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Nay. Im in the "it's ridiculous" camp. Im also in the no cell phone or personal computer until high school camp though. I don't think little kids need technology. I think they should be encouraged to use their imaginations, learn to entertain themselves and play outside and with other kids, not be glued to a tablet/DS/video game.

I have an iPad and I have allowed her to play with it when we are traveling, but thats really the only time.

I just got one for my 3 yr old and she's not even interested! Ugh.

A friend's daughter has been obsessed with the iPad and phones since before she was 1. I used to think it wasn't a good idea, but she's 2 now and nows how to read all the alphabets and numbers and a few words! I guess all from an iPad learning game. It also enables them to go out for dinners and keep her entertained with movies in the car. Then there was some story about a 3 year old who got into Mensa and has a huge IQ, and the parents credited it to his iPad? So... IDK. I can't say I like the idea, but I also can't say I will be able to resist having one for LO. She already LOVES the TV and even though I don't like to let her look at it too much, DH will "watch" her while he's watching TV and she is really so calm then. To each their own for parenting decisions I say!

Maybe. Only X amount of educational games though. My niece & nephew are obsessed with games and tech stuff so much that their punishment is they have to go outside & play. I find it annoying when I see people using it as a babysitter. Especially in a resturant or at church. I guess one could say it's a new age coloring/activity book & I have yet to catch up with the times?

ETA: my views may change once I have a toddler.

No I wouldn't. I would very occasionally let them use mine but I doubt I wouldn't get a toddler their own. I was gifted an iPad but I rarely let nanny babe play on it. We do use it when traveling but for less than 15 minutes. She would rather go talk to people any way. Side note, a teacher was telling me how when school first started the kindergartners had no idea how to use a normal computer, they just kept trying to tap the screen. That made me laugh.

I think kids need to learn it is ok to be bored. They need to learn patients. I think some adults need to learn this too.

All that said, do what works for you

@zippylef- I agree. Do not even get me started on how many elementary kid in my area have smart phones! It enrages me. I don't see a need.

@Navy_Mommy: My family was poor. We had a family computer that we all shared (I have 2 brothers) and we didn't get it until I was almost in middle school. It ran Windows 3.2 and AOL dial-up and my parents went to a Rent-A-Center to be able to afford it. My parents had it locked down to where I could barely use it until I was 13. I got my first cell phone at 17, only because I was so active and my parents needed to be able to get a hold of me. I didn't own my own computer until I was a sophomore in college and I bought it myself.

I grew up with Barbies and dress-up clothes and running around the neighborhood with my friends until our parents forced us to come in because it was dark. I grew up interacting with my peers and learning how to use my brain to entertain myself. We owned an NES and a sega, but with 2 older brothers I was never allowed to play them. I did camping and soccer and played violin and did Brownies and fishing with my dad, not video games and cell phones and the internet.

DH grew up like you. His dad built flight simulators, so their house was always full of computers and gadgets. His childhood was spent glued to a screen. He always had a computer. He always had the internet. I've seen how the differences in our upbringings have effected who we are as adults. I would rather C be like me than DH. I want her to hold on to her childhood as much as she can. I want her to be little and innocent and play outside with her friends from dawn until dusk like I did. I want her to be able to interact with other people and not be socially awkward like her dad is. I want to teach her to read and write and count, not let a computer do it for me.

I think technology has a deeper impact on kids than people realize. I am all for her being tech-savvy. We own a lot of computers and other gadgets, so she will know about technology and be well-versed in it. I just dont think she needs her OWN until she's much older.

@Mrs. Yoyo: C gets angry when you take it from her too. One of the many reasons I don't let her use it often.

@Navy_Mommy: Thats not what I was implying. I was implying that it made DH socially awkward. It also did as much for most of my guy friends I grew up with.

We're definitely in the "nay" camp. LO is 1.5. She has her whole life to stare at a screen. I want her to be as engaged as possible in real life now!

@Navy_Mommy: I totally am. All my friends were nerds and then I went and married one. lol I do agree that you have to be involved in other things. When I said that DH spent his childhood glued to a screen, I meant it. He didn't go outside. He didn't do sports. All his friends were nerdy and they sat on the internet together. Thats probably why he's like he is. If it were up to him, C would have all kinds of gadgets really young. The only one he agrees with me on is the cell phone. He doesn't think she needs one until high school either.

