Are IPads Bad For Children?. There has been a growing debate recently on whether iPads should be given to children to play with. Can they benefit children during their crucial development years or are they actually harmful? iPads present a wide range of advantages for children, however the ipad disadvantages must also be considered as social and interpersonal skills are said to be placed at risk.
Past generations played outdoors with local friends, rode their bicycles in the streets, went to the park and played together and generally enjoyed the company of friends after school, a basic freedom which has sadly been lost in the modern world. When current generations of children head home after school they are most likely to be found in front of the television or on the iPad or computer. Things have certainly changed, however is it a case that we have to move on with the times? Modern life with its speeding cars and busy roads and our fear of our children’s safety playing in the streets unsupervised has put an end to the previously ‘free’ days past generations enjoyed.

The good…
iPads have taken the world by storm and in fact, they come with some benefits when used by children. Over 70% of parents feel that iPads are beneficial tools in their child’s development. Often these gadgets can be used as educational toys, teaching children to read, write and count. They also provide a welcome break for parents as children become engulfed and mesmerized by the wide range of apps and games.
Downloading a child’s book to the iPad can become an interactive experience complete with noises, explanations and movements. They are also linked to the improvement of eye-hand co-ordination. They are believed to have been the most popular children’s toy of 2012.
The bad…
Interaction with others is essential for socialization and for teaching children how to forge new relationships. Friends are an important aspect of any child’s life, they are foundations for the future, teaching them how to interact, how to share and most importantly, learn how to communicate effectively. Children spend less and less time outdoors playing classic outdoor sports, fear of safety can be to blame for this, but the worry is they risk becoming secluded and unfit, and become reliant upon technology. Outdoor play should be a staple in every child’s development, for fitness, fresh air, and physical development, this is often swapped for the more favorable iPad.
Children require the skills to interact with others, to learn to be sociable with other children and learn how to share, how to play and how to generally be around other children, this is basic human behavior learnt through actual interaction with others, through real not virtual play. Sociability is an important stepping stone in our lives which is not learnt through use of the iPad. While children can of course communicate through gaming and social media in later years, will our future generations develop the fundamental skills required when they become adults within social and work situations?
The future…
It’s important to consider the future impact of iPads on our children. Already over 20% of children own an iPad or tablet, this will continue to grow exponentially in the next few years. There is some belief iPad use can lead to attention deficit disorder, though this has not be proven as of yet.
While it may improve hand- eye co-ordination, will it affect the way our children communicate when they get older? Will they have the ability to socialize face to face or are we setting them up for an insular virtual existence of social media and computers?
These are all serious questions that we need to consider. When sitting in front of a computer screen all day or using an iPad, it is easy to become engrossed in the experience and become removed from real life around you. Are children missing out on these small important family interactions while their attention glued to a screen?
Of course this remains an open debate. iPads are relatively new on the market and the result of their use within childhood will not be seen for many more years to come. Childhood is an important time for children to develop skills, this we know for sure. While iPads provide parents with a great tool in which to teach their children new skills in a more appealing manor, it is also imperative children are provided with genuine social activities, outdoor play with friends and family, and learn skills from a wide range of activities. Instead of debating whether iPads are good or bad for children, perhaps we should actually worry more about providing them with well rounded childhood where they can try and learn in moderation from everything available. It is amount of the time iPads are used by children, not the use of them at all which should be questioned.
About the author: Kirstie works with letterbox.co.uk, a company which provide a wide range of indoor and outdoor games for children of all ages.
