6 year olds and iPads...

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Replies

  • Arleigh7
    Arleigh7 Posts: 150 Member
    I was at a friends afternoon party yesterday and saw a 3 year old with an iPad. They had a large rubber case around it. He was playing chess, drawing with it and learning the alphabet. It was amazing all the applications for small kids that was on there.

    I was really impressed at what a learning tool this could be. It's so versatile and besides learning the applications this 3 year old was also becoming very comfortable with the latest interface with computers.

    If you can afford it I think it's awesome!
  • Considering I grew up with books and stuffed animals, no. I had way more fun with that than I do with my iPhone now.
  • KrazyAsianNic
    KrazyAsianNic Posts: 1,227 Member
    The days are slowly evolving. I personally would not get a 6 year old an iPad, but I can understand the times are changing. My little sister is 12 (11 years younger than me). She has had her own cell phone since she was 3 (me: graduation gift 8th grade), ipad for her 5th grade "graduation", and currently holds a 3-D cell phone. It's okay these days, but if I had kids, I personally would raise them without relying on these things.
  • bdotshaw
    bdotshaw Posts: 90 Member
    Just no.
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
    After seeing what adults being attached to cell phones and tablets has done to how they speak and write, I can't get behind children with ipads or phones.

    My husband has more of these tools than most and his speech and writing skills are impeccable. How people use speech and writing isn't a reflection of the tool, but rather their laziness.

    You shouldn't allow lazy people influence when to educate your children in technology. It's not a choice on if, just when, and it's easier to learn when they're young.
  • Muddy_Yogi
    Muddy_Yogi Posts: 1,459 Member
    I honestly don't believe kids that age need such expensive "toys" .... my son is 9 and asked for an Ipad....the response was absolutely not. I like the spoiled comment.

    I would also like to thank the parents that get their kids these things because that makes my son think that he should have one too and then I get the awesome chance to be that bad mom that won't get the cool stuff for their kid.
  • AngryDiet
    AngryDiet Posts: 1,349 Member
    How did we ever survive as children without iPads, DS, PS etc?.... Man. Must've been a third world country then.

    How many generations grew up without the benefit of electricity?
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    My two year old can handle an ipad with someone watching and helping him along.

    I want to get him some sort of tablet for his third birthday. Be it Apple, Android, Vtech or Leapfrog.
  • lour441
    lour441 Posts: 543 Member
    My 11, 9, 7, and 2 year old's have access to an android tablet and 3 ipod touches. The technology is actively used at all levels of education now. I really do not see what the issue is other then my 11 year old accidentally broke one of the ipod touch screens. My older children read normal books. They go out and play all the time. Technology is available to them when they need it or want to use it.
  • BondBomb
    BondBomb Posts: 1,781 Member
    My 2 year old has one.
    Its my money. I can afford it. He also has an awesome Fisher Price cover for it.
  • AngryDiet
    AngryDiet Posts: 1,349 Member
    I honestly don't believe kids that age need such expensive "toys" .... my son is 9 and asked for an Ipad....the response was absolutely not. I like the spoiled comment.

    I would also like to thank the parents that get their kids these things because that makes my son think that he should have one too and then I get the awesome chance to be that bad mom that won't get the cool stuff for their kid.

    Haha, sorry if my kids having access to an iPad makes you look bad.

    I feel just awful...
  • BamsieEkhaya
    BamsieEkhaya Posts: 657 Member
    hmmm well...I was the 6year old with a mobile phone :blushing: (in my defense my gramps used to walk me to school and being as old as he was I had the phone for emergencies, only numbers where parents and aunts work and mobiles and house phone...) it had snakes black&&White :bigsmile:

    6year old with an IPAD...I'd say if you can afford it why not ? Personally I'd set some ground rules...ie after homework/for homework or research its can be an amazing tool, saying that I'd *kitten* myself if my little cousins were running around the house with MY Ipad, not a probs when we're working on it together etc
  • BondBomb
    BondBomb Posts: 1,781 Member
    I honestly don't believe kids that age need such expensive "toys" .... my son is 9 and asked for an Ipad....the response was absolutely not. I like the spoiled comment.

    I would also like to thank the parents that get their kids these things because that makes my son think that he should have one too and then I get the awesome chance to be that bad mom that won't get the cool stuff for their kid.

    Haha, sorry if my kids having access to an iPad makes you look bad.

    I feel just awful...
    Agreed. Wait till my kid turns 16 and I buy him a car. You are really going to look like crap then.
  • BronnersHarris
    BronnersHarris Posts: 247 Member
    The leapfrog versions would struggle to hold my 6 year old's attention for long. I upgraded my phone to the samsung s3 just so my kids could play it at various places where I need entertainment (younger having to sit through 3 hours a week of older's afterschool activities etc). I am aiming to get one of the andriod tablets (would get an ipad if I could afford it) for my two (4 and 6) for Christmas. They also have a DS, wii and a playstation and ipad at their dad's.