Nay. Although I understand, from an educational standpoint, it can help with certain academic skills, I'm still not a huge fan. I was a very early reader, and dubbed "gifted" upon entering kindergarten (not tooting my own horn), and this was in the late eighties/early nineties. My father had a car phone (wow-ee, technology!), and most families had yet to even own a home computer. We were regular visitors at our local library, and museum, and my shelves with packed with books, and puzzles.

I hope to surround my daughter with books, and lots of interactive opportunities to learn and absorb, but I hate how our society is so dependent on recreational technology. I'm totally guilty of checking my smart phone a billion times a day, but I am so thankful that my childhood was completely without that level of obsession.

@NovBaby1112: Completely agree with your last statement.

Don't get me wrong, I've seen technology have positive impacts on multiple occasions. My career is in special education, and I've seen numerous success stories pairing non-verbal children with communicative devices and apple/android applications. I've also seen typically developing little ones with occasional tech-time (i.e. one iPad book before bed, or an educational game on the phone while in the car), and be completely well-adjusted.

However, it's a slippery slope, in my opinion. My in-laws live off the beaten path, and I've witnessed our two year old nephew throw intense fits when my SIL's phone is unable to connect to the internet and give him access to youtube. Our eight year old nephew wants nothing but x-box games for Christmas, and will spend hours in front of the television, playing them, and ignoring opportunities to engage with others. Our 11 year old niece has asked for an iPhone for her past three birthdays, and might have finally won the battle. Teachers are often asked to remind third graders to turn down cells as they chime from a pocket in their Iron Man backpack. It's gotten ridiculous.

Nope. I would possibly let my LO use one of our tablets for a game or a book once in a while, but I wouldn't buy her her own.

Nay. I will eventually let my LOs use our iPad occasionally but I don't think I will buy them one for a long time!

I say no, in general. I finally gave in and bought one for myself - we're about to go on her first long flight, and I thought it would be great for that. But I don't plan to let her use it in general. Certainly not when she should otherwise be amusing herself, or learning to be patient and wait politely. Basically just for airplanes or other seriously difficult situations.

And also, I have to not be hypocritical. My husband and I met 'sitting on the internet' playing a videogame. We're huuuuuuuuge geeks who love our technology. But we also love the outdoors, love to be active and fit and healthy - so we're just teaching her the same balance that makes us happy.

As a tiny aside, whenever I hear people saying that they want their children to play outside more than they want them to play with technology, I pause. Obviously we all need to teach the value and joy of physical activity, and that's one of my top priorities as a parent.

But my husband, a computer programmer, really wishes that his parents had supported his love of computers. I'm not trying to say that we need to give toddlers tablets to do this - more that technology for children is so overused these days that I think we sometimes ignore their genuine interests in an attempt to go the other way.

My kids play with my iPhone and iPad mini here and there. There's a mix of educational apps and fun apps... Same with videos (some Sesame Street, some Disney, for example).

As for kids and technology... It's in the schools now. Well, I had computer class in school too, but they are starting earlier. My eldest is going to kinder this fall and will be using iPads and iMacs there. By the end of the year, she will independently be using MS Word for simple things... A little typing, I believe, and cutting and pasting clip art.

I don't think sheltering them from today's technology til high school would provide any benefit. My kids are exposed to books, toys and imaginative play. We go to museums and shows. They go to parks and zoos... aquariums and arboretums... and take extracurricular classes like art, swimming, ballet, and martial arts. And they play with technology too. Everything in moderation!

Nay. LO will be able to use my iPad and our computer on a limited basis but there is no need for a child to have his/her own very expensive piece of electronic equipment until he/she is old enough to be careful with it.

Cell phones are a little different because, although I didn't get one till junior year in HS, they weren't as common as they are today. I think it's inevitable that LO will get a cell phone before I did but it will not be in elementary school.

I'm against it. I love technology and want my kids to be tech-savvy but only once they get to a certain age. Yes people credit apps to teaching letters, numbers, reading skills, etc. but children learn much more when interacting with others. If you sit down and work with your kid and teach them those skills not only are they going to learn the academic skills but also the social skills that so many kids lack today. I'm not saying kids should have no access to technology but I think it should be very limited at young ages (less than school age).

I can't even afford one for myself right now....

Also, we limit screen time for the girls a lot, so no tablet until they're older. School age probably.