Get young kids 'away from phones, tablets'

[smew]

Yes, we adults can take the devices away from children, but how do you take them away from adults ?

[mtls2005]

Sheesh, people said the same thing about fire, the wheel, cave-paintings, radio, TV, comic books, movies, etc.

 

Well everywhere I go, sky train, restaurant, even bars where supposedly people go to meet others ADULTS are staring at their phones all the time. 

 

Why, back when I was youngun' everybody was reading those fancy newspapers all the time, and ignoring each other.

[overherebc]

2 hours ago, rkidlad said:

When I was a kid, Jesus was our free babysitter. Now it seems iPads, etc, are the new free babysitter. Just plonk your kid on a chair with a tablet and you get peace and quiet while you live 'your' life. 

 

People often ask why I don't have kids - I say it's because I love my free time and I'd be a selfish parent. Some people like me go out and have kids, and yet somehow I'm the odd/bad guy in society. 

 

 

Like you I don't have kids, 'we' decided on that as like you we knew neither of us wanted the hassle and knew we would be crap parents and see them as an annoyance to our way of life.

[seajae]

basic laziness, its easier to let kids play on them than it is too actually take care of them. I am amazed at how young the kids are using them but the parents dont care as long as they dont have to do anything. Slowly but surely we are creating  a generation of idiots that will not be capable of thinking for themselves, all they will be able to do is use their phones/tablets to get answers, even to talk to each other. Everywhere we go everyone just has their heads buried in their tablets/phones, says a real lot about their mental capacity.

[mikebike]

1 minute ago, seajae said:

basic laziness, its easier to let kids play on them than it is too actually take care of them. I am amazed at how young the kids are using them but the parents dont care as long as they dont have to do anything. Slowly but surely we are creating  a generation of idiots that will not be capable of thinking for themselves, all they will be able to do is use their phones/tablets to get answers, even to talk to each other. Everywhere we go everyone just has their heads buried in their tablets/phones, says a real lot about their mental capacity.

Deja vu all over again... just replace "phone/tablet" with "TV"...

[claffey]

54 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Welcome to the 21st Century!  Much the same was probably said about television in the 1950s, computer games in the 80s/90s.  Of course there is definitely some truth to it, but it's too late to put the genie back in the box.  At least my 2-year-old is getting some benefit from endless Peppa Pig videos on YouTube.

Wow. Peppa Pig is one of the least educational cartoons I've ever had the misfortune to view. Octonauts is one of the best. A 2 year old should never be near a tablet, phone etc. Their brains are developing and they need stimulation from the real world...

[MartinL]

33 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

Why, back when I was youngun' everybody was reading those fancy newspapers all the time, and ignoring each other.

 

Don't know about you but when I was a kid, we had something even more fancy - books & the telly. Books were interesting but, when it came to a toss-up between them and fishing, bike riding, playing in the woods or building a camp with my mates, the books were quickly chucked on the floor, telly switched off.

Edited May 29, 2017 by MartinL

[mok199]

no comment...

[Ceruhe]

Sola dosis facit venenum.

[CGW]

16 minutes ago, claffey said:

 Their brains are developing and they need stimulation from the real world...

Their brains are developing! the skull is also thinner so absorbs wifi signals more readily, try explain that to Thai parents, no interest would be an understatement! not to worry we will all soon be nicely surrounded in the technological prison that is being built all around us, then we wont be allowed to think or write anything that is not an official & allowable viewpoint

[ben2talk]

3 hours ago, MartinL said:

If anybody finds a version of this article in Thai, please post a link.

 

This is a concern for my wife and myself re. our 2 year old grandson. His parents give him their phone then he screams the house down and hits them when they want it back.

 

The parents won't listen to our worries - my wife's, primarily, since I'm the step-grandad - no matter how often they're repeated.

 

Maybe the words of a prominent doctor will open their eyes a bit.

