+50 Children should have refurbished iPads. amirite?

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Children shouldn't have iPads

by Anonymous 6 days ago

And yet the schools give them Chromebooks. Can't win for losing with screens these days. I think what's more important is teaching kids how to balance screen time and non-screen time.

by ProfessionalFew2350 6 days ago

"Screen time" is usually refering to watching videos/movies/television. Not just general use of a screen to do homework. It's also more of a problem with developing toddlers, long before they would get a school-issued Chromebook.

by UnhappyPea 6 days ago

Wary. Weary means tired. I will say that the upside is that my older kid can at least do minor research, can already perform simple computer tasks, and has rocked the standardized tests because she has the basic skills and heuristics already. I don't mind them being tech savvy as long as they know how to break away. Thankfully mine do.

by ProfessionalFew2350 6 days ago

Alcoholics teaching alcoholics how to drink less.

by Adorable_Boss_7717 6 days ago

It's just funny to me watching a bunch of people who live and work behind a screen shaking their fist at not-their-kids being on screens.

by ProfessionalFew2350 6 days ago

Children should absolutely be learning to effectively use computers as part of their schooling. Regardless of what field they go into, they are likely to need some computer skills, to apply for jobs if nothing else.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Its a tool to learn how to navigate an increasingly digital world. All tools can be misused.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

They can be very valuable tools for education. I can have 100 text books, or 1 tablet. We got one for our kid when they were 3. It used for videos or games, purely educational purposes. They're 7 now and still have the same tablet. Still used for education.

by Marcelohodkiewi 6 days ago

I disagree, MOST children we see nowadays shouldn't have iPads. I got an iPad when I was 10. I was a normal respectable child that had manners. Turned out fine lol

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Too much screen time has been repeatedly proven to be detrimental to mental health for everybody- adults included. Some parents do okay with screen time allowances while others let YouTube raise their children.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

You see eat all the time going out to eat. Parents will just stick a phone or ipad in front of their kids instead of talking to/with them

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Exactly, it's parenting.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

I work in a daycare, and these kids can't even sit in the car for 10 mins to go home without a video played. 😩

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Yeah I hear horror stories about young kids getting into kindergarten now being completely unmanageable because it's the first time they've been away from screens for multiple hours in a row. Just unable to focus, throwing fits, begging for their iPads etc. Parents should be ashamed.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

True, but that's only because the technology exists. If smartphones were around when we were kids it would be the same for us.

by WesternCheek3320 6 days ago

Yeah if our parents were similarly irresponsible and hands off. Good parents wouldn't let that happen to begin with.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

If the kid is zonked out, blasting brainrot games or YouTube at full volume, while the parents completely ignore them, then I'm pretty confident in guessing this is not their only hour of screen time they're being allocated that day.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

all of the answers below are valid but not one of them is about the iPad The one about too much screen time?

by UnhappyPea 6 days ago

In middle school, an iPad could be fine. No elementary age student needs a hand held screen. Excessive screen time messes with your dopamine receptors, making it so stimuli that would typically excite/entertain you, just isn't good enough anymore. I work with kids 3-5, and about half of them already have IPads. In small children, this results in them not wanting to do anything screen free. They don't want to color, they don't want to run around, they don't want to listen to stories, they don't want to play with Legos. Put a 5 minute video on? They're staring at the screen like Jesus himself just descended. I will say, it is incredibly easy to tell which students have free rein on screens and which do not.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Cause if unmonitored it can lead to tons of problems developmentally.

by Head_Nerve 6 days ago

it completely removes their dopamine. also, it removes social skill and promotes sedentary lifestyles. not only that, but kids with ipads are usually much worse behaved because they dont have a device to be attached to. you dont need an ipad for their behavior, you actually need to parent well.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Should also not be allowed on the Internet.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Children should not have an phone of sorts.

by Breitenbergjayd 6 days ago

better then a iphone?

by Anonymous 6 days ago

better than a gun? Are we just listing things kids shouldn't have?

by Paris66 6 days ago

they should have neither

by Anonymous 6 days ago

so you got kids?

by Anonymous 6 days ago

I do, and they shouldn't have either.

by blandakasey 6 days ago

nope, and neither do you. your point?

