Are ipads bad for children?

[Alexander Clement]

According to a recent study in the US, e-readers and tablets used for the same purpose are detrimental to the reading ability of children and (this is where it gets extreme) cause brain damage. I wrote a blog post about this but wondered what ipad users thought. Do your kids use the ibooks app much?

EDITED - no website links

 

[iDan]

I think it's a good learning tool for kids. We have 3-4 learning games that my 2 year old plays and he loves it.

 

[iJeffrey]

Ditto.My kids love their iPads.

 

[J. A.]

It all depends on a few factors, imo:

To what extent are iPads used? Too much certainly isn't good.
What is it used for, and how is it used? There are certain sites/apps, ... that are not meant for children and should be restricted.
Is somebody supervising, or are the kids left alone with the device, and nobody controls them? This is the most important one, I think. There are enough parents who use tablets to keep their children quiet, but don't know what they're playing or looking at.

A computer/tablet/smartphone can't replace social interaction. I've already seen computer savvy children, (not always, but often) ignored by their parents, who are outsiders, because they don't want to understand that there are certain things that must not be said or done when you talk or play with others. (That's extreme, but really happening.)

I'm a primary school teacher. I know from most of my pupils, that they are playing games on their tablets (they have their own), but only one of them is actually reading ebooks.

 

[Elux72]

My nephews (2 and 4) love using the iPad for playing (educational) games and watching videos. I can witness to the fact that my youngest nephew, who isn't talking very much yet, has learned his numbers up to ten and the alphabet with the aid of educational apps.

The only downside is that they're both rather addicted to the iPad, and get upset when they can't use it, but that's no different than most adult iPad users, including myself.

 

[J. A.]

My nephews (2 and 4) love using the iPad for playing (educational) games and watching videos. I can witness to the fact that my youngest nephew, who isn't talking very much yet, has learned his numbers up to ten and the alphabet with the aid of educational apps.

The only downside is that they're both rather addicted to the iPad, and get upset when they can't use it, but that's no different than most adult iPad users, including myself.

I don't know how teaching English works, but if it's about the same as German, these ABC apps could be a problem when he starts reading, because adults speak the letters bee, cee, dee, and not how they have to be read. Also, letters don't always sound the same. There are quite a few apps in German that don't think of this - actually, most of them. Alone for the letter Y, there are 3 different sounds in German.

And because he doesn't speak very much: his parents should pay attention to this. I have two students who started talking late. When they entered primary school, it was difficult to understand them. They had to learn pronouncing everything. One of them had problems with his ears at the time when he should have started talking, which was also the reason why he started talking late.

 

[twerppoet]

I'd like a link to the mentioned study, so I could see what it says for myself. And I mean to the actual study, not some idiot news article that sensationalizes and/or misrepresents the study's findings.

Because, in my experience, this is what almost all news articles do when they write about some research/study or another. Because the actual study is usually boring as all get out, to anyone but an other scientist in the same field.

 

[wesleymintz]

Well, I don't think ipads are bad for children as long as you're vigilant about what your child is doing on the ipad. There are many educational apps nowadays which engages your child and provides good learning too. Such apps helps utilize your child's time in a wise manner.