Any parents out there NOT giving kids games consoles yet? Advice please!

rainbowtrout

seamus wrote: »

Perhaps.

But wait until they turn 18, go off to college and find out that they need to use computers, phones and the internet to do even the most basic things related to coursework and socialising.

They will be miles behind their peers and will struggle because they lack some core skills.

They'll pick it up of course, but they will struggle badly. Most college courses don't even hand out printed sheets anymore. Everything is online - from schedules, to registration, to course notes, to tutorial work. If someone gets to 18 with no familiarity with these things, they have a steep learning curve ahead of them, on top of their coursework.

It's incredibly short-sighted of any parent to have a blanket "no technology" rule. It's not like the internet is a fad that will go away.

Actually both of them are able to use a computer, that won't hold them back. Also because a teenager has a games console/mobile phone, it doesn't mean they are tech savvy. A lot of the teenagers I teach now don't have PCs at home, they can use facebook and snapchat and google, but don't have basic word processing skills or powerpoint, because they don't use those packages. Internet is by and large about social media and youtube for them.

Also a lot of work is done for projects in school on computers so it's not like these students who don't have technology at home don't have any access.

SusieBlue

mikeysmith wrote: »

i didn't say they would get picked on, but they are literally isolated from the majority who now have smartphones and mobile data

I thought the same as you. I'm 26 but as a teenager I wasn't allowed a phone till I was 15. This was long before the days of social media, bebo was around (which I wasn't allowed on either) but was only accessible via desktops and phones didn't have internet or cameras.
I wasn't picked on either but I most certainly felt very left out. I couldn't keep up with my friends outside of school bar ringing them off my house phone which wasn't always practical.
It made me feel lonely knowing my pals were texting/calling each other in the evenings and I couldn't join in on the fun.
I used to be miserable thinking about it and was delighted to finally get a phone.
That was 10 years ago, before the explosion of social media and I found it difficult. I can only imagine how torturous it would be now, growing up totally isolated like that.

rainbowtrout

mikeysmith wrote: »

i didn't say they would get picked on, but they are literally isolated from the majority who now have smartphones and mobile data

They don't consider themselves isolated. They are only isolated if isolated means constant inane updates on snapchat and posting endless selfies for likes. I don't honestly think they are missing much.

mikeysmith

rainbowtrout wrote: »

They don't consider themselves isolated. They are only isolated if isolated means constant inane updates on snapchat and posting endless selfies for likes. I don't honestly think they are missing much.

fair enough

i suppose the argument can be made are they actually missing anything at all without the social media:)

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

mariaalice

I would wonder what those parents hope to achieve do they think they are keeping them away from pron not a hope of that they have friends with smart phones.

Its is possible to have phones and devices but have rules about their use. The things I have heard off are phone and devices left in the kitchen when the child goes to bed or the modem being unplug at a certain time.

There is a fine line between being controlling or having supportive rules that are designed to help them.

I heard of a mother who take the modem with her when she goes out sounds way over the top.

rainbowtrout

mariaalice wrote: »

I would wonder what those parents hope to achieve do they think they are keeping them away from pron not a hope of that they have friends with smart phones.

It doesn't just have to be about keeping them away from porn. It can be about preventing them from being mindless zombies with no conversational skills because they spend all day staring at screens.

mariaalice

rainbowtrout wrote: »

It doesn't just have to be about keeping them away from porn. It can be about preventing them from being mindless zombies with no conversational skills because they spend all day staring at screens.

Thats true but there are other ways of doing that banning everything is not the way to do it, but they do not appear to think they are missing out.

LaLa2004

Consoles are not the worst as you can (and should) control access. You can choose suitable games. 10 years of age is young though. Most kids have no self control & will stay playing for as long as they are left.

My children go crazy for the iPad and mindless videos on YouTube. One watches commentaries on Minecraft & toy reviews. He would do this for 12 hours a day if I did not limit it. He does not want to leave the house for family outings, planning to stay at home on screens. I’m trying to teach him there are lots of interesting thing out there. I have to brace myself for the rage that overcomes him when I get him off the iPad. He does not get it midweek anymore.

I see people on boards looking for advice on how to change their lives. I feel like saying ‘stop posting 5 times a day and get on with your “real” life.’.

