We’re a pretty tech savvy family.
My husband relies on technology to get work done from home after dinner and bedtimes (rather than staying late at the office),and I’m a blogger with various social media accounts.
We own two iPads, iPhones, Kindles, several laptops, and a desktop.
All of that being said, we only recently started letting Henry play games/apps online. In fact, I had to first give him a lesson in how to use a computer mouse because at almost 6 years old, he genuinely had no idea how to work the thing.
I’ve been holding off on online games and video games as best I can. We allow the occasional app on the iPad, but even that’s pretty rare. Like, maybe once a week or so.
I’m not anti-video games.
I grew up in the 80’s. I logged a ridiculous number of hours on my boxy Nintendo racing Princess Toadstool around imaginary worlds, jumping on DuckTurtle things, and trying to catch flashing stars of invincibility.
So I get it. I do.
Every summer, at Clearlake, we hold Super Mario Bros. 3 tournaments, and Henry was allowed to play for the first time ever. It was fun getting to share something from our childhood with our own kids.
But as a mom, here’s why I’m still holding gaming at arm’s length:
It’s just another thing to manage.
“Ten more minutes!” “Not until you get your chores done!” “Put it away, that’s been long enough.” “No, not now. You’ve already played today.”
I feel like a bulk of my day is spent saying no, negotiating, and managing. Sweets, snacks, TV time. I just really can’t stomach the idea of yet another thing to keep track of. Another thing to be the bad guy about. Another thing to argue and whine and…ugh. Because even when gaming is finally allowed, you better believe it won’t be a free-for-all hours on end. And then there’s the games…having to keep track of what is appropriate for our home…it’s just a lot.
But Henry’s getting older. Friends at school are playing games, and while I am happy to not follow the crowd, I do believe it’s important to have some cultural relevancy. (Some of you disagree, and that’s okay.)
Plus, we are finding that Jill may benefit from educational games/apps. Holding a pencil may be hard for her…sounding out words difficult…but pointing on a screen is within her abilities and might prove a Godsend for some of her special needs and even her ability to effectively communicate with us.
We’ve dipped our toes into the gaming world by buying Henry an old Leapster 2
While I don’t automatically give something the green light simply because the packaging screams “Educational!” , I thought that if I was going to let him play games, he might as well be getting something out of it while he’s blowing up Storm Troopers or whatever it is.
Plus, all of the games offered are pretty much appropriate. There are no bloody zombies wandering around teaching ABCs, no realistic war games reinforcing addition and subtraction. It’s all pretty cartoony and kid friendly. I like that it keeps me from having to micro manage too deeply.
So now we’re starting to think about something like this for Jill. She wouldn’t be able to control the characters with a handheld system like this, but a tablet would work perfectly, and we all know how much girl loves her Tag Reader.
That being said, the idea of buying a $500+ tablet for a four year old is probably not within my comfort level. For a lot of reasons.
When I heard about the LeapPad Ultra, I was intrigued. It’s kid friendly, cost effective, and keeps me from having to worry too much about inappropriate content. Plus, it’s a lot less delicate for the inevitable dropping that will happen.
Another cool feature is that you can set it up for several kids…so Jill could have her own screen/apps of easier games and Lucy and Henry could have harder/more advanced games without there being confusion and frustration of choosing a game outside of each child’s abilities. And it also has wi-fi that will only connect to kid-safe websites…I’m not sure how that works exactly, but for Henry, that’s a pretty cool feature for homeschool days when we want to look into more detailed stuff and when I want to keep him occupied, yet still doing something “schoolish” while I’m showering or loading the dishwasher or whatever.
Funny thing is, while researching the device for this sponsored post, I pretty much sold myself. It really does seem like a good tool primarily for Jill, but also for the others when she’s not using it. Although LeapFrog is compensating me for this post, I am not provided with a LeapPad Ultra, so I am genuinely considering it…maybe a joint/multi family member Christmas gift?
If you are interested in the LeapPad Ultra, they are offering pre-orders through Wednesday…and have actually SOLD OUT on the Leap Frog site…but you can go there to find more participating retailers.
How do you manage the topic of gaming and computer time in your home? What age did you allow games? Any tips on how to make it easier to manage? Do your kids own their own tablet? Do you ahve a child with special needs that benefits from a tablet device? Help!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Latest posts by jeannett (see all)
- Dirt in a Jar, Laundry Scientists, and Clean Water - October 20, 2015
- Because Cake. - October 11, 2015
- How to design a luxury bathroom for less - August 12, 2015
Pre-orders? It always scares me when I can’t try something in the store (like bestbuy) first before buying. But it sure seems like this would be a good investment for your kids!
