing.

*shrugs* I'm a big one on everything in moderation. Plus I love gadgets and technology myself so I'm not going to be able to keep my boys away from it. As with anything, too much is not good. But if you set up parameters initially then I can't see it being a problem.

[robhat]

The point is this, during the early years, kids learn things that they often can't learn later in life. Language learning for example. Most of the important and basic wiring of our brains is done in the first few years and it's important that kids are active and playing with real 3D toys and interacting with real people etc. For example, the ability to do a puzzle on an ipad isn't actually the same skill as doing a real puzzle and I have seen kids who can expertly do one on an iphone, but can't do a basic real life one.

There isn't so much wrong with TV and iphones etc, it's more that too much time spent on them reduces time spent learning other things, especially when they are used as a substitute for real life experiences. No, your ipad actually can't teach your kid to read as well as you can...

It's true there is now a lot of technology and that our kids will need to use it and understand it, but unlike other skills, technology skills don't need to be learnt in the early years. None of us had iphones as kids and we have very little trouble using them now. In fact they are designed to be easy to use and future models are only going to get easier to use. You do not need to train or expose small children to technology so young. They will pick it up just fine later. My daughter never touched a computer until she was 4. She hasn't yet turned 5 and she can use the class ipad at preschool just as well as the rest of the class and can use our computer at home just fine too. No need to start them at 1 or 2 years old! It's a great babysitter if you need one and I use TV and DVDs like everyone else for this purpose. Just don't go kidding yourselves that your kids NEED to learn to use technology so young!

And yes, an added advantage is that my daughter can also entertain herself for quite a while without an iphone (I don't have one!) although 8 hours in a car would require a lot of effort on my part and I probably would resort to an ipad or DVD player, in fact we're considering getting one for the 16 hour flight to South Africa in December...