_Brian

Ann22 wrote: »

I think, with many kids, once they start playing games consoles, no other toy can compete and it's sad to see them losing interest in regular toys/games/lego. They can be addictive. My husband is addicted ffs! If I wasn't around he'd never be off it. Our time watching tv together at night is limited as he has to get his fix!
I know many families whose kids dont leave their rooms as are glued to their screens. They throw strops when told to come off them for meals or bedtime. My nephew had bowel issues because he wasn't stopping to go to the toilet!
Imo you are right in holding off 'til now. If the child is the only one in his class without one they can feel left out but they can still be left out if the rest of the class are playing a different set of games! Almost every child my son knows has played adult games like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty from a young age. In a child that may have issues it's a really bad influence. It can desensitise them to violence and some can fill them full of aggression. I don't know how many times I've heard pals of my boys' broke their controllers they were so frustrated and upset at some annoyingly hard level.
That all sounds very negative!
Limit the time and choose games carefully and they will be ok.

There allot of sad things in that post.

shesty

There are a lot of sad things in many of the posts here.

To the OP-it's your house, your rules.You sound like you are asking because you aren't comfortable with bringing these things into your house.To be honest, you make the rules in your house -the schoolyard isn't in charge.

Personally I do not buy into the 'educational' value of giving kids consoles and games, or the idea that we should all be learning coding from the day dot.Not everyone is interested in coding, same as not everyone is interested in maths, languages, whatever. It's not the future for everybody.And I really fail to see how playing computer games gets kids interested in or teaches them anything useful, about coding.

I actually found one of the saddest points in a post here was someone talking about how amazing it was to watch a child playing minecraft...doing things like we used to do with lego.What's wrong with giving them lego?How much more do they get from lego - fine motor skills, coordination, spatial understanding, understanding of physics (what falls over and what doesn't) vs a screen.....swiping skills and maybe some spatial reasoning....

For the record, I am not a technophobe.....my background is engineering, and I have a lot of years of use of many computer programmes,including coding behind me.However my kids don't get phones etc to play with because they are too small, and they have other things to learn besides how to work youtube, and the screen time affects their behaviour.

OP if you buy them, you need to limit the time on them but only you know your kids and how rules are implemented in your house and how that would work for your family.You've probably seen enough replies here by now to realise how divergent people's opinions are on this topic....

juneg

pwurple wrote: »

Era, I get you, but I see that for the most part the same as when you went into a cafe in the 70's and everyone was either reading a newspaper or a book. That's how our news and reading material is delivered these days.

You're right. I'm an avid reader but as I don't always have my Kindle or a book with me I'd be reading on my phone.

mariaalice

Adults can become addicted to their phone/ devices despite having grown up in the era of no smart phones. I have seen this happen with someone I use to work with, and its sad we use to have great conversations about novels we read but they have given up reading altogether.

I was also in a work meeting where someone keep glancing down and to the side and I realised they had their phone open on the side of the chair.

The internet was gone for a few days recently and I did not miss it my husband was more bothered and he only uses the computer for business does not bother with social media at all.

There was really interesting child psychologist on a radio talk show who basically said start with very tight controls and then loosing them a bit its too hard to do it the other way around.

Permabear

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shesty

Of coure they can.We all taught ourselves/learned these skills as adults or teens.They are not an essential skills that kids need to learn from the age of 0.

Neyite

Dravokivich wrote: »

What's wrong with the stuff on Youtube? My kid watches it mainly for train sets and lego these days.

There's also some really good cartoons published straight onto youtube by production companies. Check out Booba. Better then anything I've seen aimed at kids on TV.

I've been leaning more and more towards uninstalling YouTube on my 5yo's tablet. Even with the kids app, there are cartoons that creep in that are depicting unsuitable content or stuff that will frighten /disturb kids. This is one of the articles, but I was also reading an article where peppa /elsa/ joker type videos have fetish play sneaked into them.

He'll be upset but he'll get over it soon enough. If I could restrict You-Tube to certain uploaders I would but all I can do is uninstall it. He's got netflix so it'll be grand. *crosses fingers*

drunkmonkey

McDonalds have a case to answer installing tablets in every restaurant, can't sit down with kids in peace they want to be over at the frigging tablets.
The games are only demos as well. It's an anti social move my McDonald's Ireland and they've spent a fortune doing it.

Hoboo

drunkmonkey wrote: »

McDonalds have a case to answer installing tablets in every restaurant, can't sit down with kids in peace they want to be over at the frigging tablets.
The games are only demos as well. It's an anti social move my McDonald's Ireland and they've spent a fortune doing it.

Id be all for tablets for kids in Mcdonalds if they were of the sleeping variety.

Manora

Most consoles come with parental controls and limits to how long you can use them for

Dravokivich

Manora wrote: »

Most consoles come with parental controls and limits to how long you can use them for

I don't see the point in those features when a power button works. Are people afraid to say no to their kids? I only have a thing on his tablet to stop him from installing stuff. If I don't want him on it, he isn't on it. I don't need a feature to restrict it.

perry stanley

way to go;)
Now wait and read the comments...:eek: