Okay– I know this debate is up there… So bear with me. Do you or don’t you allow your kids to watch the iPad/iPhone at the table?
We do. Shoot me. So I felt like, with every kid, we tried to keep them off-screen time in general before 2. It’s freaking hard because let’s face it… we need a break. My kids, all three of them, at some point in their 2-4-year-old lives, would watch the iPhone during meals that were out of the house. My house is pretty much screen free except for a few hours over the weekend.
If I am out to dinner, I want to enjoy it. I’m sure others around us would like to enjoy it too. Everyone doesn’t have to cook, clean… It should be enjoyable. With that being said, Travis gets the iPhone at almost every meal we have out of the house. The girls complain but can manage with their pocket filled trinkets or endless games of tic tac toe & hangman (which gets oddly difficult since the spelling is a bit off..)
I wish that I could say that we could get through a meal without it… But we just can’t. Daddy Finger- dinosaur edition– is pretty much always on during our meals out. I do honestly feel like there comes a point where they are just over it or can manage without. For the life of me, I just can’t remember when that is, but Zoe is 5 and can survive. I mean if given the choice the Bigs would gladly take some Barbie Princess. So for now, I feel like it makes my life easier, so we do it.
SINCE WRITING THE POST:
So I’ve been trying to wean Travis off the iPhone and my lord, it is working. I swear the last 3 meals that we had out, have been electronic free. It isn’t easy and it takes a lot of Ice Breaker mints. I’m all about bribery. The beginning of the meal is the worst. I really have to be firm, we have to be firm and strong as a unit. Over time and a handful of mints, Travis says “No Daddy Finger right now, right?” and he’s good with that. I was literally shocked that he could last a meal without it let alone three. Dinner is a little bit louder and involved but it’s amazing the things they notice when their noses aren’t on the phone.