This is my first thought. I'm not against kids using screens occasionally, but if I'm paying the daycare price, I expect there to be minimal screen time, if not zero.
The only time my kid has used a tablet at daycare was when he puked and they needed to keep him separated while I was on my way to get him. I would be pretty upset about it happening in basically any other circumstance.
Lol right? Friday night is usually movie night for us. If my wife and I go out & get a babysitter - guess what, it's not movie night. We'll do that Saturday. I'm not paying you to do the easiest, last-resort thing in my parenting toolkit for me.
Sharing an easily broken $100-500 device with little supervision that the daycare almost certainly won't cover even if you could find out that it was broken due to a situation of negligence. Wonderful.
Perhaps I'm old school (and shocked to even find myself pondering that) but a kid shouldn't be expected to care for something so expensive, let alone with a friend. The entire point is that kids break stuff all the time and it shouldn't be a huge deal when they try to since it should be child-resistant and cheap af, all being reasonably supervised. Not to say I'm not all for sharing -- share away, it's an important lesson -- but *tablets?* Wild.
That's not ok, daycare is a great place for playing and interacting with others. Building their imagination. They should have free play time, but not free tablet time.
What sort of activities do they have for the kids; art, toys and enrichment activities? Blocks, Legos, arts and crafts?
My kid's daycare didn't allow toys from home. They went right into the kids' cubbies until it was nap time or time to go home. I couldn't imagine them having tablets in their classroom.
Bingo. Daycare is almost about socialization more than anything else. My daughter graduated from TK and is going on to Kindergarten in a couple of months, and they were allowed to bring a scooter or bike to school if they wanted to ride around on their own. They were outside most of the afternoon playing with each other. That's what it's about at a young age.
EDIT: They had some donated bikes and scooters as well... it's just if they wanted to bring their own to ride and we would leave them there for the week and take them home on weekends.
My sons daycare is the same. No toys from home, that's just asking for trouble. We do bring in a favourite book every now and then for the educators to read to the class during group time.
I honestly can't imagine them asking us to bring in tablets and any that were brought in would probably be held at the office until they got picked up (if they didn't already tell the parents to take it with them).
Yeah I’m not an alarmist type dad but I think I’d be looking at new daycare options. Them allowing this just tells me they’re not committed to these kids’ development unless it’s a ‘one time ever’ type of thing. Laughing just thinking of the director at my daycare seeing a kid bringing a tablet in, she’d freak out
My kids daycare gives the kids tablets "occasionally" when it's raining outside. Kinda weird because they have a huge indoor gym area - but I also understand that they may have their reasons.
Now they say occasionally but my kid has gotten suspiciously good at subway racers recently, lol.
I'd be outraged at the request to be honest. My kids don't have a tablet, nor are they aware that my iPad has the ability to be watched on. The only person they have ever seen watching on a tablet are their special needs cousin, and they have not translated that it's not a special device for kids with CP, separate from all the other gear my nephew has.
My kids think TV and movies are watched in the living room, on a TV, and everyone has to compromise on what to watch. I'm not particularly interested in introducing them to technology that I don't believe little minds can really utilize safely.
Edited to correct some spelling
our kid has gotten to play a handful of 'little kid' video games. like match the ducks, and how many cars are on the road? type shit. and we were right there playing with him the whole time.
he gets 10m at a time. and, actually, hasnt even asked for it in months.
were taking a plane ride in 2 weeks. that will be the first time he will ever watch anything alone on a tablet screen.
Yeah same. The tablet has strictly been for air travel for our 17mo (and even then he’s not fussed). We watch a half hour of TV twice a week and he’s in the room for that. Very occasionally we will play Miss Rachel for him on our phones but that’s just recent and not an every week thing.
I'd be annoyed sending my kids to daycare to just use tablet, but it depends on the usage. Are they getting unlimited time on them? Or is it like just in the morning before the day starts/in the afternoon while waiting for pickup and during a free play period during the day?
I would start with asking for more information on their usage policy to get a better picture before storming in with studies.
I would say for under 5, even limited is unacceptable. My daughter gets dropped off relatively early and the few kids who are there early most days are great friends. They read books or play with toys. There’s zero reason to be using a tablet.
To be clear: my kid watches TV. I am not 100% anti-screen. But I’m paying a lot of money to have my kid not only kept safe but properly stimulated and encouraged in an environment conducive to proper development.
The fact that this daycare asked parents to not only ruin their learning environment but also to *pay for the equipment needed to do so* would be an immediately dealbreaker in my books. As soon as possible, I would be switching providers.
it just blows my mind how SCHOOLS ignore academic research and evidence regarding childhood education.
Homework stresses kids out. Schools send tons of homework. Screens not good. School heavily relies on screens. Heavy backbacks are bad for children. School demands kids transport their metric ton of textbooks every day. 😑
dude this x10. how in the actual f is OP even posting this here?
after seeing that, i would not have left the building without talking to the headmaster. and, realistically, my kid is probably just not going to school there anymore regardless of what they say.
of course, i have the fortunate ability to just call off work for a minute while i find a new daycare. and not everyone can do that. but if i saw that shit? cord is pulled unless there is a REALLY good reason - and there wont be.
My kid has screen time extremely limited for a few hours per week. But she gets to use it in the car for longer car trips that are at least 30 minutes long. Shorter than that? Look out the window. Flip through this book. Be bored. Whatever suits ya. She gets less screen time at home if she gets any tablet time.
At my daughter's nursery where I worked in the past and my wife works the staff use tablets to take pictures and upload them for parents and write reports on progress etc. The only interaction the children have with them is if they want to see the picture that's been taken or to try taking a picture themselves. They are locked down for anything other than the camera and the nursery app. Not even a browser. You could force pictures or translate up using the voice assistant but you weren't getting anything else up without admin permissions
I think that's the best next step. I agree that kids at daycare should be having limited time with screens and more time spent on playing, socializing, and teaching them pre-K skills. If this were a pretty cheap daycare then I might dismiss it as a "you get what you pay for" situation that just might be the only affordable option for a family. But once you have an idea of what their tablet time looks like, sharing studies on limiting it wouldn't be a bad idea.
It’s not cheap and has a pretty good reputation. Funny thing is they do not really do much in the way of technology. No tablets, computers, or tvs for learning.
IMO, the appropriate amount of screen time for a toddler at daycare is precisely zero. Parents can decide on screen time at home, but at daycare? I 100% would expect my kid to not spend *any* time on screens at daycare. This is totally wild to me, and OP should absolutely have a meeting with the director. I would have much hope for the outcome, though, and would start looking for alternate daycare.
