I think I may have mentioned before that my two-year-old daughter has taken over my iPod completely. And while working knowledge of stuff around her is always a good thing, too much of even the good stuff can be bad. As you can see in the photo above (she’s watching Finding Nemo), she is totally focused when using the iPod. So focused that practically nothing exists for her beyond the 3.5-inch screen and its tinny speaker. Times like that, it would take nothing short of physical interaction (touching or tapping) could bring her back to the present.
Being a working Mom, I don’t have control of how she spends her time during daytime, and based on her attachment to the iPod I could pretty much deduce that that time’s spent glued to the screen watching her favorite movies or playing games or taking pictures. I could not totally blame Papa (her yayo) for letting her play that much since she’s more than a handful if otherwise unoccupied, and he has an aching back to mind. Still, it has gotten to the point that has me worried about her possible addiction.
Judging by her reaction–or explosion, more like–when I wouldn’t give her the iPod the other night, she really is already addicted to the damn thing. She was crying and throwing tantrums and was pretty much totally inconsolable. I was sorely tempted to just give it back if only to calm her down, but I know that I’ll just be making the real problem worse if I do. So I held out, saying instead that her iPod is broken and has to be taken away to get fixed. But no, it was functioning perfectly, and yes, I lied to her about it. So help me God, but she would not understand or even care about addiction yet even if I explained it to her. So I was forced to lie to her with the best of intentions. Is that a bad thing?
As it is, I have no plans yet of letting her use the iPod again. She might just get even more addicted. Instead I got out her more educational toys and books again, and let her play with those to her heart’s content. She still asks for the iPod and her favorite movies, so Papa just lets her watch them on the TV. Only, she insists on watching them over and over all day long. Sigh.
I have been reading about toddler addiction to gadgets, and it seems not as uncommon as I initially thought. In fact, there has been documented case of a 4-year-old getting therapy for her iPad addiction. And more than the kids’ interaction with the darned gadgets, I think the parents’ (and other adult figures in the kids’ immediate environment) examples should be the one on spotlight. After all, children imitate their elders in words and deeds. In this regard, I admit I am guilty of almost constantly using my smartphone in the presence of my daughter. I am trying to cut back on my usage and spend more quality time with her, but it’s easier said than done. Especially since F is on the opposite side of the globe and our time tables are at odds, thus I frequently check my phone for any messages from him when I’m at home at night.
Still, I am not losing hope. Moderation is key to having a well-balanced lifestyle. I just have to keep going and constantly look for ways to balance quality time with my daughter and my own personal needs. Any bright ideas, dear readers?
Um, I don’t have a suggestion, just dropped by to say she’s so cute! 🙂
Oh. Haha. Thanks sis! 😀
Sis, I also do not support toddlers being too focused on using gadgets. It can really be addictive and sadly, it separates them from the reality and from the people around them. I also hide tablets, cellphones, and laptops from my son. No matter how tempted I am to go online and check my cellphone during weekends or whenever I’m near my hubby and my son, I make it a point to do it once they are asleep. This allows me to focus on them and enjoy our quality time together. Anyway, I tell people (even in the office) that I do not regularly check emails and text messages during weekends so they can’t expect any response from me. Urgency is not part of my vocabulary when I’m with my family.
Since your case is different because your hubby is not around, I would suggest that you just hold or check your cellphone whenever it is most likely that you will receive a message from him. The rest of the time, devote it as quality time with you daughter – read together, eat-out, cook together, watch the birds and butterflies, have a good laugh, go to church together… There are so many things to do. Just be creative.
Sorry, sis. I’m really an advocate of living a balanced life and having quality time with loved ones. Napahaba tuloy yung comment ko. 🙂
No, that’s okay sis. In fact, I appreciate you taking the time to input your thoughts here. 🙂
I wish I could just predict what time he’d contact me, but since his work schedule is not fixed, there’s really not much I could do about it. 🙁 I just leave my phone lying around in my peripheral vision while playing with her or something so I could see/hear the alert when a message from him comes in.
Like you said, I need to be creative in how I spend quality time with her. There are still a lot of fun things we have to try together. But the one thing I make a point of consistently doing is having a good laugh trip with her before bedtime, and I think that’s not a bad start. She’s a gregarious kid and smiling and laughing comes easily to her, so I capitalize on that. Now that I think about it, it’s really the simple things that makes her smile anyway. 🙂
I’m worried about this for my baby. I’ve noticed in malls that families in restaurants have each member pre ocuppied with their gadgets whether it be an ipad, ipod, smartphone or what not. I miss the days when kids could be kept busy with legos and coloring books. I’ll do my best to get my child hooked on these and books instead of electronic devices but sadly its hard to balance as kids these days need to know how to work with tablets and phones as there are some schools that use these instead of traditional books and notebooks plus the peer pressure pa.
I know, right? Seeing kids in malls tap-tap-tapping busily away on iPads or tablets (while I am withholding the iPod from Francine) makes me feel apprehensive that my own kid might seem to be missing out or left out (which isn’t really the case). But that’s just useless vanity or pride talking. Now that I have finally got this out of my chest, I feel so much better about taking away her beloved iPod. I just need a bit more stimulus to wean her from other digital content like her fave movies on TV. She seems to have already outgrown her animal alphabet charts and a couple of books so I think it’s high time I got her a couple more of more advanced stuff.
As for schools using more of electronic gadgets than traditional learning materials, I still have a year or so to worry about that. 😉
I also don’t support toddlers (even bigger kids) be left with gadgets since they’re very prone to addiction. I have a godson who always borrows smartphones or tablets from us, as his parents hide their gadgets from him. (We now hide our gadgets too when we know he’ll be visiting.) Anyhow, I think you did the right thing even if it entailed lying to your daughter. I would’ve done the same too if I were in your shoes. I’m sure your little girl will get it out of her system soon since she’s just 2 and hasn’t used the iPod for too long yet.
Good luck sis! I’m sure you’re already on the road to a balanced life. 🙂
Thanks sis! Kids really are more prone to addiction, right? I sure hope I’m on the right track for a balanced life, for my daughter as well. 🙂