Check Out These Too:
- Android and Windows Phone to Overrule Apple iOS In the current market of Smartphone’s, there are a couple of big players and over the past few years, there has been one phone in particular that has been growing…
- The latest news about iPad 3 One thing is sure: it was not long after the iPad launch in early 2010, until the tablet reach the most important producer of finance of the company, after iPhone.…
- Everything You Need to Know About iPhone Spy Apps Everything You Need to Know About iPhone Spy Apps - AppleRepo, A decade ago, only a few people were aware of iPhone spy apps and the benefits they may provide.…
- Two iPads Coming in January Apple is apparently planning to release two new iPads in the next month according to a series of rumors circling today. The rumors started after a number of sources…
- Disco Baby App for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad on… Disco Baby App for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad on the iTunes App Store, AppleRepo.com. Disco Baby is one of those apps out there that's an 'out there' app. It's…
- Why Does Ipad Takes Forever To Charge? Why Does Ipad Takes Forever To Charge? - Gadgets may come with different known or hidden issues that may give certain damage to your gadget, same thing happens with an iPad.…
- Free iPhone Games; Tiny Tower Tiny Tower is a game that is currently in the top 25 games in the iTunes app store and it is there for a good reason. The game provides hours…
- Apple makes $6 Billion in Three Months Apple is currently the second largest company in the world and despite the share price falling over the past few days; the company is still in a great position. Apple…
- Kids Song Machine Lite Having apps on your iPod Touch that your kids can play with is great when you're going on car trips, or just need them to hush for a little while…
- Download Crazy Penguin Catapult 2 FREE iTunes App Apple is renowned for offering additional applications that can downloaded for the iPod and iPhone, and often they are happy to charge you for the chance to use them. But…
- Apple file patent for 3D technology Apple is very well known as a company that is often coming up with new and innovative products that are well ahead of many other manufacturers. They have done this…
- Apple Top Designer Wants to Move to UK Apple are well known for their fantastic looking products that have completely revolutionised the industry and now, the top designer for the company is thinking of moving back to the…
- Free iPod Touch Apps for Gaming; Flight Tycoon Tycoon style games are not something that is new to the Apple devices and they have actually been around for many years on a variety of other consoles. Having said…
- How to Turn Off Amber Alerts Iphone iPhone Amber Alerts automatically sends important alerts about missing children directly to iPhones that cause phones to make a loud noise and display a small warning on the screen. US…
- Apple Working on Carbon Fibre Macbook Devices Apple is one of those companies that are always taking steps to become even better than they currently are and it is now thought that the company could be working…
- How does Apple iPhone Airtag work? How does Apple iPhone Airtag work? - AppleRepo, Have you ever wanted to call your keys when you forgot them somewhere? Or look at the map where you left your…
- Various iOS Devices Top Kid's Christmas Lists Each year various companies study what exactly kids and teens want for Christmas in order to develop marketing plans and this year the results are not surprising at all. On…
- Toy Story 3 Memory Match for the iPod Touch We've told you about one great Toy Story 3 app and now, we're telling you about another. This one is so amazingly simple that a child of any age will…
- Free iPhone Games; Jamkit The touch sensitive screen of the iPhone and the iPod Touch means that there is a great number of ways that games can be played and although we have previously…
- Best Cydia Apps for iPad Best Cydia Apps for iPad It's no secret that Cydia serves as the best underground (well, it sure doesn't seem underground given its popularity) provider of iOS device applications for…
- Free iPod Touch Apps for Fun; Morfo Apple products such as the iPod Touch can provide a lot of fun for people by using certain free apps and one of the best apps we have found just…
- Why You Should Not Give Your Child An IPad Why You Should Not Give Your Child An IPad. We are currently living in a high technological world where children going out of our homes to play is no longer…
- How to Make Your iPad More Secure While the iPad may be an ingenious device, there's no doubt that it is a very expensive gadget, and you most likely want to make sure that all the apps…
- Top 7 Best iPad Apps with Fun Activities for Toddlers iPad Apps for Toddlers to Have Fun with & Learn from A few years ago, you might think that parents would never let little fingers run through the screen of…
- Free iPhone Games; City Friends There are a range of different building and strategic games for the iPhone and iPod Touch available at the moment and City Friends is yet another one of these games.…
- How Apple will revolutionize the education? Although our technology has invaded every aspect of life, learn how students and pupils remained unchanged. They now do not peel or textbooks, notebooks and pens, something that Apple is…
- 10 Best Chat Apps For Entertainment 10 Best Chat Apps For Entertainment. As the technology develops, and smart phones play a more and more important role in our daily lives we have to keep up with…
- Apple Sues Motorola Over Technology Apple is one of the world’s most well known and largest companies that produce a huge amount of electronic equipment. Over the past few years, they have become an extremely…
- 10 Best iPad Games The iPad is awesome, no doubt about it. But it can do much more than just give you your apps and be the coolest e-book reader on the market -…
- Kids Eat For App for the iPod Touch Sure, the apps on the iPhone and the iPod Touch are great fun, but can they save you money and make sure that your kids get a healthy and tasty…