When a phone died, I used to remove the batteries and give it to the kids. Back then, people would freak out when they saw a toddler with a cell phone, so I wrote TOY on the phone in big letters.
Cell phones were a lot thicker and heavier back then. Removing the battery made it easier for the kids to pick them up.
Parenting tip: A broken cell phone is dishwasher safe. It will still be broken when it comes out of the dishwasher, but at least it will be clean again. (Most cell phones will be broken after going through a dishwasher cycle, whether they were broken going in or not.)
Wait, how many people here don't have kids? Early returns suggest the majority, but I'll wait for more precincts to report before I say..."huh, thought it would be the exact opposite".
dad with two kids that play with his phone and kindle sometimes
When my son was younger, I would let him play apps on my phone, only sitting at a table or next to me. Now, Android 5 has user profiles and you can setup a user with limited access to applications. It's fast user switching, so it is easy to go back and forth.
He has my old phone and his own iPad now, but if he doesn't have those, I let him use his profile on my phone.
@The_Baron I was so excited that the android 5 had multi-user. My son has a severe speech delay but is incredibly smart in all other ways. So when he needs something, he takes the phone, switches to his side, and uses a special app that helps him tell us what he needs.
First, I would never let my kid (if I had one), play with my phone. they don't need it, and really if I told the truth I could get through life with a flip phone everyone could, but these days, if you don't have a cell phone, you're gonna have a bad time. I didn't have them growing up and it will still make zero difference in the life a child without a special need that makes it a life tool.
Second, every friend I have has had their kid break their $600+ dollar phone. I'm not paying for a new phone because I was a lazy parent, and lets be honest, do you think every parent prior to digital pocket science was just locking the kids in the trunk of the car?
@2many2no before car seats each car came equiped with a lap belt and moms arm accross your chest, but i meant for the purposes of keeping them quite-ish
I have no kids, but I definitely would, allowing they phone would have to be placed in a "kid-safe" mode. Seriously, not gonna let Jr. dial 911 or my Ex.
Meh, its a phone, get over it. I let my 2yo use it whenever her tablet is dead. I have an otterbox on my phone, it literally is indestructible (other than it going into the drink).
@brianmc1975 My MotoX went briefly into the drink and survived. I was getting a pedicure and it slipped off my lap into the tub. The salon worker fished it out quickly and another worker who'd seen it had run and got a towel. I turned it off for a couple of hours to let it get dry and opened the battery compartment to make sure it was dry before turning it back on but it suffered no harm. I should have done the rice thing in retrospect, but I didn't think of it at the time. If I had a kid I would not let them play with my phone, and I would spend less time playing with my phone as well. Kids need personal interaction, they get way more than enough "screen time" without using play time for the phone.
Last week some friends and their two daughters came over for dinner. The seven-year-old was obsessed with the dimmer switches for some reason. She was going around the house making lights dimmer and brighter. I also have four LIFX bulbs. I handed her my iPhone with the LIFX app pulled up and she spent the rest of the evening playing with it.
Given that experience, I had to answer Don't have kids, but if I did, I'd totally let them.
@SSteve In twenty years, she might be the lighting director for a theater. My kids liked light switches so much, I mounted 3 of them in a plastic box with a battery and some panel mount LEDs of various colors. Those switches were used for controlling a time machine, a rocket, and all sorts of other magical devices of the imagination. Little kids do the same sorts of things with cell phone apps. If you see a small child happily bringing up different error messages, they're not using the app wrong, they're just playing a different game then you expect.
@The_Baron I don't have personal experience with Hue. A couple things I like about LIFX: They don't require purchasing a hub–they have all the brains built-in. If you're in to tinkering, the LIFX has an API so you can write software to do fun things with them. Because of that API I can control them with my home automation system because someone wrote a plug-in for it.
I've handed my phone to my friend's toddler. Instead of packing around a ton of toys/activities in giant bulky bags, people bring a phone/tablet. I don't think that's lazy, or negative; just a sign of the evolution of humans and technology.
@Thumperchick I found it was a lot easier just to have an iPad filled with learning apps. Now it's still useful when we have to be in settings where we have to sit and wait for a long time. There are a lot of great learning apps now like Endless Reader/Alphabet/Numbers/Wordplay, lots with reading and comprehension. I feel like it's ok, just as long as you have time/places where there are no electronics allowed.
People without kids are a little judgy. Try cooking home made/nutritious meals in a dual income family with a 2 year old before you cast stones. Its either San Quentin style playpen or a smart phone.