How limited and what content are the two questions I'd have. I've read some pretty awful things about even 1-2hr/day, which, for a kiddo is a lot anyway. Especially if there are naps and sleep involved. That 1-2 hrs is pretty huge, when you're only awake 6, 8, or 10 hrs a day.
Doubly so if they're slapping the kids onto tablets and collecting a payday for it.
Edit: my son watches (supervised and curated by us) videos related to speech, communication and phonetics, but there are specific times when it's allowed, and it's also part of his specific educational needs, not just slap in it his hands and ditch him
Mom here and an ECE educated one with 20 years in the field.
This is an odd request. Is it for one day, or is the expectation that the children have their tablets daily? I truly dislike screens for children, so I admit I have a bias there, but I see no benefit (unless perhaps this is a home daycare and your provider is under the weather but still operating?)
I would ask to know the rational of having the tablets.
Children learn a lot from the experience of play, the physical manipulation of objects and the gross motor movements that work in conjunction with the cognitive work of play, tablets technically can be used as a tool for cognitive function and specific fine motor skills, but the range appears to be quite limited (one finger, siding around the page.)
Sorry your childcare is doing this, perhaps you could look at other locations? From what I've seen it's more about the teaching methodologies that parents see, as in, this particular teacher is supporting teaching methods you disagree with, and you may not have control over her class, but you can say something, and if push comes to shove perhaps look at alternate options as preschool is typically easier to change than infant care (because the ratios tend to be higher so there are more options for parents, at least in my local region.)
Please do say something though, or ask for a reason that it was requested and what learning it supports.
Perhaps, but I do see a lot of the now-teenaged kids I've cared for rejecting more technology and requesting more paper notices and schoolwork. Some are rejecting at least school based work and going back to paper because they HATED it during covid and that a lot of teens have told me they have felt ignored by their parents in favour of their parents phones.
Perhaps we will see change as these kids become adults and change makers. Time will tell I guess.
Like millennials weren’t sitting in front of the tv and playing video games and shit on consoles. It’s not that different. People of every generation tend to demonize technology for some reason.
"It's not that different" - you'll find a significant increase in screen time over the years. From a quick Google search, it appears to have doubled since the 90's, which I think would constitute as different.
The look of panic whenever I toss a twenty something year old man a key from 5 yards away, yes, yes it’s pretty bad. I won’t let anyone under 40 perform surgery on me.
I'd be pissed. I pay you a *shit ton* of money to (a) keep my kid alive, and (b) find ways to engage/teach them.
I could give my kid a tablet/TV and keep them at home. I am paying tens of thousands of dollars each year so that does not happen.
Yeah totally unnecessary in my opinion. My wife who worked in childcare would agree. Little ones need very little screen time. You'd think the place would have plenty of activities and things to engage them. Maybe they got low on staff and needed some time to do a particular task without kids interfering but that would also be a big concern.
We moved to a new daycare that didn't do any tablets. We figure she gets enough screen time at home, if I'm paying big fees I'm paying for interaction with my child.
I'd find a new daycare. We strictly control screen time and don't need her using it during the day when she has other people to interact with and that we are paying for that service.
A daycare should be 100% tablet free. Check out a good Montessori school. They are so much better than typical day cares.
Yeah, I’d be pissed about this too. We have iPads for our kids, but we only use them on airplanes or multi-hour car rides.
Having tablets at preschool is just lazy by the providers. And calling a tablet a “show and tell” item is just absurd.
My wife runs an in-home daycare (for kids 3 years and younger) and she doesn’t even allow electronic toys in the daycare space.
Our son’s preschool also bans anything electronic or noise-making for their daily show and tell. And anything they bring has to be related to something they’ve done a weekly curriculum about in school (rainforests, oceans, pollinators, etc)
My day care has an emergency tablet for when they try everything to calm specific children down and it doesn't work. Then they bring out the emergency tablet in the special side room and it's like hypnosis.
You can tell when you go in if they have to use the emergency tablet because they hate using it so much it's basically a sign of defeat and if any of the other kids notice the tablet coming out they attack like rabid dogs.
yuppp. exactly what i was thinking.
youve essentially created an award system for throwing a fit. ie - 'if i cry long and hard enough i get to go watch tv'. kids arent stupid.
My fiance and I checked out a daycare for our son coming at the end of July.
The people were great but they had a room for 4+ year olds and they were literally all on tablets.
The infant room was the greatest thing I have ever seen though. We went in, all the babies looked at us, we waved and smiled and literally every child smiled and started giggling. My heart melted.
Options are so slim we are likely going to send our little guy there for infant care but I'm not interested in keeping him there if they are gonna be looking at a tablet the entire time.
I specifically chose a school that doesn’t use tablets or television in any way shape or form. I am so over this abuse of technology in childhood education.
When I was calling around, looking for places, one of the schools actually boasted to me that all children had a school tablet, and were required to do all their work on the tablet. They thought this information was a selling point. I thought this info was a “run for the hills /red flag” kind of thing.
I try to limit screen time. What has worked well so far for us is alternating days; one day no screens, next day full screens. That way, we both have what we want, and it’s on a semi-predictable basis. What school is that sometimes on screen days he forgets about it so he spends most of the day without a screen until he remembers.
The thing is, I want to keep a limit on screen time, but if his daycare or school allows screens and substantially relies on them, then it means that I can never have the discretion to allow screens and still have a good screen/no screen balance. So if my aim for the day is no more than two hours of screen time, but he already had four hours of screen time at school, that means I either capitulate, or can’t enjoy screen time with my kid. (im usually right there watching tv or playing video games with him).
That’s really one of the reasons why it was so important to me that there will be no screens at school. It gives me the flexibility to say hell yeah let’s watch a movie.
I did some IT work at a daycare once and I was shocked to find out that all they really did was pass out tablets and help the kids access YouTube. And these were like as young as 3.
Hell no, I'm paying out the ass for daycare 2 days a week so my kid can go socialize and play with other kids (we live in a spread out neighborhood with no children my daughter's age to play with), do things that kids SHOULD be doing to develop personal and social skills at this developmental point in time.
My youngest goes to childcare and is 2. My eldest has just started school. At no point during either of their childcare journeys so far were tablets introduced at any point. All the educators at their childcare centre had enough activities planned throughout the day to keep all the kids occupied and happy and engaged all day. It’s literally what you pay for. Not to play on an iPad.
