I have had the same 4 DC children for over a year. When they first started they all LOVED books and it was the most chosen activity.

Now, when we free read every single child pretends their book is an ipad.

I am sure it is no coincidence that all the parents have told me within the last month that their children watch cartoons on the ipad each morning while the parents get them ready for the day.

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Meh- my ds just painted a picture of a tv during art time and last year there was a group of 3-4 year olds used to sit in the hall with the lights off and stare at the wall playing "going to the movies" 😂 and I know all these kiddos have pretty limited screen time. I am not saying iPad pretend play isn't an indicator of what happening at home but that it might be what they wish was happening. At least that's often the case with my kiddos my dd has been to Disney land once but she packs to go several times a week

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As long as they still pretend well otherwise I wouldn't worry about it. It's a sign of the times I think/imitating what they see and do, and technology is a big thing in their little lives. Eg. I have more kids pretend to text now. Just a few years ago, it was still pretending to talk on the phone.

I had a little dude who left for k this year and that is ALL he would do. He was a serious screen addict. When he was hurt he would cry for his tablet. "I... www...ww...wwaaannnnnttt.....mmm.mm...mmmyyy....KINDLEEEE!"

He was plugged in 24/7 at home, and OFTEN on multiple screens at once eg. playing a game on his kindle and watching tv at the same time. He slept with the tv on, had a tv in his car, etc. He also watched/played horribly inappropriate things. I could never change that family, no matter how much information I gave them and no matter how hard I tried.

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I am an electronics/screen-free program.

The only screen I have here (besides my laptop or MY i-pad) is a 19" video monitor that shows my surveillance camera views.

I have had kids in the past be such severe screen addicts that they will try to park themselves in the middle of my kitchen so they can "watch the show".

The "show" is whatever my yard happens to have going on.....

But they don't care...some have sat for a pretty good chunk of time thinking they are watching something.

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That's hilarious!

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I went to a friends house recently for a play date and the first thing she did was turn on a movie! I was confused because I wanted my kids to play. They come to our house all the time and that is what they do for 2-3 hours! PLAY! I also have a 2 year old and his mom lets him watch YouTube videos

I really don't know what to make of it! I severely limit my kids screen time and am a bit shocked to learn how much they use the ipad at school. My children are very imaginative though and they do learn concepts from tv to include in their play which I think is just fine. TV and ipad as a babysitter doesn't sit well with me but many parents do it and I have done it occasionally as well like when we moved and I had to pack boxes

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My son was playing Nintendo last night after the daycare was closed for the day. Then he took out his paints and canvas because he wanted to paint a picture of Mario.

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Hey now! I play YouTube videos here at my daycare. There are so many good learning songs. And they are free!!! Maybe a total of 15 minutes a day, with some days more, and the past 2 days, none. That's it though. No tv.

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This is great!

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We use YouTube for yoga--the cosmic kids yoga videos...I am not proficient enough (yet) in yoga to come up with a 20-30 minute workout for them, and they LOVE to do it.

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My DS is in kindergarten and my DD in 2nd. Their math homework and reading program are online every night. They said once they hit 4th grade all books and homework will be online and they will need a tablet for school each day.
As long as parents limit screen time so that children can get up and physically play, I think it's all right. I do wish parents would monitor what their children watch on their tablets.....but that's another story.

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All this talk kinda makes me wonder if it was the same way when 'books' were able to be mass produced. I can just hear moms saying "If I could just get their nose out of those books, they could get outside for some fresh air."

I read that when t.v. first came out parents would say that it was a good way to get the family together. Instead of being off doing their own things they could all gather round the tube and enjoy a show together. As I recall, it had something to do with t.v. dinners being popular. Maybe it was just a t.v. dinner advertisement. Gather round the t.v. with the whole family with one of our tasty t.v. dinners.

It seems like a lot of people read their books on Kindle devices. I was talking to another adult about reading books and she told me there is a website called bookbub and they have free book offers everyday. She asked me 'how' I read books. I was confused. Then I realized she was asking me what kind of screen I used to read books. I said "I don't have one. I just go to the library and pick them up." She looked confused. She is my age too. I guess I am just behind the times.

That said, I had one daycare family where the kids watched t.v. constantly and had every screen available...even in the car BUT the parents also did lots of other things with them. Just too much t.v., imo. They turned out to be very smart....even skipping grades, etc. So who knows?

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My granddaughter in fourth grade has a laptop to bring home. They all got one.

They pass them out like books.

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Every kid in every grade in our local schools from Kindy to High School are each issued i-pads for the year.

The technology available for kids now days is crazy but I am assuming in some way necessary.

I just wish that along WITH all of that went some "old school" things; you know like how to balance a check book, bake something, health and physical education, apply for job.... ect..

