“iPad Kids” Do Not Have to Be the Monsters We Make Them Out to Be

Written by Isabel Snare
Edited by Noor Khan
Cover Image by Nancy Cao

I’m alone now, in the house. Almost alone. Two little boys accompany me—ages eight and five—and they’re running around the ground floor that isn’t mine, excited about their parents’ absence. Meanwhile, I’m silently freaking out. After participating in two games of Jenga with rules that don’t apply, simultaneously alternating between playing Hot Wheels and Lego, and reading three chapters of Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants, I’ve run out of ideas.

The eight year old looks up at me with wide, innocent eyes. “Can I go on my iPad, Isabel? Just for a little bit?” he pleads. 

With an exasperated sigh, I wrack my brain one last time for an alternative and come up empty. Within a second, I have a plan: I’ll give them ten minutes of screen time, then read them more Captain Underpants, and then it’s bedtime. “Alright,” I say. “You can have ten minutes.”

Assuming that he will now be completely absorbed in some kind of game on his iPad, I focus my attention on the toddler, who’s enthralled in a Hot Wheels loop-the-loop (it’s more fun than it seems). But it doesn’t take long before the eight year old is, yet again, clambering for my recognition.

He proudly presents an iMovie to me. It’s a trailer for an imaginary movie that he made with his friends. I’m surprised that the editing work is actually half decent, and so is the plot. He proceeds to ramble, for all ten minutes of the screen time I’ve allotted, about his plans for the movie now that the trailer is complete. Everything from the props and costumes, to the focus of the film, to the script that he’s single handedly writing on a “Notes” document. I’m beyond impressed.

I was never exposed to technology as young as eight, but at eleven I have fond memories of creating similar iMovies with my younger siblings—I was the passionate director and producer—and I definitely wouldn’t consider that a negative influence on my childhood. In fact, the joy of creating short “movies” and having an imaginative outlet ended up fueling my desire to write.

In recent years, "iPad kids" have been a huge topic of conversation—a result of the usage of technology being exponentially on the rise. According to one Urban Dictionary definition, “iPad kids” are defined as “children who were given an iPad at a young age”. Some commonly associated behaviours of iPad kids are that they are glued to their device, have no social skills, and are isolated from the world outside of their colourful, bulky cases. “iPad kid” is on no occasion used as an affection term; yet the reality is that most kids categorized as Generation Alpha (born between 2010 to 2024), fulfil the role of or are stepping into the role of an “iPad kid”.

As a regular babysitter, as well as older sister, I have experienced and observed firsthand the effects of screen time on children. While I believe that technology can be destructive to young minds, I also believe that it can be extremely beneficial in some cases. The negative and toxic portrayal of young childrens’ relationships with digitalization in the media is in no way what I have seen in my own life. It is my belief that the true outcome of technology on today’s generation depends entirely on the way that its usage is facilitated.

First of all, the amount of usage is undeniably crucial. If you want to avoid negative repercussions of technology usage in children, make sure that you allow them to use screens in moderation only. Especially in younger kids, using an iPad or iPhone, playing video games, and watching television should not be the first choice they have for downtime. Promoting other activities such as outdoor time, social interaction, reading, writing, drawing and making art, is a great way to keep screen time to a minimum. The more children get used to sitting with a screen all day, the harder it will be to tear them away from those screens.

Similarly, there’s the always controversial component of kids and technology—rules. What rules should you set, and how should these rules change depending on the age of the children? To start, resorting to handing children an iPad or other device when they are bugging you, or to get them to quiet down, is not acceptable. This teaches children that not only is their behaviour acceptable, but rewardable, and it is a bad habit to form. Kids can be frustrating, but trust me, if they get used to having screen time when they are misbehaving, they will only misbehave more. But you’re probably thinking, what if I have something important to do? What then? When used in moderation, this “just play a game or something” tactic is justifiable, but make it clear that this is a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence and that they are not being rewarded. In addition, rather than relying on screen time limits and monitoring their minutes every day, teach children to enjoy life outside of the digital world on their own, and you’ll find setting rules a lot easier.

Finally, when kids do use technology (since it’s inevitable these days), what is productive screen time and what isn’t? My ultimate advice to anyone struggling with this “iPad kid” dilemma would be to use technology to the advantage of the kids! Early access to technology can absolutely be a positive thing, in the same way that it is for adults. Having access to a wealth of knowledge, and to tools that utilize that knowledge, is a learning opportunity. Time after time, I’ve seen children use technology to find and explore their passions, thereby fast tracking intelligence and, even more importantly, an awareness of the world around them.

So while this new generation's somewhat alarming exposure to the digital world can be dangerous, it can also be advantageous under the right circumstances. “iPad kids” are not an equation that needs solving, or a societal mistake set in stone. They are the future—but it is the older generations who have the ability to shape them into the people that they will soon become.