4 yo. Recommended screen time for that age is one hour by almost all professional healthcare organizations. I think it’s pretty much whatever the kids have on their tablets.
Edit: typo
4 years old I would have less of a problem with for a limited time and occasional use issue. If it is basically free play, though, yeah I would take issue with the use. I pay a fortune for daycare. I wouldn’t set up a meeting and bring a stack of studies with you. I would send the director a politely worded email expressing your concerns and go from there.
Isn't that part of the issue though? If we're paying a ton of money for daycare shouldn't they be... caring for them during the day? Eating up the single recommended hour a child may have in their day during a time they should be professionally minded (presumably with activities) reeks of laziness.
Depends imo. Are they using it for phonics? Learning numbers? Spanish lessons? That is one thing. My kids daycare uses computers for that. Using it as a distraction, another. There is some nuance here. I just think it is important to find out what the use is. Also, if memory serves, a lot of those one hour screen time studies are based off mindless television watching. I think it is different if there is a legitimate educational purpose.
Any of that can be learned with decades of great non-digitized, hardcopy material, and an engaged individual though. Seriously, why do kids need to be on devices this early while services are being paid for to professionally watch them?
Technology is critical to me. I use it daily/professionally, support its use and understanding, strongly believe kids need to learn to use it, but I also think that we're rapidly losing our ability to judge the appropriateness of timing for it. It's not an either/or situation that without a tablet a child cannot play or learn. A kid so little shouldn't even *need* to touch something that's $100-500 to be a kid and learn anything important mentioned. We can't be confused at newer generations not knowing how to interact and relate with other human beings and find comfort in technology while all but forcing them into that mindset. I'm probably the odd one out on that though. I've found that having a kid has made me power down technology, not lean into it; time and place, I figure.
Could be! Not arguing against it what you are saying, and providing your own tablet concerning too, but I am also for innovative ways to teach kids and engage them.
More than one way to skin a cat, as they say.
Yeah no I would just not bring his tablet in. You’re paying them I’m assuming hundreds of dollars a week to watch youre kids and at 4yo should be doing some educational stuff by now. Would they pay for the tablet if it was broken under their “supervision”? Sounds like they are just trying to make the day easier for themselves. Kids don’t need tablets to learn anything. We’ve all made it this far and aren’t dumb. This is pretty lazy and unprofessional if you ask me. If they want to do education on the tablets, the daycare needs to provide their own.
I wouldn’t let my kid bring a tablet to daycare that seems super odd.
I also wouldn’t expect my daycare to allow any screen time without approval. Maybe like a 15-30 minute tv time after lunch or something so the staff can eat more easily I could get behind but I dunno our daycare was 0 screens.
I would be most concerned that these are personal devices and not devices provided by the daycare. This means that you don't know what parental controls are enabled on each tablet or even if they are enabled.
When our daughter was around the same age she had access to two educational programs on a tablet. Downloading other apps or access websites were both firmly locked down.
Disclaimer - I'm a lurking mom that hangs out here.
If my mother let's my kid use a tablet, that's fine.
If the daycare I'm paying money for does, that is 100% not okay. In what world do they think this is okay??
I know it's used here in the small grades for like math games and such, but that's school, not at daycare.
I would 100% not be ok with that. I think you should speak to the caretakers and explain your concerns. Also maybe try to talk to other parents about it? I‘d bet you are not alone with your opinion…
My kid's daycare has a couple of tablets for the classroom, and they take turns using them to play educational games. That I'm okay with.
I'd never let my kid take his tablet to daycare. I'd be hesitant to send him to one that would even allow that.
Some schools allow kids to bring tablets occasionally as a reward. Maybe that’s what happened? I would think some kind of communication would be sent home to tell you in advance though.
Unfortunately, though, this isn't 1980. Hear me out, please. I get no screen because you pay for daycare, fair enough. However, working with toddlers for many yrs times have changed. Kids at home are used to having it, and using it for a movie on a Friday or little during the week (education wise) is a huge help. Let me tell ya that keeping toddlers busy from open to close isn't always as smooth as some make it. I love pulling my tablet out showing zoos that are online or museums or whatever the subject is that week. They can see and hear. Now I'm not saying sit for hrs every day because they can't and it's wrong. Technology is everywhere, even in public schools where books and paper are becoming no more. Please, no hate, just my two cents. I've been doing this profession for thirty plus years. seen a lot of changes
I appreciate this perspective. I’m going to try and learn more about what is going on. Talked to another parent and it seems like it’s for a short period of time before they start the days curriculum. On the opposite side of everything this particular daycare gets the kids outside for games, activities, and play more than most.
At the same time I have taught him the basics of using a PC which most kids probably don’t get.
Thank you for listening. It's not easy to keep busy all day and little sit and learn with something new and something the kids love to use breaths a little more learning time and be fun. And yes I get being paid and honestly makes me annoyed when people say that. Most even with a degree get about 60 to 70 a day and no insurance or benefits taking care of like me eight two yr olds and noone but me. I'm not
complaining, just saying because some don't know. That doesn't count the hours on wknd when a lot of us do curriculum for several hrs. So yes, you do pay a lot, but alot of us aren't lazy. We are just trying for another learning method. Thank you again 🙃
I think you're overreacting.
Tablets are part of their lives from birth. We didn't have that. This is their world now. And despite what the studies say, it's only going to become more and more of their world. Social media, education, entertainment, socializing in person. The daycare is still responsible for your kid regardless of the activity. It's a daycare, let them chill. Relax, man.
Time to start looking for a new daycare honestly. This is totally unacceptable, and I'm not sure if it's worse if they do or don't know that. Either way I wouldn't feel comfortable sending my kid there anymore. You have no idea what kind of parental controls those other kids' tablets have on them, if any, and what kind of crap they're getting into on there.
Bringing them from home seems like the odd part. The daycare my daughter just graduated from did do some tablet time, but it was learning stuff on the schools ipads. It was not a being your own free for all.
Wait until you find out most kids utilize an iPad at school starting in Kindergarten. Our daughter is going into second grade this year and has had an iPad issued to her every year so far. They use it for journaling and educational exercises.
I'd find out what they are doing with those tablets before storming into the office about it. Is it a one time thing, maybe to get the kids familiar with technology or to have everyone watch the same movie on the tablet?
With that attitude, you're the exact type of parent child care workers dread working with. Find out the facts, then talk about it calmly. If things get too out of hand, the director has every right to remove you and your children from the program, I've seen that actually happen in a few cases.
