We own three iPads, one desktop and three laptops. Each room in our house has a TV. We have two portable DVD players. And two iPhones -- for the adults, not the kids. Excessive? Probably. Disruptive to our kids? Au contraire.
It's so fancy to say you limit your kids TV time. And while I agree that most littles probably don't need to sit in front of the telly for hours upon hours each day, there's nothing wrong with a bit of technology. iPads are awesome travel tools. The games and apps are educational, entertaining and fun. And every time our oldest watches his fellow Star Wars afficionados assemble a new Lego set he usually ensues, building cities and forts and ships for display in his room.
Thinking through the pros and cons of do's and don'ts this weekend, I remember the savvy and brilliant advice of the best pediatrician we ever had. He always recommended 'feeding on demand,' and finally one day, exhausted after months of only 90-minute boob and bottle breaks, we asked: "when does this stop?"
He replied, without skipping a beat: "When they turn 18."
So as I talk to moms about how much computer/TV/technology time we allow our kids, I am instantly reminded of Dr. Zucker's fantastic advice, and how it, too, translates here.
If you give your kids an inch, they don't always take a mile. And if you let them explore, invent and be themselves, you might just find they'll go back to tried-and-true forms of entertainment.
Exhibit A: the egg race!
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