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Again, refer to my first point. But yeah slightly better I guess. Not like anyone uses their phone as a phone or if the phone part is even a problem. I think the solution is a family iPad/device - at least till they're 11-12. Six year olds don't need their own personal device, it seems to be terrible for development right?

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Just give them regular toys

by borerted 6 days ago

No. They shouldn't have iPads at all.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

My son has never thrown or damaged his iPad. That being said I have no issues going the refurbished route

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Man I could totally see other kids with smart phones setting that AirTag off all the time.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Never used one, but I assume that they'd be linked to your account so not just anyone could set it off?

by Paris66 6 days ago

no, if you have a smartphone and are in close proximity to an airtag that isn't yours for an extended period, your phone will warn you that there's an airtag nearby so that you don't get kidnapped or stalked. So if this kid is sitting in class with an airtag on his phone, he may run the risk of setting off other people's phones (this has happened to me once when I spent all day with a friend who had one and that evening I got a warning about an airtag following me) but I don't think it's that serious of an issue. Lots of people have airtags on their person.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

For safety reasons people with smart phones that are nearby will be notified about the AirTag and be able to set it off.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

My kids at turning 14 and they are the last of their friends who don't have phones. I still feel like it's too soon but I set 8th grade as the threshold years ago so I can't go back now. It's terrifying.

by mireille78 6 days ago

In the fifth grade my parents got me a slide phone. I had unlimited talk and text, but it was just for that. No games, no social media, no YouTube. They said I could get a smartphone in high school, so obviously I did, but, your 8th grade rule is a good standard most parents should be following

by Anonymous 6 days ago

iPads are generally used for videos and games not phones call lol. Kids spend way too much time on tablets but it's really no different then a kid having a console and their own TV back in the day

by Dangerous-Dress-3293 6 days ago

"no smartphone" And then the kid will be seen as a weirdo and an outcast by his/her peers, and the kid will probally find a way to aquire a smartphone and sneak it around behind your back. I know people love to grandstand, and say they will monster their hypothetical future kids with the whole "back in my day" yada yada, but they are not thinking about the reality of the situation.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

If they do that, it's their own phone because they got it without me getting it for them. If they use their own money to buy a phone I don't care, that's their money. I personally am not buying my kid anything other than a cheap Android phone when they turn 15-16.

by Any_Can 6 days ago

I mean they CAN but paying for your own phone + data plan is too expensive to just do behind your parents' back without them noticing unless you have steady income, which, I feel like if a teenager is working a regular job, they're responsible enough for a phone.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

I got mine a cheap android phone, added google family. Set boundaries for the apps she can use and tracks where she is (Not that I use it much, mainly for at school or at home for safety)

by Intelligent_Home_989 6 days ago

so what we had?

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Yes ☺️my 5 year old only has 90s tech and only watches 90s shows and it's AMAZING

by Anonymous 6 days ago

💥

by Anonymous 6 days ago

I recently heard that kids <18 have cell phones in some cases these days, which is absolutely disgusting.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

some cases? most kids in america get phones years before turning 18 lol

by Anonymous 6 days ago

I don't think it's disgusting for high schoolers to have cell phones. At 16 years old, you can work & drive. Ten year olds? Sure

by Anonymous 6 days ago

<18 years? You kind of need a cell phone once you hit driving age. I was pretty late on the trend when I got my first cellphone at 15 in 2006.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

I didn't know that! I lived for 10 years over the driving age without a cell phone and never had a problem. Can't imagine why you'd need a cell phone in a car.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Is it a need in the absolute strictest, most pedantic sense of the word? No. Does it make basic functions so drastically easier, facilitate communication that would otherwise require a hope and a prayer or two trips to resolve, and allow for communication in the event of an emergency (or significant inconvenience), or even just a change of plans? Yes. I hate the trend of young kids getting cellphones, but I wouldn't dream of not allowing one to a driving age child.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Not getting into the conversation about what age children should have ipads, but the big thing about devices is still that support ends after x number of years with them.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

So what? Apple care is a scam anyway.

by mireille78 6 days ago

I'm not talking about Apple care, i'm talking about security updates.