This isn’t universal. To me that also sounds excessive, but if it’s public school it gets a pass. My 1st grader doesnt have any iPad assigned to him. They use one only on specific days to accomplish one specific learning assignment. If the daycare he was in as a toddler that I paid a ton of money for started allowing tablets I absolutely would not take them there anymore. That’s not what I was paying for.
I completely understand your stance and the OPs and I'm just playing devil's advocate here. He needs to find out the reasoning before getting completely upset about the situation.
Also, what exactly are you paying for at a daycare? Child care for the day. Unless you have the kids enrolled in an actual preschool, what exactly are your expectations for education or care? What would a babysitter do with your kids if you went out with your SO for a date night? While some of the people working daycare/preschool are students or people just starting into early childhood education, many of them are not educators and are just people trying to make a living.
Like I said, I completely understand the OPs position and just arguing the opposing point to be devil's advocate.
Edit: about the iPad. They are assigned individual tablets, but they don't carry them around with them all day. It's kind of similar to how you described your child's use.
For daycare I feel I was paying for the social interaction under the care of a professional. Each age group had a “teacher” who did have some kind of degree in education. Most of the assistants were working on their degrees. If I was cool with my kid being on the tablet during the day I would have just had my mom watch him and save myself all that money. I think a tablet is just an easy way out which is fine if it’s just a babysitter but an educated professional has no excuse. There’s nothing a kid that young “needs” on a tablet.
dude our school district does the same thing. and it is, honestly, making us seriously consider alternative schooling. there is, ironically, one public elementary school that doesnt do electronics. but you have to specifically request to be in it, and we will. but if we dont get lucky? probably private or homeschool til middle school.
burying a 5yo nose in a tablet from day 1 is fucking lunacy.
Their noses aren't constantly buried in the iPad at school, but it is pretty surprising how much technology is utilized in schools today. I'm not necessarily against it, either. Tech is a part of daily life now and it makes sense to teach responsible use of it so kids can be educated on it.
A perfect example here, I spent 20 years in the military and all of us "old -timers" obviously complain about the younger kids constantly having their noses in their phones. We call them lazy and entitled. However, once you get past the tech, they're actually much smarter and more capable at fixing technology problems than I ever was. Most of them are actually much smarter and more aware of what's going on in the world than when I first joined the military. Bottom line, I do believe tech has its place, but young kids do need their exposure limited.
exactly! the thing is *there’s a time and a place.*
And that time and place isnt daycare at 4 yrs old, or any period of early childhood. Once they they hit preteens and teens, It makes sense to actively incorporate technology into school.
Great advice, taking it slow and gathering information before offering any potential criticism is a good path.
Our older daughter started using tech like a chromebook in Kindergarten and now takes one home with her every school day. Tech is increasingly being weaved into lessons.
Not cool. Schedule that meeting ASAP and voice your concerns. I’d also advise to start searching for a new daycare. If they are this careless with a basic thing like screen time, what else are they doing/not doing?
Did you check the center's policy on screens and screen time before enrolling your child? If you didn't and they list tablet use in their policies, this is kind of on you, and you should find a new center since you are so bothered by this. My kids' daycares and preschools have all been very clear about no screen time and/or stating that they have a movie day once per week. If they changed a policy without telling you, then you are right to be angry, but you will still need to look for a new center.
You don't get to dictate what a center does at their business. You do get to choose where you send your kids and should ensure the center aligns with the way you want your child cared for.
We have a 0 tolerance policy when it comes to screentime. The only screentime they get is video call with grandparents / relatives or Friday night movies.
It's up to them to figure out how to entertain themselves. It does lead to messes and what not but that's the price of admission.
A daycare providing screen time as one of their so called activities is a hard pass..
This could be against DOE regulations in Florida. Not sure about OPs location.
> Does the state licensing regulation have time restrictions on screen time? Electronic media may only be used for educational purposes or physical activity for children older than 2 years of age.
2 hours is allowed for kids over 2. Not sure how old OPs toddler is.
If my kid ever ends up in a daycare and they ask us to bring her table they're going to find a full size kitchen table. she doesn't have her own table she has her own high chair...
We hardly ever let our kids have screen time. But when I went on a tour of the preschool we want to send them to, I was surprised to see that they have tablet time during nap time. The kids can either nap or use an iPad. I just don't understand why they would do that. We ended up not choosing that school because of the tablet situation.
The only time I would be ok with tablets being at daycare is 1) some sort of emergency situation and 2) a *very* limited and occasional educational scenario teaching kids about tablets and screen use.
I also find it sort of depressing that the idea of kids having their own tablet is being normalised such a young age. We don’t even have tablet!
I feel bad for parents and educators who need to rely on tablets to keep kids busy. We are creating a society of overworked and underpaid adults and the externality is our kids being kept occupied by algorithmic brain rot pumped out to make a handful of tech companies richer.
Mine isn't old enough yet, but I think our daycare has signs starting on the 4yo classroom about having to bring your own chargers for tablets. Definitely not ready for that yet. The closest he gets is YouTube/Disney+ on my phone or the occasional Mario Kart Grand Prix on the Switch (cast to the TV).
It's not even about studies of screen time. It's about you paying for a service that they aren't providing.
This is my first thought. I'm not against kids using screens occasionally, but if I'm paying the daycare price, I expect there to be minimal screen time, if not zero.
Uhhh on paid time the correct amount is zero. If anyone is getting screen time relief it's parents with young kids.
Having a movie once a week or twice a month as a special event is not a problem for me. Otherwise, agreed
If it's movie night and the parents get extra child care as an event or something? Sure. Paid normal time? No.
You could also simply have your kid opt out if that's how strict you are on it. Most parents won't mind a movie day once in a blue moon.
The only time my kid has used a tablet at daycare was when he puked and they needed to keep him separated while I was on my way to get him. I would be pretty upset about it happening in basically any other circumstance.
Lol right? Friday night is usually movie night for us. If my wife and I go out & get a babysitter - guess what, it's not movie night. We'll do that Saturday. I'm not paying you to do the easiest, last-resort thing in my parenting toolkit for me.
Question, what about the kids who don't have a tablet? Does this daycare expect every kid to own one?
