The ultimate babysitter? iPads for infants stir debate

[Playinghardball]

Twenty-two-month-old George sits on a tiny blue chair, at a baby-sized desk, playing with a grown-up toy — an iPad, sign of a powerful trend that has set alarm bells ringing among child developmentexperts.

Leaning over the tablet, the little Parisian finger-stabs the duck icon on “Moo Box”, an application with animal images that let out moos, oinks and barks.

For his mother Aurelie Mercier, 32, the beauty of iPad apps is they can expand her son’s world, like a virtual piano that lets him play music in the absence of the real thing.

“It’s a window onto tons of things that we don’t have at home and that can be condensed into a very small object,” she told AFP.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/26/the-ultimate-babysitter-ipads-for-infants-stir-debate/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29

[aikoaiko]

1. Ultimate babysitter? No. Ultimate toy? Yes.

I loved watching my son figure out windows with a cursor and windows based games when he was 3. iPad touchscreens make such things even more accessible.

[goclark]

2. Kids today are super smart

I was a educator for over 30 years.
IMO, Kids today appear to be SMARTER from Birth.

Example: My friend's grandchild is two ~ he calls her from his father's cell phone, entering the right numbers each time. When his grandma told me this I didn't believe it ~ then I saw it with my own eyes.

He also understands Family Relationships......

Ex: My daddy is your son grandma and his sister is your daughter
Auntie G is your best friend grandma

He is reading at 2 years.... When his grandmother calls me he tells her he wants to read something to me. He reads like he is TEN.


The next time you are in a Target or any store, watch the little ones. They can walk around the store , holding the hand of their parent,checking things out. They are aware of what is happening with others.


It's a brand new day!

I love it!