Five Ways to Tell if Your Child is Addicted to the iPad

electronics

One of the best and one of the stupidest things we ever did as parents was provide our kids with tablets so that they could play games of their own. Tired of them using our iPads and wasting our battery life and being that we travel often, we thought their own tablets would make life a bit easier on us. And it has, but sometimes we think that kids need to spend a bit more time outside and less time on their electronics. As parents of small kids, we are fortunate that our kids love to be outdoors and they love getting creative and being imaginative, but they we worry that their access to technology is going to make them lazy some day. So we’ve devised a plan that we enact daily to see if our kids are addicted to their electronics or if they need to spend more time outside. Here are a few ways you, too, can tell if your kids are addicted to their electronics.

Time

How much time does your kid spend on the iPad? Experts say that a few minutes at a time is no big deal, but if the time is stretching into an hour or more, it could be a sign of addiction to electronics. Monitor time to tell.

Is it Easy to Take Away?

If you can tell your kids that they need to put the iPad down and go outside and they do it, chances are good they are not addicted. Even one or two reminders might be nothing to worry about if your kids are in the middle of something and want to finish that up very quickly. But if you have to tell your kids repeatedly and to no avail, chances are good they are addicted.

Do They Ask All the Time?

Does your child wake up in the morning and want the iPad? If so, it could be a sign of addiction. We aren’t talking about asking for it an hour after getting up; we are talking about asking for it right away when they get up.

Do Your Kids Have Other Interests?

If your kids will sit down with a book, with a game, with a crayon and some paper, watch television or go outside, chances are good they are not addicted. However, if your kids do nothing but sit around and ask for it or play with the iPad, addiction could be the problem.

Detachment

Do your kids seem detached from the world around them? Do they not hear you when you speak, do they lose opportunities to go out and play with friends? Would they rather play with the iPad than with actual people in their lives? It could indicate addiction.

Photo by Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images

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