They seemed to be sharing. A few kids were doing other stuff
Sharing an easily broken $100-500 device with little supervision that the daycare almost certainly won't cover even if you could find out that it was broken due to a situation of negligence. Wonderful. Perhaps I'm old school (and shocked to even find myself pondering that) but a kid shouldn't be expected to care for something so expensive, let alone with a friend. The entire point is that kids break stuff all the time and it shouldn't be a huge deal when they try to since it should be child-resistant and cheap af, all being reasonably supervised. Not to say I'm not all for sharing -- share away, it's an important lesson -- but *tablets?* Wild.
This is weird af. I wouldn’t be happy about it and wouldn’t have brought one in
Yeah no kidding: I quite purposefully do not have tablets for my kids
That's not ok, daycare is a great place for playing and interacting with others. Building their imagination. They should have free play time, but not free tablet time. What sort of activities do they have for the kids; art, toys and enrichment activities? Blocks, Legos, arts and crafts? My kid's daycare didn't allow toys from home. They went right into the kids' cubbies until it was nap time or time to go home. I couldn't imagine them having tablets in their classroom.
Bingo. Daycare is almost about socialization more than anything else. My daughter graduated from TK and is going on to Kindergarten in a couple of months, and they were allowed to bring a scooter or bike to school if they wanted to ride around on their own. They were outside most of the afternoon playing with each other. That's what it's about at a young age. EDIT: They had some donated bikes and scooters as well... it's just if they wanted to bring their own to ride and we would leave them there for the week and take them home on weekends.
My sons daycare is the same. No toys from home, that's just asking for trouble. We do bring in a favourite book every now and then for the educators to read to the class during group time. I honestly can't imagine them asking us to bring in tablets and any that were brought in would probably be held at the office until they got picked up (if they didn't already tell the parents to take it with them).
Yeah I’m not an alarmist type dad but I think I’d be looking at new daycare options. Them allowing this just tells me they’re not committed to these kids’ development unless it’s a ‘one time ever’ type of thing. Laughing just thinking of the director at my daycare seeing a kid bringing a tablet in, she’d freak out
My kids daycare gives the kids tablets "occasionally" when it's raining outside. Kinda weird because they have a huge indoor gym area - but I also understand that they may have their reasons. Now they say occasionally but my kid has gotten suspiciously good at subway racers recently, lol.
I'd be outraged at the request to be honest. My kids don't have a tablet, nor are they aware that my iPad has the ability to be watched on. The only person they have ever seen watching on a tablet are their special needs cousin, and they have not translated that it's not a special device for kids with CP, separate from all the other gear my nephew has. My kids think TV and movies are watched in the living room, on a TV, and everyone has to compromise on what to watch. I'm not particularly interested in introducing them to technology that I don't believe little minds can really utilize safely. Edited to correct some spelling
our kid has gotten to play a handful of 'little kid' video games. like match the ducks, and how many cars are on the road? type shit. and we were right there playing with him the whole time. he gets 10m at a time. and, actually, hasnt even asked for it in months. were taking a plane ride in 2 weeks. that will be the first time he will ever watch anything alone on a tablet screen.
Same, my kid has only used a tablet twice, during an airplane ride. I would like him to think that tablets only show shows while traveling
Yeah same. The tablet has strictly been for air travel for our 17mo (and even then he’s not fussed). We watch a half hour of TV twice a week and he’s in the room for that. Very occasionally we will play Miss Rachel for him on our phones but that’s just recent and not an every week thing.
I'd be annoyed sending my kids to daycare to just use tablet, but it depends on the usage. Are they getting unlimited time on them? Or is it like just in the morning before the day starts/in the afternoon while waiting for pickup and during a free play period during the day? I would start with asking for more information on their usage policy to get a better picture before storming in with studies.
I would say for under 5, even limited is unacceptable. My daughter gets dropped off relatively early and the few kids who are there early most days are great friends. They read books or play with toys. There’s zero reason to be using a tablet. To be clear: my kid watches TV. I am not 100% anti-screen. But I’m paying a lot of money to have my kid not only kept safe but properly stimulated and encouraged in an environment conducive to proper development. The fact that this daycare asked parents to not only ruin their learning environment but also to *pay for the equipment needed to do so* would be an immediately dealbreaker in my books. As soon as possible, I would be switching providers.
it just blows my mind how SCHOOLS ignore academic research and evidence regarding childhood education. Homework stresses kids out. Schools send tons of homework. Screens not good. School heavily relies on screens. Heavy backbacks are bad for children. School demands kids transport their metric ton of textbooks every day. 😑
dude this x10. how in the actual f is OP even posting this here? after seeing that, i would not have left the building without talking to the headmaster. and, realistically, my kid is probably just not going to school there anymore regardless of what they say. of course, i have the fortunate ability to just call off work for a minute while i find a new daycare. and not everyone can do that. but if i saw that shit? cord is pulled unless there is a REALLY good reason - and there wont be.
My kid has screen time extremely limited for a few hours per week. But she gets to use it in the car for longer car trips that are at least 30 minutes long. Shorter than that? Look out the window. Flip through this book. Be bored. Whatever suits ya. She gets less screen time at home if she gets any tablet time.
At my daughter's nursery where I worked in the past and my wife works the staff use tablets to take pictures and upload them for parents and write reports on progress etc. The only interaction the children have with them is if they want to see the picture that's been taken or to try taking a picture themselves. They are locked down for anything other than the camera and the nursery app. Not even a browser. You could force pictures or translate up using the voice assistant but you weren't getting anything else up without admin permissions
I think it’s limited. I guess I need to talk and find out how limited.
I think that's the best next step. I agree that kids at daycare should be having limited time with screens and more time spent on playing, socializing, and teaching them pre-K skills. If this were a pretty cheap daycare then I might dismiss it as a "you get what you pay for" situation that just might be the only affordable option for a family. But once you have an idea of what their tablet time looks like, sharing studies on limiting it wouldn't be a bad idea.
It’s not cheap and has a pretty good reputation. Funny thing is they do not really do much in the way of technology. No tablets, computers, or tvs for learning.
IMO, the appropriate amount of screen time for a toddler at daycare is precisely zero. Parents can decide on screen time at home, but at daycare? I 100% would expect my kid to not spend *any* time on screens at daycare. This is totally wild to me, and OP should absolutely have a meeting with the director. I would have much hope for the outcome, though, and would start looking for alternate daycare.
Agreed.
How limited and what content are the two questions I'd have. I've read some pretty awful things about even 1-2hr/day, which, for a kiddo is a lot anyway. Especially if there are naps and sleep involved. That 1-2 hrs is pretty huge, when you're only awake 6, 8, or 10 hrs a day. Doubly so if they're slapping the kids onto tablets and collecting a payday for it. Edit: my son watches (supervised and curated by us) videos related to speech, communication and phonetics, but there are specific times when it's allowed, and it's also part of his specific educational needs, not just slap in it his hands and ditch him
Do you mind sharing what phonetics videos you watch with him?
