Is it a good or bad thing to let your kids use a tablet at the dinner table?

SEEING children on a tablet or phone at the dinner table is becoming an increasingly common sight.

Allowing youngsters to watch TV at mealtimes has always been a contentious issue, and in this age of increasing technology parents are faced with more decisions than ever before.

So is it harmless to let a child switch on their device and switch off from the world around them? Or should children be made to sit and have their meal with the rest of the family without any distractions?

We’ve been asking Manchester parents for their views – and it’s one that’s sparked quite a debate...

Mum-of-four Fiona Colley, from Hyde, doesn’t allow any tech at meal times with her children Cherie, 12, Alyssa, nine, Ewan, eight and sixmonth-old Noel.

She said: “Definitely not at meal times. It’s the first time of the day we’re all together in our house and I like to have a decent conversation with my family about their day.”

Abi Ridings agrees and takes the same stance with children Gracie-Mae, six, Acer-Jake, four, and one-year-old Oliver-George.

Abi, from Mottram, said: “I don’t agree with them at the dinner table. I also turn the TV off, too, as I believe children don’t concentrate on eating and their dinner goes cold and is Abi’s children Gracie-Mae, Oliver-George and Acer-Jake wasted. I use dinner time as family time to talk about our days.”

Rachel Heap doesn’t allow tech or TV at mealtimes with her four children and says it’s sad that technology has become such a focal point for families.

She said: “I don’t personally allow it at dinner tables or out eating. We don’t have TVs on either, as the kids get totally distracted if anything else is going on.

“If they have been good all day they get a little time near to bedtime to either watch half-an-hour of TV or use an iPad.

“Everyone has their own parenting styles and it’s up to each one how they do this, but I find it sad how little time people have for each other now and conversations seem few and far between for some families.”

But not everyone is against the idea, with some parents seeing no harm in having tech at the table.

Mum Laura Reilly lets her two-yearold have his tablet in restaurants and at home they eat in front of the television.

She said: “He has a tablet when we are out and about – he’s not interested in colouring or any other table-top activities so it’s the only way he sits at the table long enough for me to eat my meal. I deserve to have a hot meal and even a cup of tea.

“And at home we usually eat in front of the TV. My dining room table is buried under my home business bits and, honestly, that’s how we’ve always eaten so that’s how we do it.”

Jan Barkworth, from Stockport, is mum to six children, five of whom have autism, and says allowing them on technology is the only way they can all have a meal in peace. She said: “The only way I can get my six children to sit and have a family meal is if they all have their iPads or phones.”

Other parents told us they try to strike a balance – letting their children use tech while they wait for their food, but then making sure it goes away once the meal arrives.

One of those is Amy Heyes, mum to three-year-old Eliza, who likes to watch either YouTube or downloaded films.

Amy said: “She doesn’t have it when eating food but while waiting for food to arrive she is allowed to watch her tablet.”