@Thumperchick Parents with a 2 year old are often sleep deprived. @TimmyB was looking at the poll results. There are two choices for people without kids. The majority of people who chose one of those two choices, chose the one that was a little judgy. I might have been better at phrasing stuff when I had a two year old and an infant. I can't really say, as I don't remember anything from that period of my life. No sleep does that to you.
@TimmyB I am conscious of that. But not having kids was a decision I made in my 20's. I had an image of what an ideal parent should be, and I was not willing to make the sacrifices required to achieve that ideal, so I chose not to have kids. That doesn't mean I expect every parent to exactly match my idea of the ideal parent, but parenting is an important job, for most people the most important thing they will do in their lives, and I do feel that too many people take that job far too lightly. Of course I am not speakng of anyone on this thread, I don't know any of you well enough to make such an evaluation. I'm speaking of people I have known personally. This feeling has been reinforced by knowing a few people who really so meet my image of an ideal parent, so I know it is not an impossible goal. So yes, I do admit to being a person without kids who is a little (or even a lot) judgy.
@moondrake well said, I think it's possible to not have kids and still be able to recognize less than ideal parenting as well as stellar parenting. You don't have to be an expert with personal experience in everything you critique. I think parents are generally very sensitive to any sort of criticism because there are certainly a lot of things you don't see them doing and it's understandably a huge important part of their lives.
@JonT For me, my priorities changed a lot when I had a kid. The importance of having a mint condition phone really dropped off that list. So long as it can play Clash of Clans, i'm ok with it.
I will add that I think every decision for a parent is huge to them - it's all about how their kid turns out, and that's a big deal. So whenever someone says something that disagrees with one of those choices, the parent tends to take it as a personal criticism and/or judgment of them and how they are raising their child. While I understand the tendency, it reinforces the "us vs. them" vibe that further divides.
When a phone died, I used to remove the batteries and give it to the kids. Back then, people would freak out when they saw a toddler with a cell phone, so I wrote TOY on the phone in big letters.
Cell phones were a lot thicker and heavier back then. Removing the battery made it easier for the kids to pick them up.
Parenting tip: A broken cell phone is dishwasher safe. It will still be broken when it comes out of the dishwasher, but at least it will be clean again. (Most cell phones will be broken after going through a dishwasher cycle, whether they were broken going in or not.)
Wait, how many people here don't have kids? Early returns suggest the majority, but I'll wait for more precincts to report before I say..."huh, thought it would be the exact opposite".
When my son was younger, I would let him play apps on my phone, only sitting at a table or next to me.
Now, Android 5 has user profiles and you can setup a user with limited access to applications. It's fast user switching, so it is easy to go back and forth.
He has my old phone and his own iPad now, but if he doesn't have those, I let him use his profile on my phone.
@The_Baron I was so excited that the android 5 had multi-user. My son has a severe speech delay but is incredibly smart in all other ways. So when he needs something, he takes the phone, switches to his side, and uses a special app that helps him tell us what he needs.
First, I would never let my kid (if I had one), play with my phone. they don't need it, and really if I told the truth I could get through life with a flip phone everyone could, but these days, if you don't have a cell phone, you're gonna have a bad time. I didn't have them growing up and it will still make zero difference in the life a child without a special need that makes it a life tool.
Second, every friend I have has had their kid break their $600+ dollar phone. I'm not paying for a new phone because I was a lazy parent, and lets be honest, do you think every parent prior to digital pocket science was just locking the kids in the trunk of the car?
@badmnky Before car seats, you had to put them somewhere.
@2many2no before car seats each car came equiped with a lap belt and moms arm accross your chest, but i meant for the purposes of keeping them quite-ish
@badmnky I think 2many2no meant that too.
@badmnky is it really appropriate to call your friends lazy parents when you don't have kids yourself?
I have no kids, but I definitely would, allowing they phone would have to be placed in a "kid-safe" mode. Seriously, not gonna let Jr. dial 911 or my Ex.
no, but I let my dog use my iPad.
Meh, its a phone, get over it. I let my 2yo use it whenever her tablet is dead. I have an otterbox on my phone, it literally is indestructible (other than it going into the drink).