I dealt with this - in a limited fashion. When my son gets a phone or tablet, maybe after a few minutes I say 'okay, time's up!'.

If there is ANY apparent negative reaction - I simply say 'You're frustrated, you're not happy, so it's not good to do this again'.

 

Now HE manages himself. 'Just two minutes, okay Daddy?'. After 2 minutes I say '30 seconds left'. He takes a few seconds to adjust, turns it off and hands it back to me with a big smile on his face. He's now 5, but I taught him this when he was 4.

 

What we need here is to EDUCATE people and children to USE tablets and phones and whatever other devices are available... not to deny access, but to teach them discipline and self control. U want to play Crysis - okay, set your alarm for 45 minutes and shutdown when you're finished.

 

[Dmaxdan]

We are, at the moment permanently taking care of our two month old grandson. About three months ago he was taken to the local doctors clinic for what I was led to understand was a routine IQ test. He had a tantrum and didn't interact or complete any of the tests he was shown.
He was immediately referred to a child specialist at the local hospital, and one question we were asked was does he have a tablet. The answer to this is yes, although he has never actually interacted with it himself, we just sometimes (not everyday) let him watch educational baby cartoons on YouTube. We were told to stop this immediately. I personally don't no anything about bringing up kids, never having been a father, but this seemed a little extreme to me. In fairness, when he watches these cartoons he is totally in the zone, and barely responds if you call his name. But on the other hand.....he is clearly learning his ABC.

I did read a while back that one problem with many young children is that many can't hold a pen probably because they are not given crayons and pictures to colour in as I was when I was a kid. They just have a very strong index finger from constantly prodding a tablet.


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[ben2talk]

6 minutes ago, Dmaxdan said:

We are, at the moment permanently taking care of our two month old grandson. About three months ago he was taken to the local doctors clinic for what I was led to understand was a routine IQ test. He had a tantrum and didn't interact or complete any of the tests he was shown.

 

 when he watches these cartoons he is totally in the zone, and barely responds if you call his name. But on the other hand.....he is clearly learning his ABC.

Sad story - but he's  2 years, not months right?.... that's not so bad... but extreme measures are needed. Try teaching him the 'smile when your time's up' approach - worked for me... so he can go and build a tower to earn tablet time.

 

You must watch the ABC with him, then you must put the tablet away and do ABC with no tablet... there's the difference.

Edited May 29, 2017 by ben2talk
cut down

[bannork]

Here is the link to the article in Thai, MartinL

https://www.maerakluke.com/topics/11698

[milesinnz]

2 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Whole article sounds like pseudo science nonsense to me.

 

Where's the research to back up these alarmist claims?

Indeed... Thailand and Cambodia seem to have it in for cell phones.. was one doing the rounds in Cambodia about the blue light from cell phones... and an accompanying photo showing a damaged eye.. a reverse image search showed the original article which was eye damage due to sunlight... - so why not make the point about children wearing sun glasses -  the danger with such articles is that it deflects people from addressing the real issue, and the issue here seems to be more about irresponsible parenting... but better to blame the evil cell phone.. ADHD is just a term to describe a set of behaviors.. nothing to say they are medically wrong, just that there are socially unacceptable and better to blame it as some sort of disease than address the social issues behind it... sick really..

Edited May 29, 2017 by milesinnz

[franck1972]

3 hours ago, MartinL said:

If anybody finds a version of this article in Thai, please post a link.

 

This is a concern for my wife and myself re. our 2 year old grandson. His parents give him their phone then he screams the house down and hits them when they want it back.

 

The parents won't listen to our worries - my wife's, primarily, since I'm the step-grandad - no matter how often they're repeated.

 

Maybe the words of a prominent doctor will open their eyes a bit.

This article is definitely available on thai, but don't know where. I know because my gf read is some days ago, and it finally opened her eyes.
We have a 5yo son, and he totally fits into this category.
The way you described your grandson reminds me exactly my son when he was 2yo, this is when the big problems started.
Shouting like an animal, screaming, hitting people, running against the wall to injure himself (yes really..).

