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Comment by bdamm | Hacker News Reader

You may make a different choice after years of being unable to do anything but give 100% of your attention to the child. Someone needs to cook & clean, or go to work, after all. In the "old days" you'd just cut your kid loose into the environment. Well, these days, TV and iPads are part of the environment, and YouTube along with it.

I'm not saying you wouldn't make boundaries. Boundaries are important. But that may also include a certain amount of time of letting the child "run free" with the iPad.

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As a father (who does the cooking), I can relate to that difficulty. However I'm not allowing youtube access precisely because of the unpredictably of the content. I prefer my child to go on a Netflix or Disney Channel binge of her favorite show, rather than let her brain get hacked before she's able to understand what's going on.

But turning the TV off (mobile isn't allowed) usually results in solo play with toys. It took a bit of coaxing but now when sitting down, we agree how many episodes will be watched before the screen goes dark.

I would be pretty worried that my kid was hooked up to a virtual Skinner Box actually, and I'd prioritize avoiding that. My friends have managed to keep their 6 year old girl away from this kind of thing, so it's definitely doable.

I hear what you're saying. As a kid in the bad old days, pre-Internet, I used to play outside with my friends for hours at a time. Is that not an option anymore?

No. Many parents are literally paranoid about their kids being harmed, even though many areas have an all-time low of crime in human history. Not to mention, police picking up children who are playing alone and parents getting into trouble for being "irresponsible". It is f'ed up. Many kids just end up choosing the computer because parents make it easier to access than outside playgrounds and it's just as interesting.

It's even weirder since we can give them phones, or watches with integrated phones and gps-trackers and what not.

When I was 12 I yelled a friends name while walking out the door, and was expected to be back by dinner. If I wasn't the best thing my parents could do was to call my friends parents (homes) and ask if I was there.

It's an option if you want to get harassed by Child Protection Services, the police, etc.

All it takes is one asshole (Or good Samaritan) to give the latter a call, and you'll have a lot of explaining to do. And heaven help you if either group finds a joint in your home.

Some examples of that making the news every now and then.

Nobody's gonna call Child Protection Services on you when the kids are at home with the iPad.

Or you just do it the old fashioned way - teach them to read and give them books. If they can use an iPad they can read.

No. Kids can operate iPads long well before they are able to learn how to read.

I think parent was referring to children that can read, but in any case, children don't come preloaded with tablets, etc.. If my son decides to get crafty and throw a fit because I will not let him play with my phone (ever) or a PS4 controller or whatever, his ass can sit in his room and figure it out and/or cry. I don't negotiate with terrorists.

My child was competently operating an iPad before he could talk or walk

Mine too, and it is amazing. Would yours also try to touch the TV to swipe it?

My 4 year old is just now learning to use a mouse, but she's been at a touchscreen for over 3 years.

My daughter is 3 and learned to use a phone/tablet before she was 2. Whenever I'd pull up YouTube on my tv she'd walk to the tv and try to swipe it as well. Often getting upset thinking the tv was broken, haha.

She was used to iPads, but one day I gave her my Android tablet. She was upset at first because things are slightly different, but adjusted quickly. I was shocked at how fast she picked it up.

I've witnessed this myself, many times. I honestly find the proficiency of iPad finger gestures in children < 2 to be shocking. It feels like I'm viewing some real world parody with how quick and controlled their hand motions are as they navigate through the interface. It really gave me a new appreciation for just how intuitive the UI is for someone with zero technical literacy... or any form of literacy for that matter.

I had one family tell me they learned about five finger swipes from their 1 year old daughter.

It was same with my kid

Some of the books people often think are suitable for children are pretty disturbing, too, such as Grimms' Fairy Tales.

When these are adapted for cartoons by Disney and others they are usually greatly sanitized. A parent who remembers those adaptations and thinks that is what they are getting when they get the original book versions is in for a surprise.

They are full of stories of people who are cruel and who cheat and abuse the weak and innocent, and in the end...that works out great for them and they get everything they wanted.

YouTube, iPads, TV's, can float around in the homes of other families, and your kids can visit their homes and play on their Xbox or whatever.

But that doesn't mean these things need to be part of your kids home, work, or play routine. Even kids in nice areas around the bay area aren't about to suddenly bring home an iPad or iPhone without their parents notice. Kids will beg, but they will also learn to stop begging; they will learn that their family just does things differently.

I've seen plenty of parents choose NOT to buy their kids a major computing device until junior high age, and prior to then making them go through the inconvenience of typing on their parents computer.

It doesn't screw them up. It doesn't make them socially weird. It doesn't make them technologically aversive later, and it doesn't stunt their enthusiasm for play.

If you want to give your kids unsupervised play, because you need some personal or work time, what's wrong with biking around the city with friends?

Lol! Let's check back when you have a kid of your own. There are so many reasons why your idea of how it works is not quite right. (Bike around the city? A 3yr old? Surely you jest!)

Letting a child "running free" with the iPad locked down to Duolingo and Scratch Jr works fine as well.

I really wish YouTube offered parental controls on the YouTube app for iPads. I catch my toddler watching all kinds of terrible videos.

I think there's some way involving a Google account but it's not obvious.

Apple makes clear youtube app is for 18+, Android has similar req in fine print for youtube app in play store. I would remove youtube and install youtube app for kids.

You can lock down the iPad to not allow youtube, web browsing or any app installs / in app purchases and they have to come to you for permission to install new games.

That's so sad, when I was first aloud to "roam free" on the web at 12 was when I taught myself basic and pascal.

I used it differently back then too. I opened a browser with what I wanted in mind, I found it, then I closed the browser and did something else. There was never this mindless wandering or idle talking, just fetching pdfs and saving html tutorials and downloading compilers. Maybe I've romanticized it though...

You can also give them an iPad in Airplane mode.

Elsagate

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