Katie´s last blog post ..Timeout Tuesday
I have a stepson who is eight. Things are ran very differently at the two households. Which, makes it even harder than your average tech problem! We have two laptops in the house, which he doesn’t really get to use. He has a DS and Wii. We set up strict boundaries. He gets about 1 hour of game time on a normal evening. We stretch that to maybe 2 hours of game time on a weekend day, when he has more free time.
The hard thing for us, is to set aside what is happening at the other house (unlimited game time– really hours on end — and a computer of his own in his room) and not keep him from doing anything tech related here because of it. We don’t want him to be a zombie who can only entertain himself if something electronic is in front of him.
We have instituted a technology free Thursday. When he is here in the evenings on Thursdays, no one is on computer/phone/gaming/tv. It is great. We play board games and read. It has really reinstated a love of reading in him. It would just be so much easier if we could control what was happening at both houses! ha ha
Adam has a Leap Pad 2 (I think?) that my in-laws gave him for christmas and he loves it….although I think he uses the camera on it more then the games. He has 2 games and both are educational but fun. He had to come with me to almost all my prenatal appointments, and we brought that thing every time…lol.
We did sort of make the mistake of letting him play the playstation about a year ago and now he is OBSESSED with playing video games. We limit it though – no games before noon….or after 5pm….an hour time limit…and it’s the FIRST privilege to go when he has bad behavior.
We honestly have some regret that we got him started on the playstation so young…argh.
We also let him use starfall.com on the laptop – very educational and fun games and easy to do and FREE.
Kirsten´s last blog post ..This says it all….
I hear you about not wanting to battle. We are now CONSTENTLY SAYING NO. But I stick to what I say. As annoying as it is. I think/hope it’s a stage. (He is 5 almost 6)
My hubby had the iphone 4 since it came out, and since my son was 3 he has begged and begged to play it. Sometimes we let him some times we didn’t. (Grocery store and dinners out were pretty much it) We taught him to be respectful of it, that it is OURS and a privilege to get to play with it. He has never ever once thrown it, or damaged it. I think he knew from a young young age he would NEVER get to touch it again if he did. It was always for a limited amount of time, and when we say you’re done, you hand it over, RIGHT then, and say: “Thank you for letting me play with your phone”. If that didn’t happen, no phone for long time.
With those boundaries we never had problems about it. UNTILL my son got the leap pad 2. His aunt bought him one for Christmas. I fought it. She wanted to give it to him for his 5th birthday in October. By Christmas I caved. His day care had leapsters I felt that was enough. We have iphones he plays some apps on them. Plus at day care she lets him play the Playstation and we have a Wii at home he and daddy sometimes played. Between all that I did NOT want a Leappad 2. Then cousin got one. Thanksgiving weekend he played and played with it. It was pretty nice and compared to all the other stuff it does have the learning advantage. I gave in.
SO after having it I can say the following:
Pros: It’s great for the car, when we are having to sit and wait somewhere and expect him quite, we are not having to hand over the phone as much…. (although he still begs for it the games are different and he thinks better) and on weekend mornings for me to get a wee bit more shut eye. (we just have 1 and he is 5) Hello?? WHY do they wake up at the crack of dawn when we don’t have to get up but when we do we have to drag them out of bed???
Cons: I was against the Leap stuff because games can get SPENDY. Sure the unit is about $100 but you buy a few games at 25 bucks a pop and you start to wish we had gotten the tablet. Tablet for a 5 year old??? What? Well they outgrow this leap stuff pretty fast. Maybe not so much for Jilly but my son got his at Christmas, and he is already asking for a tablet. (oh Ya it is NOT happening but that does not stop him asking) Thinking about it though ipad or kindle apps? Free or a buck each. Or maybe 2…. Leep apps? $25.00 dollars TWENTY FIVE! (Yes they have cheap ones for 5 and 12 but the good ones are expensive!) Plus lots of what they have are videos. And I do not want him watching videos. IF I was to do it over? I might just go with a used tablet. Kindle Fires are not much more than a leap pad with good games. They will grow with them rather than being something that they grow out of. Just get a really good case. Also, I think his thirst for games has gone up. He asked before but now he always asks. And I get attitude. (Maybe it’s an age/stage thing I don’t know) I think the respect for getting to do it has gone away now that he has one of his own.
