The iPad test that shocked these mums to the core
They thought their five-year-olds weren’t hooked on their gadgets ... but monitoring every moment proved they were using them for up to 23-hours a week
the socket where it’s plugged in.
10.30am: At the supermarket Ted shows Matilda a Barbie iPad game which keeps her amused.
11.30am: An hour on his iPad before lunch. 3pm-4.30pm: At the stables, Ted has a quick ride but then reverts to his iPad. Later, he plays on it again while I make tea.
TOTAL: 22 HOURS 55 MINUTES
IT DISTRACTS EMMA WHILE I DO CHORES
BECCA MASTERS, 34, is a revenue protection officer who lives in London with her husband Daniel, also 34, and daughter Emma, five. She says:
LeFT to her own devices, emma would watch her Amazon Fire tablet 24 hours a day. We bought it as a Christmas present when she was three — she was constantly using our phones and we wanted them back!
The tablet’s controls mean she can’t watch any adult content. She used to be absorbed in episodes of Peppa Pig, but now it’s mostly games or YouTube videos about toys.
When she wakes up she asks for it — I keep it in our room overnight — and as soon as she gets home from school she switches it on. There have been tantrums when we say she’s had enough time on it, but the prospect of it being taken away altogether usually stops her in her tracks.
Thankfully she’s getting easier to reason with. We encourage her to ride her bike and to draw. Daniel bans it at the dinner table and thinks she should spend more time outside. But if I need to do chores, I’ll give it to her.
MONDAY: No tablet Off school with a fever, and wants cuddles rather than her tablet.
TUESDAY: Two hours 20 minutes 3.30pm-5.30pm: emma grabs her tablet when she gets home to watch Lego Friends on YouTube. 6.15pm-6.35pm: We have dinner — no tablets — then I agree to an extra 20 minutes of YouTube before bedtime.
WEDNESDAY: Two hours 3.30pm- 5.30pm: After school emma watches her tablet solidly until teatime.
THURSDAY: One hour 45 minutes 7.15am – 8.30am: When I came out of the shower emma was already on her tablet. 3.30pm: emma had a friend over and they watched toy unboxing videos for 30 minutes, then used a Nintendo Switch games console.
FRIDAY: Two hours 25 minutes 3.30pm-5.10pm: After school, she watches toy reviews on YouTube while I tidy and cook dinner. 7pm-7.45pm: 45 minutes watching YouTube before bed.
SATURDAY: Three hours 45 minutes 8.30am-10am: emma played on her tablet from when she woke up until her swimming lesson. She never takes it in the car. 12.30pm-1.30pm: She used the tablet while eating her sandwiches. 6pm: Another 30-minute play before bedtime.
SUNDAY: Five hours 30 minutes 5.30am-11am: emma woke at 5.30am feeling poorly and watched YouTube non-stop till 11am.
TOTAL: 17 HOURS 45 MINUTES
I WISH EVA WOULD PLAY WITH DOLLS
TRACEY COOK, 38, works in PR and lives in Oxford with husband Lee, 37, and daughters Georgia, eight, and Eva, five. She says:
SANTA brought iPads for both girls last Christmas. They were banned from playing with my phone because I use it for work. Also, we’re going to Florida this year so Lee and I suggested asking Santa for iPads for the flight.
But we weren’t prepared for how quickly they’d gravitate towards their tablets instead of playing games and dolls together like they used to.
We accepted it because it was the holidays, but told them when they were back at school — where they don’t use screens — they could only have iPads at weekends. That’s been a bit hit and miss — there have been times during the week when we’ve found eva using her iPad. I seem to say, ‘No, eva, no more iPad’ a lot these days.
Ordinarily during the week the girls are busy with swimming and gymnastics. Their iPads never leave the house with us, but when we’re at home it’s their favourite thing now. I’m shocked that eva has clocked up so many hours.
MONDAY: No tablet Our weekday ban is in force.
TUESDAY: One hour 6.30pm: I arrive home to find the girls on their iPads after school. Lee’s working from home and says this gave him an extra hour to focus.
WEDNESDAY: No tablet eva asks if it’s the weekend yet so she can play with her iPad.
THURSDAY: Ten minutes 7.30am: I catch eva watching her iPad and take it away.
FRIDAY: Two hours 2.30pm-4.30pm: School is closed for snow. The girls play outdoors all morning, but in the afternoon I give eva her iPad and she watches Disney’s Moana. her dad and I needed some peace to research and book our family holiday!
SATURDAY: Four hours 7am-11am: eva watches Moana on her iPad, then plays on the CBeebies app until we go swimming.
SUNDAY: Five hours 15 minutes 7am-11.30am: eva gets up before us. She and Georgia watch their iPads until lunch. 5.45pm-6.30pm: eva asks for her tablet so we allow her 45 minutes of CBeebies before bathtime.
TOTAL: 12 HOURS 25 MINUTES