Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Tech

DS 1.5y seems to be really into technology (iPad, Nook, iPhone, smart watch, computers, drones and remote helicopters, anything that can be plugged in, etc.). He doesn't show much interest in any TV shows and he's not so much into apps or games. He seems more interested in plugging them in, navigating, moving icons, typing, using the remote-controlled cars/helicopters, etc.
What are your experiences with how much access you give your kids. I want him to be familiar with technology, but I only want it to be beneficial...not an electronic babysitter. We've only used them at home and never to calm him down. It's mostly to occupy and stimulate him. When do you draw the line though? I'm looking for how other parents of GT kids handle technology.
Thanks.

We tried to keep our kids away from it as much as possible. A 1.5 year old needs to interact with humans and to run around outside. There is plenty of time to become comfortable with technology later.

I wouldn't let the kids even touch the remote for the TV at that age. Ds8 started watching kid's dvds at that age (I was pregnant with ds6) but that is all. At about 4.75 I let him use reading eggs and starfall. Ds6 like most younger kids did things earlier. I would find him other toys to take apart and investigate.

We let them gorge on table computer produced by the famous company named after a kind of fruit. It soon lost its cachet and they went back to dolls, blocks, legos, paints, sticks, dirt, chalk, throwing stuff at the ceiling fan etc.

They still like it in the car on long trips, but as the old song goes, the thrill is gone.

We went the same approach. DS7 learned the most from iPad by watching videos and playing educational iPad Apps. Besides Minecraft and educational Apps/programs, we don't download/buy other video games on the iPad or for the computer.

He's pretty good controlling the screen time on his own. He'll be on an subject on the iPad for a while and then he'll walk away and go drawing on paper, doing a few questions on the Brain Games book, playing the piano for a little bit (whatever he wants to play but pretty much never the piece he's supposed to practice) or listen to music and dance :-).

So I would say, as long as you control the screen time, using technology to learn is not a bad idea.

This is basically how things have gone in our household. He's always with a parent/grandparent. It's always something done with human interaction and engagement.

With an adult in the same room, I don't really limit my daughter's exposure to tech-including educational videos and educational games. We started baby signing time videos at 12 months. Age has a tablet of her own downloaded with mommy approved games and likes to move around her apps and everything. We let her operate the dvd player with us RIGHT there. Etc.

As a parent I don't want to set time limits so long as electronics are not all consuming. Since it isn't a treat, my daughter will actually turn down time on her tablet, etc and prefer to color instead. It's just another toy to her.

I work in the tech field and believed that it is old school to think that books are the way to educate kids and that the apps on that device named after the fruit mentioned upthread were the new way to introduce reading, knowledge, music, culture, science etc etc.
And we did start doing so at around age 1. And it backfired so majorly for us (may not for other kids) that we totally cut off electronics for the past several years. Our pediatrician told us that the serious sleep issues that my son was having were related to his sensitivity to the blue light from the electronic screens and that we should seriously limit screen time for him. We decided to pull the plug on all screens.

These days, my DS uses the computer for 30 minutes twice a week for his computer programming class. We occasionally watch major sporting events on the big screen. His school requires him to use his own laptop starting next year when we will get him one. Until then, practically, no screens. And no xboxes, no smart phones, no plugged in devices.

As to how he spends time with no electronics in sight - he reads a lot, he talks a lot (loves to chat and is very social), plays 2 musical instruments daily, plays 2 sports, gets outdoors a lot on the weekend. I think that his sleep issues are more manageable now than before and that is the best thing that could have happened to me as a sleep deprived parent.

Ask yourself if you would implant a teeny mobile device in your womb while your child was a developing fetus. Don't risk it if you aren't sure it's safe.

We did not allow either child any screen time until age 2.5. They were then give the opportunity to watch TV or use a computer for about 30 minutes per day a few times a week. They are now 10 and 6 and do not watch any TV at all on an average day; they might get 2-3 hours in a week, typically none on school nights. They must earn play time on computing devices by doing some sort of "work" first, which might be homework (if they have some) or educational programs like Dreambox.

I wouldn't worry about developing familiarity with technology. Today's technology is often so intuitive a monkey could learn to use it.