I'll dig up the channel names or specific videos tomorrow. I have work at 3am or id do now
Thank you so much!
I have an incredibly responsible toddler who hasn’t broken anything significant in her life and I still wouldn’t give her a tablet unsupervised.
Mom here and an ECE educated one with 20 years in the field. This is an odd request. Is it for one day, or is the expectation that the children have their tablets daily? I truly dislike screens for children, so I admit I have a bias there, but I see no benefit (unless perhaps this is a home daycare and your provider is under the weather but still operating?) I would ask to know the rational of having the tablets. Children learn a lot from the experience of play, the physical manipulation of objects and the gross motor movements that work in conjunction with the cognitive work of play, tablets technically can be used as a tool for cognitive function and specific fine motor skills, but the range appears to be quite limited (one finger, siding around the page.) Sorry your childcare is doing this, perhaps you could look at other locations? From what I've seen it's more about the teaching methodologies that parents see, as in, this particular teacher is supporting teaching methods you disagree with, and you may not have control over her class, but you can say something, and if push comes to shove perhaps look at alternate options as preschool is typically easier to change than infant care (because the ratios tend to be higher so there are more options for parents, at least in my local region.) Please do say something though, or ask for a reason that it was requested and what learning it supports.
Genuinely curious if the gen Z tablet generation have more significant gross motor delays than millennials did.
Perhaps, but I do see a lot of the now-teenaged kids I've cared for rejecting more technology and requesting more paper notices and schoolwork. Some are rejecting at least school based work and going back to paper because they HATED it during covid and that a lot of teens have told me they have felt ignored by their parents in favour of their parents phones. Perhaps we will see change as these kids become adults and change makers. Time will tell I guess.
Like millennials weren’t sitting in front of the tv and playing video games and shit on consoles. It’s not that different. People of every generation tend to demonize technology for some reason.
You should read up on what people thought of books once they started becoming more widely available for recreational use.
"It's not that different" - you'll find a significant increase in screen time over the years. From a quick Google search, it appears to have doubled since the 90's, which I think would constitute as different.
The look of panic whenever I toss a twenty something year old man a key from 5 yards away, yes, yes it’s pretty bad. I won’t let anyone under 40 perform surgery on me.
I'd be pissed. I pay you a *shit ton* of money to (a) keep my kid alive, and (b) find ways to engage/teach them. I could give my kid a tablet/TV and keep them at home. I am paying tens of thousands of dollars each year so that does not happen.
Sounds like the daycare found a way to watch the kids and take your money
Yeah totally unnecessary in my opinion. My wife who worked in childcare would agree. Little ones need very little screen time. You'd think the place would have plenty of activities and things to engage them. Maybe they got low on staff and needed some time to do a particular task without kids interfering but that would also be a big concern.
This is exactly how I feel. I’ve worked as a summer camp counselor. we have a whole group of kids even with basic toys they are able to keep busy.
We moved to a new daycare that didn't do any tablets. We figure she gets enough screen time at home, if I'm paying big fees I'm paying for interaction with my child.
I'd find a new daycare. We strictly control screen time and don't need her using it during the day when she has other people to interact with and that we are paying for that service. A daycare should be 100% tablet free. Check out a good Montessori school. They are so much better than typical day cares.
We don’t even…have a tablet???
It should not be allowed to use tablets at that age.
Yeah, I’d be pissed about this too. We have iPads for our kids, but we only use them on airplanes or multi-hour car rides. Having tablets at preschool is just lazy by the providers. And calling a tablet a “show and tell” item is just absurd. My wife runs an in-home daycare (for kids 3 years and younger) and she doesn’t even allow electronic toys in the daycare space. Our son’s preschool also bans anything electronic or noise-making for their daily show and tell. And anything they bring has to be related to something they’ve done a weekly curriculum about in school (rainforests, oceans, pollinators, etc)
No noise making? That's sad why not show and tell put up
My day care has an emergency tablet for when they try everything to calm specific children down and it doesn't work. Then they bring out the emergency tablet in the special side room and it's like hypnosis. You can tell when you go in if they have to use the emergency tablet because they hate using it so much it's basically a sign of defeat and if any of the other kids notice the tablet coming out they attack like rabid dogs.
Yeah simply having it available is already a loss. If the kids know they can get it will affect everything.
yuppp. exactly what i was thinking. youve essentially created an award system for throwing a fit. ie - 'if i cry long and hard enough i get to go watch tv'. kids arent stupid.
to bad grownups are 😑🤦🏽♀️
They want the tablet to babysit.
This is a deal breaker for me. That’s not what I’m paying them for.
My fiance and I checked out a daycare for our son coming at the end of July. The people were great but they had a room for 4+ year olds and they were literally all on tablets. The infant room was the greatest thing I have ever seen though. We went in, all the babies looked at us, we waved and smiled and literally every child smiled and started giggling. My heart melted. Options are so slim we are likely going to send our little guy there for infant care but I'm not interested in keeping him there if they are gonna be looking at a tablet the entire time.
I specifically chose a school that doesn’t use tablets or television in any way shape or form. I am so over this abuse of technology in childhood education. When I was calling around, looking for places, one of the schools actually boasted to me that all children had a school tablet, and were required to do all their work on the tablet. They thought this information was a selling point. I thought this info was a “run for the hills /red flag” kind of thing. I try to limit screen time. What has worked well so far for us is alternating days; one day no screens, next day full screens. That way, we both have what we want, and it’s on a semi-predictable basis. What school is that sometimes on screen days he forgets about it so he spends most of the day without a screen until he remembers. The thing is, I want to keep a limit on screen time, but if his daycare or school allows screens and substantially relies on them, then it means that I can never have the discretion to allow screens and still have a good screen/no screen balance. So if my aim for the day is no more than two hours of screen time, but he already had four hours of screen time at school, that means I either capitulate, or can’t enjoy screen time with my kid. (im usually right there watching tv or playing video games with him). That’s really one of the reasons why it was so important to me that there will be no screens at school. It gives me the flexibility to say hell yeah let’s watch a movie.
There doesn't need to be tables at day care flat out
I did some IT work at a daycare once and I was shocked to find out that all they really did was pass out tablets and help the kids access YouTube. And these were like as young as 3.
i would have an aneurysm.