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Kids should not have mobile devices at all. Parents shouldn't even encourage it. Too many studies are coming out now showing how damaging it is to their social and mental development.

by Most_Advertising4855 6 days ago

Did your iPad break and now you're jonesing for Tiktok?

by Anonymous 6 days ago

A kid under 12 doesnt need an ipad.

by corwinsarai 6 days ago

Kids shouldn't even have a refurnished cheap Android knockoff tablet if they're not capable of taking care of it. Child that throws a tablet, doesn't deserve one. Go outside and play with the sportsball.

by Eastern_Set_6538 6 days ago

It's a child who is obviously not old enough to behave appropriately with certain items. Kid throws the ipad? Take it away and give him something he CAN throw, like a ball.

by Eastern_Set_6538 6 days ago

Children should have experience in the outdoors, touching grass and making friends, instead of technology being thrown in their face.

by bernierozella 6 days ago

They shouldn't have them at all.

by DogCultural8673 6 days ago

so what a phone?

by Anonymous 6 days ago

An emergency phone that lets them make and receive calls or text. But no apps or Internet browsing.

by DogCultural8673 6 days ago

Children shouldn't be using iPads. lol

by Vast_Economist 6 days ago

is a phone better?

by Anonymous 6 days ago

Nope. They should have neither.

by Anonymous 5 days ago

They shouldn't have a phone either. A family computer and a family video game system should suffice.

by Vast_Economist 5 days ago

A book is ideal

by Anonymous 5 days ago

I think everyone should have refurbished iPads honestly

by Anonymous 5 days ago

I think they should come from the factory that way.

by Dear-Film3781 5 days ago

what

by Anonymous 5 days ago

I said your hair looks nice.

by Dear-Film3781 5 days ago

Thanks

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Do people forget other tablets exist outside of Apple?

by Anonymous 5 days ago

No but the question was specifically iPads

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Children shouldn't

by Anonymous 5 days ago

The problem is most parents just don't care, they let the device raise their child. Could a gameboy provide enough entertainment to raise a child like an iPhone with unlimited internet access can? You need to buy games on older devices, on any mobile device you can hop on YouTube and scroll for years and never run out of something to watch. THAT is the problem, parents back then did not have to regulate it as much themselves, because there wasn't as much to regulate. Simply put, it is not "literally the same thing". It is completely different.

by bernierozella 5 days ago

very true, kids always will always be obsessed with technology and will find ways to do what they want with it no matter the amount of restrictions on them. that's just how they are lol

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Children shouldn't have any devices whatsoever

by Jacintodouglas 5 days ago

Yeah children shouldn't even have access to any iPads...

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Idk why it's always the people who have no kids think they have the right to say what other people's kids should or shouldn't have. If you plan on having kids and you don't want them to have tablets or phones then that's just fine. Just mind your business and worry about yourself. Don't get how it's gonna affect your life at all. I don't have kids and I'm not worried about whether they should have tablets or phones or whatever because they are not my children.

by Anonymous 5 days ago

I care about the future generations, that's why.

by Head_Nerve 5 days ago

OP's just trying to convince their mom they are entitled to an ipad.

by Due_Mortgage 5 days ago

Wow! What a terribly self-centered way to approach life and consequences.

by Accomplished-Sir4013 5 days ago

this is not a popular opinion? 🙀

by Anonymous 5 days ago

You have no children, but you want to decide what other people's children have? Why not make them wear used clothes? They're just going to wear them out. Same with toys and bikes and school supplies. Or, maybe we just let their parents decide what's best for them since the parents are the ones buying these things for their own kids.

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Used clothes & toys are actually a great idea, many people do this. At the end of the day, the parent IS the one who decides. Doesn't mean others won't be judging

by Anonymous 5 days ago

I agree with everything you said. And when others judge, they might be called out for it.