It was to the point we thought he had a severe case of autism.
On top of this, he didn't talk a single word before the age of 3yo.

Now, everything is almost ok, he was followed by a pediatrician and we fixed the issues step by step.
But all of this could have been avoided if he wasn't addicted to this iphone.

It's tough to make them switch off from the phone but it's possible, step by step.
The sooner you do it, the best it will be for them.

[jak2002003]

1 hour ago, Odysseus123 said:

Are You Lost in the World Like Me?

 

 

A sad fate for three or four year olds of any nationality.

Thanks for that music video... that is how I feel sometimes..  Often I am with a group of people, say out for a meal, and they will be poking away at their phones most of the time.. and not talking to each other or noticing anything going on around them.  I then look around and see other people, families and kids on other table all doing the same.

 

The one time it makes me feel sad is when I see a young couple out for a romantic meal or a coffee in a nice place.. and they are just sitting opposite each other eyes on their phones... when surely that time in their life is one of the best to be interacting with your partner... (they are probably swiping through hundreds of photos on some dating apps looking for the next 'better' boyfriend as people seem to never appreciate or be happy with what they have'.  I hate how society has become.

 

 

[MartinL]

21 minutes ago, bannork said:

Here is the link to the article in Thai, MartinL

https://www.maerakluke.com/topics/11698

Thanks very much bannork. Tchooptip provided a similar article in Post 15 here. 

 

 

[SiamBeast]

For the most part, I agree with the idea of the article. Just yesterday I was standing in the BTS and every person sitting was glued to their phones. I went to eat after and pretty much everyone in the restaurant was using their phone.

 

My parents taught me to not abuse that. Today I have no Facebook, no Instagram. And when I am out with people, my phone is in my pocket. If someone needs to contact me, they can simply call me. I have special alerts on Line for "important" people, i.e. business people that need a quick response. For the rest of the time, I do not use my phone. Everyone who is important for me has my Line and can contact me anytime.

 

Facebook is just a mass US government surveillance tool used to spy on people's lives and have an easy source of information when investigating someone. There is no real point in using Facebook, except attention-whoring for likes (most people click "like" and move on and just forgot what happened), sharing personal information, and having one more reason to stick your phone out. Unless you're Dan Bilzerian, there's no point in using FB.

 

Most people are used to the "comfort zone" of being glued to their phones, and when they meet people in real life, the interaction is ankward so they both take their phones out. We're becoming zombies. That's why my children will not have access to tablets more than 1 hour or 2 per day. I'll teach them what men teach their sons: using a chainsaw, driving a motorcycle, doing karting, talking to girls, picking a suit, and other stuff that people should do - but "whoring on Facebook" isn't in the list.

Edited May 29, 2017 by SiamBeast

[Bob12345]

39 minutes ago, ben2talk said:

I dealt with this - in a limited fashion. When my son gets a phone or tablet, maybe after a few minutes I say 'okay, time's up!'.

If there is ANY apparent negative reaction - I simply say 'You're frustrated, you're not happy, so it's not good to do this again'.

 

Now HE manages himself. 'Just two minutes, okay Daddy?'. After 2 minutes I say '30 seconds left'. He takes a few seconds to adjust, turns it off and hands it back to me with a big smile on his face. He's now 5, but I taught him this when he was 4.

 

What we need here is to EDUCATE people and children to USE tablets and phones and whatever other devices are available... not to deny access, but to teach them discipline and self control. U want to play Crysis - okay, set your alarm for 45 minutes and shutdown when you're finished.

 

Absolutely love your post.

My kids are too young at the moment, but I will be following your advice when they reach the appropriate age.