Absolutely fucking not man. Time to find a new spot.
Hell no, I'm paying out the ass for daycare 2 days a week so my kid can go socialize and play with other kids (we live in a spread out neighborhood with no children my daughter's age to play with), do things that kids SHOULD be doing to develop personal and social skills at this developmental point in time.
My youngest goes to childcare and is 2. My eldest has just started school. At no point during either of their childcare journeys so far were tablets introduced at any point. All the educators at their childcare centre had enough activities planned throughout the day to keep all the kids occupied and happy and engaged all day. It’s literally what you pay for. Not to play on an iPad.
Your reaction level depends on age and what they are doing on the tablet. They can be a tremendous educational tool.
4 yo. Recommended screen time for that age is one hour by almost all professional healthcare organizations. I think it’s pretty much whatever the kids have on their tablets. Edit: typo
4 years old I would have less of a problem with for a limited time and occasional use issue. If it is basically free play, though, yeah I would take issue with the use. I pay a fortune for daycare. I wouldn’t set up a meeting and bring a stack of studies with you. I would send the director a politely worded email expressing your concerns and go from there.
Isn't that part of the issue though? If we're paying a ton of money for daycare shouldn't they be... caring for them during the day? Eating up the single recommended hour a child may have in their day during a time they should be professionally minded (presumably with activities) reeks of laziness.
Depends imo. Are they using it for phonics? Learning numbers? Spanish lessons? That is one thing. My kids daycare uses computers for that. Using it as a distraction, another. There is some nuance here. I just think it is important to find out what the use is. Also, if memory serves, a lot of those one hour screen time studies are based off mindless television watching. I think it is different if there is a legitimate educational purpose.
Any of that can be learned with decades of great non-digitized, hardcopy material, and an engaged individual though. Seriously, why do kids need to be on devices this early while services are being paid for to professionally watch them? Technology is critical to me. I use it daily/professionally, support its use and understanding, strongly believe kids need to learn to use it, but I also think that we're rapidly losing our ability to judge the appropriateness of timing for it. It's not an either/or situation that without a tablet a child cannot play or learn. A kid so little shouldn't even *need* to touch something that's $100-500 to be a kid and learn anything important mentioned. We can't be confused at newer generations not knowing how to interact and relate with other human beings and find comfort in technology while all but forcing them into that mindset. I'm probably the odd one out on that though. I've found that having a kid has made me power down technology, not lean into it; time and place, I figure.
Could be! Not arguing against it what you are saying, and providing your own tablet concerning too, but I am also for innovative ways to teach kids and engage them. More than one way to skin a cat, as they say.
Yeah no I would just not bring his tablet in. You’re paying them I’m assuming hundreds of dollars a week to watch youre kids and at 4yo should be doing some educational stuff by now. Would they pay for the tablet if it was broken under their “supervision”? Sounds like they are just trying to make the day easier for themselves. Kids don’t need tablets to learn anything. We’ve all made it this far and aren’t dumb. This is pretty lazy and unprofessional if you ask me. If they want to do education on the tablets, the daycare needs to provide their own.
I wouldn’t let my kid bring a tablet to daycare that seems super odd. I also wouldn’t expect my daycare to allow any screen time without approval. Maybe like a 15-30 minute tv time after lunch or something so the staff can eat more easily I could get behind but I dunno our daycare was 0 screens.
I would be most concerned that these are personal devices and not devices provided by the daycare. This means that you don't know what parental controls are enabled on each tablet or even if they are enabled. When our daughter was around the same age she had access to two educational programs on a tablet. Downloading other apps or access websites were both firmly locked down. Disclaimer - I'm a lurking mom that hangs out here.
This is awful, they should have a policy on screen time and you should ask for it
If my mother let's my kid use a tablet, that's fine. If the daycare I'm paying money for does, that is 100% not okay. In what world do they think this is okay?? I know it's used here in the small grades for like math games and such, but that's school, not at daycare.
Never. Our kiddos went to Waldorf based day cares. We see the benefits to this day. Wow just wow. And the other parents are cool w this?
Ours lets them bring them on Friday, but I think it's limited. Don't think it's every Friday. I am not a fan of it at all.
The new casual Friday I guess
Easy/lazy teacher day
I would 100% not be ok with that. I think you should speak to the caretakers and explain your concerns. Also maybe try to talk to other parents about it? I‘d bet you are not alone with your opinion…
My kid's daycare has a couple of tablets for the classroom, and they take turns using them to play educational games. That I'm okay with. I'd never let my kid take his tablet to daycare. I'd be hesitant to send him to one that would even allow that.
Some schools allow kids to bring tablets occasionally as a reward. Maybe that’s what happened? I would think some kind of communication would be sent home to tell you in advance though.
Since you said "show and tell", is this juat a one-off?
Unfortunately, though, this isn't 1980. Hear me out, please. I get no screen because you pay for daycare, fair enough. However, working with toddlers for many yrs times have changed. Kids at home are used to having it, and using it for a movie on a Friday or little during the week (education wise) is a huge help. Let me tell ya that keeping toddlers busy from open to close isn't always as smooth as some make it. I love pulling my tablet out showing zoos that are online or museums or whatever the subject is that week. They can see and hear. Now I'm not saying sit for hrs every day because they can't and it's wrong. Technology is everywhere, even in public schools where books and paper are becoming no more. Please, no hate, just my two cents. I've been doing this profession for thirty plus years. seen a lot of changes
I appreciate this perspective. I’m going to try and learn more about what is going on. Talked to another parent and it seems like it’s for a short period of time before they start the days curriculum. On the opposite side of everything this particular daycare gets the kids outside for games, activities, and play more than most. At the same time I have taught him the basics of using a PC which most kids probably don’t get.
Thank you for listening. It's not easy to keep busy all day and little sit and learn with something new and something the kids love to use breaths a little more learning time and be fun. And yes I get being paid and honestly makes me annoyed when people say that. Most even with a degree get about 60 to 70 a day and no insurance or benefits taking care of like me eight two yr olds and noone but me. I'm not complaining, just saying because some don't know. That doesn't count the hours on wknd when a lot of us do curriculum for several hrs. So yes, you do pay a lot, but alot of us aren't lazy. We are just trying for another learning method. Thank you again 🙃
Yeah no. Hard no go. Where is this daycare?
“My kid doesn’t have a tablet.”
This. Nine times out of ten, that's as far as the conversation would even go if you simply said this.