    They still read books, play with toys and all the things I did as a child. I don't have an issue with the way the world is moving but I don't let them use anything internet based outside of my sight. I block the internet completely when the 4 year old uses it.
  • AngryDiet
    AngryDiet Posts: 1,349 Member
    I honestly don't believe kids that age need such expensive "toys" .... my son is 9 and asked for an Ipad....the response was absolutely not. I like the spoiled comment.

    I would also like to thank the parents that get their kids these things because that makes my son think that he should have one too and then I get the awesome chance to be that bad mom that won't get the cool stuff for their kid.

    Haha, sorry if my kids having access to an iPad makes you look bad.

    I feel just awful...
    Agreed. Wait till my kid turns 16 and I buy him a car. You are really going to look like crap then.

    LOL
  • AngryDiet
    AngryDiet Posts: 1,349 Member
    I'll tell you where I'm a bad parent. Freaking Netflix. It has a whole interface for kids. And they love it.

    Much screaming when I make them turn it off.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    How did we ever survive as children without iPads, DS, PS etc?.... Man. Must've been a third world country then.

    No. It's just evolution. Technology has changed, people are doing more things than ever through technology. Those things didn't exist when you were a kid.
  • BondBomb
    BondBomb Posts: 1,781 Member
    I'll tell you where I'm a bad parent. Freaking Netflix. It has a whole interface for kids. And they love it.

    Much screaming when I make them turn it off.
    Netflix is the best. My son shocked me one day during dinner but saying 'yum yum yum delicioso'. Apparently he also watched something that taught him to count to 20 in French.
  • umachanxo
    umachanxo Posts: 926 Member
    I had a black and white gameboy when I was... wait, no, I was older than 6.
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
    How did we ever survive as children without iPads, DS, PS etc?.... Man. Must've been a third world country then.

    National Lampoon's summer vacation. They wouldn't have gotten lost, end up with a shoddy hotel room and would have known the park was closed.

    The movie grand Canyon, they wouldn't have gotten lost in the ghetto.

    The movie set in Los Angeles, ghetto hs math class? It would have been easier for them to pass math.

    I got severely lost in Napa a few years back, I ended up on the cell phone most of that trip to find my way. The Day After i got my 1st cell phone my car broke down. I was in a car accident and was able to call my husband, instead of the police dispatch.

    My mom had gotten us lost multiple times. Once she got us lost in Watts.

    When I was diagnosed with Epilepsy she was frantic because she didn't have the knowledge available for this. The only info she was given was. "it's either a brain tumor or seizures" there was no forum to chat with other parents about treatment options.

    Look at how many kids got sick er because their parents gave their kid aspirin when they had chicken pox. Current medical breakthroughs have occurred because doctors in various countries can communicate faster.
    If there were affordable cell phones in the early 90s i would have known if my brother survived the world series earthquake. Instead it took 3 DAYS. Many people would have survived if the technology existed "back in the day"

    I will end this with;
    Sex Offender List.
  • MissAnjy
    MissAnjy Posts: 2,480 Member
    I'd say....get the child a leap pad. It's more educational.
  • crazyellybean
    crazyellybean Posts: 999 Member
    I would go the cheaper route and get an Android tablet if I wanted to make such a purchase.


    My Mom just went out and bought my niece and nephew (ages 6 & &) Android tablets ($60.00), they use them all the time and they let their other brothers use them as well (ages 4 and 4)... I agree there are MANY useful apps on there for children.

    However, getting a child any toy, or other noted item that cost an excessive amount of money is a bit ridiculous if you asked me. They are bound to leave it lay out where it should not be, or toss it down, or drop it and break the screen. A big waste of money and I learned this the hard way when I let my niece play with my Ipod and she accidently dropped it and broke the screen ($100 to fix it).

    Ofcourse, it is their money, and their child... so who are we to say what they should or should not spend their hard earn money on?
  • BamsieEkhaya
    BamsieEkhaya Posts: 657 Member
    I honestly don't believe kids that age need such expensive "toys" .... my son is 9 and asked for an Ipad....the response was absolutely not. I like the spoiled comment.

    I would also like to thank the parents that get their kids these things because that makes my son think that he should have one too and then I get the awesome chance to be that bad mom that won't get the cool stuff for their kid.

    Haha, sorry if my kids having access to an iPad makes you look bad.

    I feel just awful...
    Agreed. Wait till my kid turns 16 and I buy him a car. You are really going to look like crap then.