 

The guidelines I am following:

0-2 years: absolutely no TV, clips, movies, tablets, phones

2-4 years: maximum 30 minutes a day (so somewhere between zero and thirty) of educational stuff completely supervised

4+ years: possibility to "earn" some extra screen time by doing unrelated stuff well. And after reading your post, ending it with a smile or it won't happen again soon.

 

And I agree with your educational part; you cannot keep those things away completely from children but they have to learn how to handle them. At some point you cannot control what they do anymore (it might be age 6 when they go over to friends or age 18 when they move out) so your job as a parent is teaching them how to use it responsibly.

[NoshowJones]

6 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

I tried tablets with my kids, they caused fights and the kids wouldn't do anything  but play with them all day, so when the tablets broke they didn't get replaced. That was a couple of years ago already, and my kids are fine without them.

Now, what to do about the adults?

Teach them how to walk in a straight line and watch where they are going.

[djayz]

I blame it on lazy parents (both here and abroad). They're so absorbed in their own gadgets that they couldn't be bothered doing anything with their kids. 

If used in a productive manner e.g.doing research, homework, etc. the devices are a valuable tool. Unfortunately I very seldom see people doing anything else except scrolling up and down FB/instagram or chatting on those things. 

 

They have killed the art of conversation. 

[djayz]

1 minute ago, possum1931 said:

Teach them how to walk in a straight line and watch where they are going.

LMAO!!!! Brilliant!!! ???????

[Dmaxdan]

58 minutes ago, ben2talk said:

Sad story - but he's  2 years, not months right?.... that's not so bad... but extreme measures are needed. Try teaching him the 'smile when your time's up' approach - worked for me... so he can go and build a tower to earn tablet time.
 
You must watch the ABC with him, then you must put the tablet away and do ABC with no tablet... there's the difference.

My mistake, he is two years not two months. We do have books for both the Thai and English alphabets. My wife helps him with the Thai, as that is all just squiggles the me.....but the ABC book is my responsibility.


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Edited May 29, 2017 by Dmaxdan

[elgordo38]

6 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

I tried tablets with my kids, they caused fights and the kids wouldn't do anything  but play with them all day, so when the tablets broke they didn't get replaced. That was a couple of years ago already, and my kids are fine without them.

Now, what to do about the adults?

I don't own a tablet so not much help. Can adults be weaned?

[elgordo38]

5 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Very true-I see the young kids here mesmerized by their parents phones which are given to them as a form of surrogate dummy.Mind you,the parents themselves then go into a half crazed withdrawal state when the phone is handed over as it is the end of the world as they know and experience it, so it becomes a vital necessity to give the 4 year olds a phone of their own.All this from people who continually proclaim "We are poor"

 

I have not seen my 22 year old stepdaughter without a phone in her hand in 6 years.Ten selfies a day keeps the narcissism in play.

Yes my g/f is the same way I think we have pictures of all the meals we ever ate. Gives me heartburn. 

[brewsterbudgen]

1 hour ago, claffey said:

Wow. Peppa Pig is one of the least educational cartoons I've ever had the misfortune to view. Octonauts is one of the best. A 2 year old should never be near a tablet, phone etc. Their brains are developing and they need stimulation from the real world...

Nonsense, it's brilliant!

 

http://www.kidspot.com.au/5-things-your-kids-can-learn-from-peppa-pig/

[Olik]

I tried tablets with my kids, they caused fights and the kids wouldn't do anything  but play with them all day, so when the tablets broke they didn't get replaced. That was a couple of years ago already, and my kids are fine without them.
Now, what to do about the adults?

Adults fight over phone/tablets, too while going to bed, because they neglect each other's needs when their attention is on the gadgets.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[janpharma]

This counts for adults too ...

[claffey]

7 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Nonsense, it's brilliant!

 

http://www.kidspot.com.au/5-things-your-kids-can-learn-from-peppa-pig/

It teaches kid to scream and cry like george! My son started copying him so we switched to Octonauts where he learns all about marine life...