During a late afternoon Target run last week, I popped in the toy section to shop for my 2-year-old daughter's birthday and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a baby-friendly cover for a real iPhone or iPod Touch.
Because that's exactly what babies need to be playing with these days.
I'm all for using technology with kids, but when it comes to little ones, I think they should be interacting with people and real toys, not shiny screens that they can't do anything with anyway, well, other than send rogue text messages and delete my apps. And the Fisher Price Apptivity iPhone and iPod case seems to encourage that.
Maybe it's just me, but my kids were never really occupied by any sort of technology until they were at least 3 years old. And even then, it was never enough for me to invest in a gadget just for them. All my babies wanted was a boob, bottle, or binky; last time I checked, there's no app for that.
Aside from the fact that I don't really want to encourage them to chew on the icky plastic, let alone my iPhone or iPad, I don't like that when you put a case made for babies on a super expensive gadget. You're promoting the child's ownership of that device. Yes, my older kids do play on our iPad, but it's the family iPad, not theirs. And they know that because we keep it in our drawer with an adult case on it. Not one with rattles and chew toys.
I get that moms need a break, and it's easy to pass off your iPhone or iPad to occupy them so you can grab a cup of coffee or chat on the phone with your friend. But why not wait until your kid is older and can actually do something with your phone other than suck on it. Instead, hand them a toy! Remember those?
Would you buy a Fisher Price Apptivity Case for your kids?
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Comments 9
The AAP recomendation is absolutley no screen time for children under 3. I can't say we're perfect about it, but I certainly don't hand my 15 month old my smartphone. I guess part of it is we can't afford to replace it if it breaks so I'm not willing to risk it, and part of it is I don't see any reason why she should have it. She has dolls and age appropriate toys.
Sooo funny that this article has been posted. I was Christmas shopping this past weekend and was SHOCKED to see THREE different types of iPhone or iPod case all by Fisher Price. 1 was for a toddler and the other two for infants. I mean really????? This is a bit extreme.
Fisher Price has iPhone apps????
I want my son tolearn to be able to handle waiting a few minutes for a table at a restaurant, at the doctor's office, etc. without having to have a phone/I-pad to entertain him. It seems like kids have no ability to be anywhere without having to have their parents' phones or tablets.