Those things seem to be a lost part of the educational process.

I know kids have parents to teach them those kinds of things but given the experiences most of us "older" folks have seen, the parents of these kids don't even know how to do those things.

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haha! I am not judging honestly! I just literally thought it was funny that a 2 year old was watching YouTube.

I really try not to judge in this area because I know lots of really smart, fun and imaginative kids that watch lots of tv and those that don't. I think it really depends on the kid. I watched a LOT of tv when I was a kid, but a lot back then was maybe 3 hours on the weekend. Today there are kids stations with 24/7 kids shows. I had to wait for saturday morning cartoons

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A good bit of my son's (12) homework either needs online research to complete or at the least makes it a ton easier. Both my kids (12 & 10) have ipads but we're pretty vigilant about how much/ what they watch. I saw a facebook thing where they showing a pic of people on a subway car buried in cellphones. Next to it was a pic from the 50s in the same type car- with everyone's face buried in a newspaper I'm pretty agnostic about tech- can be good or bad depending on how/who uses it.

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I'm gonna copy you! Thx!

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It was a member here who recommended them to me!

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That's is too sweet.

I think that technology has a time and place with children. BUT, it make me so sad to see the children go from loving and thoroughly enjoying books to paying them no attention at all.

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I think this is a parent thing. You really have to make reading a habit in your home. "Litter your house with literacy" is what my mom always says. She's a reading specialist.

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My DD is a Junior in HS this year. Many teachers are not accepting anything not turned in on Google Docs. My main issue about that is our area is VERY low income. That is part of the reason I am having issues finding kids (being legally unlicensed I can't take vouchers). Most of our kids here don't have computers at home, of those who do even less have internet. Many people here who are not poor can't get internet, because of being so far out in the country. The teachers tell them to go to the town library, but if their parents are not home to drive them back and forth and they don't live in town, I don't know how teachers expect them to do that. Luckily DD is not in that situation, because if we were I don't know what we would do.

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I owe about $90 in library late fees...all due to checking out books for my lesson plans and one of them going "missing" for a few weeks. I refuse to check out any more books on my personal card, so if we need a book for a lesson...I Youtube it. That's about the only screen time my kids get.

But if I bring my laptop to work on...they will crowd around for a pretty incredible about of time and come back no matter how many times I shoo them away.

Their favorite "shows" are Microsoft Word 2010 and Gmail...but they binge-watch "Flashing Colors Screensaver".

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Hey, that one has sucked me in on occasion a time or two...

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I'd be irritated too! When my kids were that age my hope for a play date was that they would play hard with their friend and nap well Sitting and watching videos would not give me my desired results!

I think we can all say we occasionally allow some type of electronic media. I've also used YouTube for the stories. I occasionally use a video to supplement a lesson or theme, etc. I am also a "screen free" program. On a daily basis there is no tv, tablets, or computers used. I don't think that's the issue.
But we have all seen parents and kids out and about with parents glued to their phones and kids glued to tablets. Younger DD just joined the Girl Scouts and I was somewhat annoyed to see the co-leader glued to her phone practically the whole meeting while the main leader did all the work. I've been at soccer games recently where the coach is on their phone most of the time. *That's* what's happening. That *IS* the reality of the situation.

All that said, I wouldn't necessarily think anything of the kids pretending the book is a tablet as many people do read on their tablets. And just as kids have pretended to cook like mom and dad, talk on the phone like mom and dad, now they are pretending to "read" just like mom and dad. At least they are playing and imagining. I'd be more concerned with the kid who sat there whining to watch "bideos" all day

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Maybe other grades get them, I don't know. She didn't have one at the same school last year though.

I thought it kind of odd at the beginning of the year that the school supply list asked for copy machine paper. So I started watching what they sent home. I told my granddaughter that back in my day (mainly the 60's) that the teacher would write the math problems on the blackboard. We'd have to copy them. No copy paper needed!

I don't remember any training in my day for everyday things until one got to high school. In high school there was cooking, sewing, typing and Business English (where they taught us how to write out checks, etc.). We also had Driver's Ed. I don't even think they have that anymore. I think it would a good thing to have high schoolers take a course that included life skills and make it mandatory. Maybe some do. I'd be interested to know if anyone knows.

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This kills me also. Our schools are always asking for more money. But when you look at the amount of paper and ink they are using on photo copies it kills me. When I was in school, we copied off the blackboard, copied questions out of our books and wrote the answers, copied down our math problems and worked them out. Now so much of that is printed or copied and sent home. Every darn time I see photo copies come home for DD and for my daycare kiddos, I cringe at the waste of money. It isn't as if they no longer have hands to write.

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