OK, maybe she’s not, or won’t be, as her kid’s only seventeen months old and she’s got a lot of parenting ahead of her, but LeeLee recently gave an interview to People, where she discussed her parenting skills (she’s learning) and the no-nos of her household (no television, no computer whatsoever):
“No Baby Einstein and no anything else. Right now she watches this one song called ‘The Elephant Song’ on the computer. It’s paper cut-outs that are animated so it’s more like a cartoon. And then she watches a five minute clip … of The Red Balloon — the French short film. And that’s it. …. You have to be a part of the times, I don’t want her to not be able to talk with her friends about what’s going on, but I really want to encourage the reading and the playing. A lot of kids now in New York I see can open an iPhone before they can even walk practically. [They do] the finger slide.”
Um, first, let me say that if I witnessed a toddler being able to operate their mom or dad’s iPhone, I’d probably punch them in the mouth. The parent, that is, not the toddler. Of course. However, totally banning one thing in favor of another thing (in this case, television for other, non-TV-related entertainment) isn’t going to help accomplish what she’s intending to do any more than allowing her kid to watch television fourteen hours out of the day would.
I can appreciate what she’s aiming for, here, but on the whole, I feel it’s not exactly the right way to approach it. But hey. Different strokes for different folks, you know? We all learn from our mistakes one way or another.
Leelee had a baby?! How did I not know this? Would love to see some of her pregnant!
Dude, this Christmas my brother’s toddler who can barely walk was opening and using his iPhone AND iPad. I wanted to punch him when he spent all his time on it before she was born, but this really is unacceptable. Maybe you could punch him for me so mom doesn’t get mad?
How about I kick you in the ovaries so you don’t have kids? So what if a toddler can operate an iphone, whats the big deal? My kids use my old iphone for games when we are out? You’re just being a judgmental prick for no reason other than you don’t have kids.
actually, watching tv at a young age is supposed to lower your attention span. so not putting her kid down in front of the tv is possibly a good thing.
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my cousin only lets her sons watch prerecorded episodes of thomas the train engine (although that’s because she has more control in the way of if they have to go to bed she can pull them away from the tv once it’s over, not like with actual tv where there’s always another show)
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests no TV at all until age 2. My child is seven and after age two, always strictly limited her screen time (tv, movies, computer). Kids who spend too much time in front of screens are often lacking in interpersonal skills and can also be overweight. Many people don’t interact enough with their children. If you don’t have time to play with them, give them some books, art supplies, or a ball to chase, not your iPhone.
I was allowed to watch WAY too much tv as a kid. BUT – my parents were very anti-computer, did not have my first laptop/PC til I was 21 (i’m almost 30 now). All my friends work in graphic design or for web design companies, and here I am, just learning to use Photoshop. They own iphones and ipads and Macs and can work out tech very easily – I am TERRIFIED when I have to use a Mac. I can’t even pull up a browser on a Mac, but my 3 year old nephew can. If you prevent kids from becoming familiar with technology, you can cripple their prospects IF that technology becomes the standard in the future. I was incredibly disadvantaged in that respect.
my child is not technologically disadvantaged. Now that she’s seven, she has limited screen time. She just isn’t allowed to sit there for hours. Not allowed to play computer games all the time. But she can open a browser, do simple research, and type a school assignment on a word doc. She can also play games and that’s enough. Doesn’t need to do it for more than an hour a day. Children pick thing up and learn them very quickly. Time flies when they are small and one regrets the time that wasn’t spend wit them. She didn’t play with iPhones when we was two. She is gifted, creative, social, resourceful enough to entertain herself without a computer, artistic, into ballet & drama, and loves playing games with her parents and playing with friends. Have you ever seen a family in a restaurant, where the kids are playing little computer games and the adults are texting and checking email? Very sad. We have family dinners, we respect other and we talk.No TV in the background, no electronics at the table, not even reading at the table when others are present. Maybe old-fashioned, but I can’t imagine that it’s not a good thing.
I’m with Erykah. WTF are you to judge? My son used to play learning games and watch Elmo vidoes on my husbands iPhone and/or iPad when we rode the bus. So what? It kept him from getting bored on long rides, and stopped him disturbing the entire bus. He was about 18 months old when he learned how to unlock it. I really hope you don’t have kids, the world does not need more judgemental, self important pricks.
This was me, btw. “I’m with Erykah. WTF are you to judge? My son used to play learning games and watch Elmo vidoes on my husbands iPhone and/or iPad when we rode the bus. So what? It kept him from getting bored on long rides, and stopped him disturbing the entire bus. He was about 18 months old when he learned how to unlock it. I really hope you don’t have kids, the world does not need more judgemental, self important pricks.” I forgot to fill out the form, as I got up from the computer about 5 times while trying to write that reply.