Now, here is what I have to share about getting leap pad apps on the cheap. First, my sister (who lives 600 miles away) and I share an account. We take turns purchasing games. We BOTH get to play the games we purchase. We only purchase games on line with an app card. We wait till we can get those app cards on sale. (It happens watch Toys R. Us I have gotten them 25% off several times) Then you wait for an App sale. At Christmas, they had buy 2 get one free. We have also done buy 3 get one free as well. Limitations to this, are apparently you can’t use the app cards overseas… saw some comments about that on the face book leap pad site. Also, there are only so many leap pads that can be attached to an email. Our other sister bought both of our kids leap pads so we don’t feel bad doing it this way. We still think it’s within the family. The other down side is there is pretty much no resale value on apps because once they sync the pad to their own email address, all the prior purchased apps are gone. But if you keep it with in the fam or set the email up in the first place with foresight of sharing and then selling it you can plan ahead. :) Whew! Sorry it was so long I guess I had lots to say.
Ceri´s last blog post ..FIRE – How to make one fast with DYI Fire Starters & Camp Fire Doughnuts
Oh, I was going to add, I like the tag thing better. (Although we have not invested in that system) It’s something about it being a real book. We have an original leap pad book thing with the spiral books and cartridge. I feel so much better with him playing with that than the pad because its a book? Thinking about it the pad is pretty much the same thing but on steroids I don’t know why I think its bad but I like the old school books better…. Probably why I will never own a kindle. :)
Ceri´s last blog post ..FIRE – How to make one fast with DYI Fire Starters & Camp Fire Doughnuts
We were a leapster family. We had the version that you bought and I have to say we loved it for bother our kids. For the reasons you mentioned. I liked them being exposed to tech stuff but while learning. Those games were so appropriate and did help especially with our daughter who had a language delay. The true non-educational games weren’t introduced in our house until the age of 7 and even then we have restrictions. Even though it is one more thing to regulate I personally want my kids to have the skills and knowledge about being online and managing game time. I constantly teach them online safety and won’t allow them a computer in their room until they can pay for it themselves.
We also used our iPad this year to help our son learn his times tables. Which was a god send as I was doing a horrible job!! :)
Someone else may have already said this but what we do for screen time is a ticket system. It has elements of Accountable Kids but we tweaked it to work for us. Our kids have a list of daily chores and they earn 3 tickets a day when the chores are completed. They can then use their tickets to buy things like screen time. We sat down with them and brainstormed ideas for tickets. 1 ticket=staying up late 15 minutes, 5 tickets = parents do one chore for you 20 tickets= one day of off school(homeschool) each month or Queen for the day, etc. So for us 1 ticket = 30 minutes of screen time. They can only use two tickets a day for screen time. That means they have to budget their tickets and believe it or not sometimes they don’t want to “waste” their tickets on tv or computer(well one of them, at least), they want to save for other things. We are pretty big on timers, we probably have 3 or 4 around our house so they have to set a timer when their 30 minutes begins. That way I don’t have to keep track and nag or forget and then an hour later realize they have gone over their time. This works great on many levels, they are more motivated to do their chores so they earn their ticket, they learn how to “budget” their time and I don’t have to constantly tell them what to do. On the flip side I kid that the system should be called Accountable Parents because you do need to stay on top off the chore system. Hope that helps. If you have questions let me know. :)
Our OT had us download a bubbles game on our iPads for the twins to help with sensory, fine motor and also cause and effect. (And they are only 18 months). So I am totally down with it.
Miss A will play educational Ames on my iPhone and watch movies during car rides on a tablet. She also has a vReader whih she loves. She’s just as happy coloring and drawing as she is watching television or playing games but with a dad who is a computer whiz, it’s jut a matter of time before she’s sucked into zombie days with her dad and the guys. I’m trying to stave that off until she’s 10. Or forever.
Best,
Caryl
Awesome post! I loved it and I would love to have that LeapPad Ultra for my nephews. But how many hours do you think kids can play computer games in a day?
Hello, this weekend is fastidious designed for me, as this occasion i am reading this
great educational post here at my house.
amd gaming computers´s last blog post ..amd gaming computers
Yeah, I can understand your ups and downs with your kids because I am a mom of two kids and sometime how difficult to handle them I know. I agree with you that parents are not anti video gamer, but they want that their kids will not waste their time. But I feel happy to know about educational apps which is a really cool thing