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Found the parent who sits their kid in front of YouTube.

by Head_Nerve 5 days ago

buddy, his opinion tells you zero about his parenting.

by Anonymous 5 days ago

He's awfully defensive, it seems.

by Head_Nerve 5 days ago

that isn't defensiveness. It's annoyance. Imagine that a big part of your job required you to actually sit and think, and someone comes along and accuses you of being lazy and doing nothing without any idea of what your job requires. Wouldn't that annoy you?

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Hate when that happens at work. As far as lazy parents go, they should not be lazy and interact with their kids more. Heaven forbid we have even more neurodivergent children who can't communicate throughout life cause they were never taught how to on their fancy iPads.

by Head_Nerve 5 days ago

They can be concerned about anyone they want to be. Can they have an opinion? Can I weigh in on space travel, if I've never left earth? The answer is yes, I can.

by Head_Nerve 5 days ago

whatever makes you feel better for being against the betterment of our literal future generation's emotional development lol

by Accomplished-Sir4013 5 days ago

Good luck

by Anonymous 5 days ago

I'll keep fighting that battle for my daughter. I'd rather her be engaged with all of us instead of drool staring into a device like some of our friends' kids.

by Anonymous 5 days ago

You can do it!

by treyschneider 5 days ago

Love all the non-parents loudly declaring children shouldn't have iPads.

by Caterinadach 5 days ago

That is what I did then to an android device where you can use google gamily to control their access. Then it should be monitored time on the tablet, not something they live on. There are parental setting on ipad as well to limit the screen time. Limit it or you get a monster.

by Intelligent_Home_989 5 days ago

Are you purchasing it for someone else's children? What's it to you what other people do with their money?

by jayson15 5 days ago

Or how about toys? As in actual,physical toys and not beep beep boop boop zombie devices?

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Refurbished electronics are the best you can buy. The average iPad is not inspected, they only do a percentage. The refurbished one goes through a rigorous inspection so that it doesn't come back again

by Anonymous 5 days ago

How about 0 ipads at all

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Children shouldn't have ipads.

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Children shouldn't have iPads. My 6 year old has a cheap kids tablet with a built in case and limited internet capabilities and even that he only gets for a a couple hours a day at most.

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Your shift key is broken.

by Moshe27 5 days ago

iPads have ruined a whole generation. Surely people are not still giving their children iPads.

by Anonymous 5 days ago

I mean the Ipod touch existed when i was a kid.

by Anonymous 5 days ago

As someone who was given basically unrestricted access to the internet at 10 kids shouldn't have iPads at all

by Anonymous 5 days ago

I only ever get my teenagers refurbished iPads and iPhones for precisely this reason.

by CompetitionStill6996 5 days ago

lol they shouldn't have iPads at all..:

by Fragrant-Wash6553 5 days ago

I know some kids who are special needs and are ROUGH on their ipads. All one needs is an otterbox. WE have gotten hand-me-down electronics from these kids, and they are always in perfect condition because those Otterboxes protect from everything.

by Sea-Row 5 days ago

Meh--let parents with more money than sense waste it.

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Nobody should have ipads. Apple sucks.

by carleyherzog 5 days ago

This is the correct opinion.

by Accomplished-Sir4013 5 days ago

How's about not giving them iPads at all? Have you seen how dumb Gen Alpha is?

by Embarrassed_Dig_4188 5 days ago

Children shouldn't have iPads at all.

by Anonymous 5 days ago

Wtf are you on about?

by Conscious_Rip_4325 5 days ago

It's hard to tell. You have the prose of an unmedicated 3rd grader

by Conscious_Rip_4325 5 days ago

Going to go against the consensus here and say giving kids an iPad is okay. I grew up with really strict parents and it's true, kids over indulge as teens/adults when they are severely restricted. My nephews aren't allowed to use their tablets (idk why they have them) and when they get them, they act like smeagol. We let my son use it unrestricted (but highly monitored: no access to adult apps and the internet) and he barely uses it. When we visit my brother, we have to hide his iPad because his kids go crazy over it. One day kids are going to get older and use electrics. It's better to teach them rather than restrict it all together. We talk to him about healthy and unhealthy uses of his time and he listens and trusts us (he's 9). Parents just need to communicate with their kids and educate them.

by Anonymous 5 days ago