@brianmc1975 My MotoX went briefly into the drink and survived. I was getting a pedicure and it slipped off my lap into the tub. The salon worker fished it out quickly and another worker who'd seen it had run and got a towel. I turned it off for a couple of hours to let it get dry and opened the battery compartment to make sure it was dry before turning it back on but it suffered no harm. I should have done the rice thing in retrospect, but I didn't think of it at the time. If I had a kid I would not let them play with my phone, and I would spend less time playing with my phone as well. Kids need personal interaction, they get way more than enough "screen time" without using play time for the phone.
From that ages thread that popped up last week, I think the question is more, Do we let our caretakers play with our phone?
Last week some friends and their two daughters came over for dinner. The seven-year-old was obsessed with the dimmer switches for some reason. She was going around the house making lights dimmer and brighter. I also have four LIFX bulbs. I handed her my iPhone with the LIFX app pulled up and she spent the rest of the evening playing with it.
Given that experience, I had to answer Don't have kids, but if I did, I'd totally let them.
@SSteve In twenty years, she might be the lighting director for a theater. My kids liked light switches so much, I mounted 3 of them in a plastic box with a battery and some panel mount LEDs of various colors. Those switches were used for controlling a time machine, a rocket, and all sorts of other magical devices of the imagination. Little kids do the same sorts of things with cell phone apps. If you see a small child happily bringing up different error messages, they're not using the app wrong, they're just playing a different game then you expect.
@SSteve How is LIFX compared to Philips hue? I was thinking of picking up some hue lux bulbs, but didn't want to buy into a whole system yet.
@The_Baron I don't have personal experience with Hue. A couple things I like about LIFX: They don't require purchasing a hub–they have all the brains built-in. If you're in to tinkering, the LIFX has an API so you can write software to do fun things with them. Because of that API I can control them with my home automation system because someone wrote a plug-in for it.
Disclaimer: I voted "they all have their own", but mine are all in high school or older. Not quite the same as giving a 2yo an iPad.
I've handed my phone to my friend's toddler. Instead of packing around a ton of toys/activities in giant bulky bags, people bring a phone/tablet. I don't think that's lazy, or negative; just a sign of the evolution of humans and technology.
@Thumperchick I found it was a lot easier just to have an iPad filled with learning apps. Now it's still useful when we have to be in settings where we have to sit and wait for a long time. There are a lot of great learning apps now like Endless Reader/Alphabet/Numbers/Wordplay, lots with reading and comprehension. I feel like it's ok, just as long as you have time/places where there are no electronics allowed.
People without kids are a little judgy. Try cooking home made/nutritious meals in a dual income family with a 2 year old before you cast stones. Its either San Quentin style playpen or a smart phone.
@TimmyB Calling all people with kids a little judgy is a lotta condescending.
@Thumperchick Parents with a 2 year old are often sleep deprived. @TimmyB was looking at the poll results. There are two choices for people without kids. The majority of people who chose one of those two choices, chose the one that was a little judgy. I might have been better at phrasing stuff when I had a two year old and an infant. I can't really say, as I don't remember anything from that period of my life. No sleep does that to you.
@TimmyB I am conscious of that. But not having kids was a decision I made in my 20's. I had an image of what an ideal parent should be, and I was not willing to make the sacrifices required to achieve that ideal, so I chose not to have kids. That doesn't mean I expect every parent to exactly match my idea of the ideal parent, but parenting is an important job, for most people the most important thing they will do in their lives, and I do feel that too many people take that job far too lightly. Of course I am not speakng of anyone on this thread, I don't know any of you well enough to make such an evaluation. I'm speaking of people I have known personally. This feeling has been reinforced by knowing a few people who really so meet my image of an ideal parent, so I know it is not an impossible goal. So yes, I do admit to being a person without kids who is a little (or even a lot) judgy.
@moondrake well said, I think it's possible to not have kids and still be able to recognize less than ideal parenting as well as stellar parenting. You don't have to be an expert with personal experience in everything you critique. I think parents are generally very sensitive to any sort of criticism because there are certainly a lot of things you don't see them doing and it's understandably a huge important part of their lives.
@JonT For me, my priorities changed a lot when I had a kid. The importance of having a mint condition phone really dropped off that list. So long as it can play Clash of Clans, i'm ok with it.
@moondrake & @JonT Well put.
I will add that I think every decision for a parent is huge to them - it's all about how their kid turns out, and that's a big deal. So whenever someone says something that disagrees with one of those choices, the parent tends to take it as a personal criticism and/or judgment of them and how they are raising their child. While I understand the tendency, it reinforces the "us vs. them" vibe that further divides.
@moondrake Totally respect your position.