Hello!

We have 3 small children and one is very Ipad obsessed. He is very tech savvy for his age and a very quick learner. We don’t like how frequently he will ask for the Ipad and if left to his own devices he would happily play the ipad all day, an easy 4 or more hours straight. My husband worries that his dependency and desire for the Ipad is abnormal, I don’t think that our son would be too different to his peers though. We definitely don’t want to allow our son free access to the Ipad and we do set limits for him. I’m wanting to hear from other parents who can relate and also have a child/ren similar to my son who is Ipad obsessed and could happily play for hours on end. How frequent do you let your child use an Ipad? What strategies and rules do you have in place at home to help with their Ipad obsession?


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  • We have a maximum of half an hour a day (once one started school, I relaxed this a bit during holidays). The iPad lives in my bedroom, and the kids aren’t allowed in there, so that limits their physical access.


  • I think 2 hours a day is fair. let them decide which 2 hours and be consistent. Children also need to be bored it allows their imagination to kick in and to be creative. If it becomes a problem with turning it off reduce the time spent on. One could have one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon.


  • It is so easy as we are busy to think .. oh they’re quiet and playing and leave them to it. It is an obsession. My youngest is glued to it.
    They say eyesight can be a concern staring so long at such short distance.
    I say ok ten minutes to go and then iPad off and play with something else. She loves science stuff, slime, little figurines.
    Also I’ve read when the answer from the child is I’m bored! Let them be that way and work it out what to do.
    It’s important your child can socialise too.
    Have rules. No iPads in car or on outings.
    At meals.
    You are not alone!


  • right from the start we set up the expectation that the Ipad had to be ‘charged’.
    we only ever gave it enough charge to black out quickly, then over time we were able to take it away before it blacked out by saying it needs to be charged. This meant she could use it when we needed a little bit of time to do something, or to occupy her at placed like waiting for the doctor.
    We have been extremely lucky that our little one hasn’t become addicted. I work in early intervention and see alot of children addicted to it, and the amount of time comes down to each family and how they use it :)
    So if it is becoming a problem, and you find you want your little on to hand it back after a period of time you can try timers and things like that to help. Just be firm and offer then another fun alternative to do :)


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