    LOL

    I love that, maybe this would be the ideal time to teach your child the value of money and appreciating what you do have and they can't have everything they want....bammm lesson learnt all from a 6 year old with an Ipad :bigsmile: everyone can learn something from it...amazing tool
  • Alex_is_Hawks
    Alex_is_Hawks Posts: 3,499 Member
    actually I do agree with this....you can get a case for it that makes it virtually indestrucible....

    i know a 6 year old severely autistic girl that has one...and it's imploded her vocabulary and her relationary skills by 200%....all because it's a great mechanism for keeping her engaged when people can't....it's also a reward system....you want it, you have to go to the washroom/wash your hands/have a bath/ etc...

    My daughter is ten and getting an ipad this christmas....and I totally would have bought it for her at age 6 if it had been an option.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    I personally don't see a problem with it, as long as the parent knows how to monitor activity on it, and that just like anything else time is limited. When we're out to dinner we always take toys and playdough for him to play with, but I sometimes I'll let my 3yo son play age appropriate games on my iphone while we're waiting on the bill (generally about 5 or 10 minutes), and we have the kindle app on hub's ipad and will use it for story time because pokey little puppy isn't as interesting in the black and white of my kindle. We have shelves of books, but we do a lot of traveling and it's nice to know we don't have to lug a library around with us when we go. If someone was buying one for my kid I wouldn't be against it, I'd just make sure that I agreed with how it was being used.
  • trophywife24
    trophywife24 Posts: 1,472 Member
    No, not for our kid.

    Our six year old does play games on PBS kids on the desktop and we do use some software for our school work since we homeschool. But an iPad? Honey just got a vtech mobi for his birthay, that's about as advanced as it gets here.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    I honestly don't believe kids that age need such expensive "toys" .... my son is 9 and asked for an Ipad....the response was absolutely not. I like the spoiled comment.

    I would also like to thank the parents that get their kids these things because that makes my son think that he should have one too and then I get the awesome chance to be that bad mom that won't get the cool stuff for their kid.

    Haha, sorry if my kids having access to an iPad makes you look bad.

    I feel just awful...
    Agreed. Wait till my kid turns 16 and I buy him a car. You are really going to look like crap then.

    LOL

    I love that, maybe this would be the ideal time to teach your child the value of money and appreciating what you do have and they can't have everything they want....bammm lesson learnt all from a 6 year old with an Ipad :bigsmile: everyone can learn something from it...amazing tool

    There are plenty of learning tools in a life time. Who's to say that the child holding the Ipad is automatically a spoiled child who receives everything they want? Sometimes you get the things you want, sometimes you don't, sometimes you need to be patient. Also, just because a child receives a gift like this doesn't mean that they have unlimited access to it? There are lots of ways to teach a lesson.
  • _kannnd
    _kannnd Posts: 247 Member
    I'd say....get the child a leap pad. It's more educational.

    Maybe in some cases, but not for my child. She was never into anything that was too childlike. We bought her several leap pad systems, but they just weren't enough for her. She got bored quickly with them, and they were just too childish for her. But every child is different.
  • trhjrh06
    trhjrh06 Posts: 2,272 Member
    While I would never BUY a child an ipad mostly because I can't afford one. But I was fortunate enough for my parents to let me use one of the companies ipad's...basically given to me. And my 4yr old loves it. She is on it more than me. I am with her when she is on it and see what she is doing. She learns a lot of things and has fun with it too.
  • Let's say, hypothetically of course, someone wants to get a SIX year old an iPad. "It's a great learning tool," is the argument of said person.

    How would you respond??

    Completely hypothetically... of course.

    A couple of years ago, my husband got me a first generation iPad for Mother's Day. At the time, my daughter was 4. I downloaded some free preschool/kindergarten learning apps for my iPad to work on with her. She caught on SOOOOO quickly, and has learned SOOOOO much from these apps! She is now 6, and doing more advanced math, reading, spelling, etc on the iPad---she calls it HER iPad---and she probably does use it more than I do. While I didn't buy it specifically for her, and wouldn't have bought it specifically for her, she does get more use out of it and it really has been beneficial for her. Leapsters that I paid $80 for early on lasted less than a year with minimal use, and the cartridges were an additional $40 or around there for each one. It wouldn't take many replacement Leapsters or additional cartridges to equal the $500 I paid for mine, that she gets an invaluable amount of benefit from. I agree with another poster who said a child can grow with an iPad, versus growing out of the other consoles/learning tools discussed. To each their own. Who are we to judge if this parent wants to spend the money to purchase it for their child? If they can work with them and teach them how to use it, be responsible, etc.---that's great! My daughter uses my iPad at home, and computers at school and her after school program, so I am very pleased that she has a diverse knowledge of technology. I wish we had this kind of exposure to technology when I was younger!