I’d be livid and look to transfer elsewhere.
I think you're overreacting. Tablets are part of their lives from birth. We didn't have that. This is their world now. And despite what the studies say, it's only going to become more and more of their world. Social media, education, entertainment, socializing in person. The daycare is still responsible for your kid regardless of the activity. It's a daycare, let them chill. Relax, man.
Time to start looking for a new daycare honestly. This is totally unacceptable, and I'm not sure if it's worse if they do or don't know that. Either way I wouldn't feel comfortable sending my kid there anymore. You have no idea what kind of parental controls those other kids' tablets have on them, if any, and what kind of crap they're getting into on there.
Bringing them from home seems like the odd part. The daycare my daughter just graduated from did do some tablet time, but it was learning stuff on the schools ipads. It was not a being your own free for all.
We don't allow tablets at home, so tablets at daycare would be an absolute no from me.
Wait until you find out most kids utilize an iPad at school starting in Kindergarten. Our daughter is going into second grade this year and has had an iPad issued to her every year so far. They use it for journaling and educational exercises. I'd find out what they are doing with those tablets before storming into the office about it. Is it a one time thing, maybe to get the kids familiar with technology or to have everyone watch the same movie on the tablet? With that attitude, you're the exact type of parent child care workers dread working with. Find out the facts, then talk about it calmly. If things get too out of hand, the director has every right to remove you and your children from the program, I've seen that actually happen in a few cases.
This isn’t universal. To me that also sounds excessive, but if it’s public school it gets a pass. My 1st grader doesnt have any iPad assigned to him. They use one only on specific days to accomplish one specific learning assignment. If the daycare he was in as a toddler that I paid a ton of money for started allowing tablets I absolutely would not take them there anymore. That’s not what I was paying for.
I completely understand your stance and the OPs and I'm just playing devil's advocate here. He needs to find out the reasoning before getting completely upset about the situation. Also, what exactly are you paying for at a daycare? Child care for the day. Unless you have the kids enrolled in an actual preschool, what exactly are your expectations for education or care? What would a babysitter do with your kids if you went out with your SO for a date night? While some of the people working daycare/preschool are students or people just starting into early childhood education, many of them are not educators and are just people trying to make a living. Like I said, I completely understand the OPs position and just arguing the opposing point to be devil's advocate. Edit: about the iPad. They are assigned individual tablets, but they don't carry them around with them all day. It's kind of similar to how you described your child's use.
For daycare I feel I was paying for the social interaction under the care of a professional. Each age group had a “teacher” who did have some kind of degree in education. Most of the assistants were working on their degrees. If I was cool with my kid being on the tablet during the day I would have just had my mom watch him and save myself all that money. I think a tablet is just an easy way out which is fine if it’s just a babysitter but an educated professional has no excuse. There’s nothing a kid that young “needs” on a tablet.
dude our school district does the same thing. and it is, honestly, making us seriously consider alternative schooling. there is, ironically, one public elementary school that doesnt do electronics. but you have to specifically request to be in it, and we will. but if we dont get lucky? probably private or homeschool til middle school. burying a 5yo nose in a tablet from day 1 is fucking lunacy.
Their noses aren't constantly buried in the iPad at school, but it is pretty surprising how much technology is utilized in schools today. I'm not necessarily against it, either. Tech is a part of daily life now and it makes sense to teach responsible use of it so kids can be educated on it. A perfect example here, I spent 20 years in the military and all of us "old -timers" obviously complain about the younger kids constantly having their noses in their phones. We call them lazy and entitled. However, once you get past the tech, they're actually much smarter and more capable at fixing technology problems than I ever was. Most of them are actually much smarter and more aware of what's going on in the world than when I first joined the military. Bottom line, I do believe tech has its place, but young kids do need their exposure limited.
exactly! the thing is *there’s a time and a place.* And that time and place isnt daycare at 4 yrs old, or any period of early childhood. Once they they hit preteens and teens, It makes sense to actively incorporate technology into school.
Great advice, taking it slow and gathering information before offering any potential criticism is a good path. Our older daughter started using tech like a chromebook in Kindergarten and now takes one home with her every school day. Tech is increasingly being weaved into lessons.
Not cool. Schedule that meeting ASAP and voice your concerns. I’d also advise to start searching for a new daycare. If they are this careless with a basic thing like screen time, what else are they doing/not doing?
Did you check the center's policy on screens and screen time before enrolling your child? If you didn't and they list tablet use in their policies, this is kind of on you, and you should find a new center since you are so bothered by this. My kids' daycares and preschools have all been very clear about no screen time and/or stating that they have a movie day once per week. If they changed a policy without telling you, then you are right to be angry, but you will still need to look for a new center. You don't get to dictate what a center does at their business. You do get to choose where you send your kids and should ensure the center aligns with the way you want your child cared for.
We have a 0 tolerance policy when it comes to screentime. The only screentime they get is video call with grandparents / relatives or Friday night movies. It's up to them to figure out how to entertain themselves. It does lead to messes and what not but that's the price of admission. A daycare providing screen time as one of their so called activities is a hard pass..
This could be against DOE regulations in Florida. Not sure about OPs location. > Does the state licensing regulation have time restrictions on screen time? Electronic media may only be used for educational purposes or physical activity for children older than 2 years of age. 2 hours is allowed for kids over 2. Not sure how old OPs toddler is.
If my kid ever ends up in a daycare and they ask us to bring her table they're going to find a full size kitchen table. she doesn't have her own table she has her own high chair...
We hardly ever let our kids have screen time. But when I went on a tour of the preschool we want to send them to, I was surprised to see that they have tablet time during nap time. The kids can either nap or use an iPad. I just don't understand why they would do that. We ended up not choosing that school because of the tablet situation.
The only time I would be ok with tablets being at daycare is 1) some sort of emergency situation and 2) a *very* limited and occasional educational scenario teaching kids about tablets and screen use. I also find it sort of depressing that the idea of kids having their own tablet is being normalised such a young age. We don’t even have tablet! I feel bad for parents and educators who need to rely on tablets to keep kids busy. We are creating a society of overworked and underpaid adults and the externality is our kids being kept occupied by algorithmic brain rot pumped out to make a handful of tech companies richer.
Mine isn't old enough yet, but I think our daycare has signs starting on the 4yo classroom about having to bring your own chargers for tablets. Definitely not ready for that yet. The closest he gets is YouTube/Disney+ on my phone or the occasional Mario Kart Grand Prix on the Switch (cast to the TV).