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A British TV presenter has shared she smashed her nine and 11-year-old kids’ iPads, just to teach them a lesson.

“This is the first time I’ve said this publicly,” the mum-of-two said.

“In June I smashed my kids’ iPads, not in a violent way. I actually banged them on the table leg.

“There is a game called Fortnite and another PUBG and I decided… we had made all sorts of rules and all sorts of times when we said you can’t play them and all those rules got broken and in the end I said: ‘Right that is it, I have to physically (break them).”

Many criticised Ms Allsopp for destroying the devices rather than donating them to charity organisations or businesses that could make them available to people in need.

“A massive, destructive waste. She should have given them away to another kid who couldn’t afford one but really wants one,” one Twitter user wrote.

Others suggested she could have simply confiscated the iPads rather than smashing them, with many questioning what message her course of action sends to her sons.

“Good need more parents like this. I wouldn’t have smashed it but took it away for a long time. Or I would sell it online,” one person tweeted.

Ms Allsopp defended herself against some of the criticisms responding:

“If you found your kids with a packet of cigarettes would you say, ‘I won’t destroy these because they are worth a tenner but please don’t smoke?’ No of course you wouldn’t,” she wrote.

She also added the lesson learned by her sons was worth more than the monetary value of the devices.

“This is about the value of trust, and the value of people over things,” she wrote.

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  • I really dont think thats a smart idea at all. She would have been better to give the ipads away to children that we from low income families rather then to smash them. I do agree with taking them from the children though.

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  • Although I would love to smash them sometimes, I can’t afford to replace them later on. I just take them from the kids and return them later when things have calmed down.

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  • Why not just remove them and donate to a hospital or somewhere they could be put to good use. So now if the children get upset that the parents are not sticking to an agreement the kids can go smash the car or something? The lesson is when you don’t do as I ask or expect, I will smash something of yours!

    I don’t think tablets need to be given to children to use unless a parent or other responsible adult is present, then they can be more involved in what their children are using them for, such as educational games.
    Get outdoors with children, spend quality time with your children do fun activities together and they will not think about the screens that seem to have so many people, young and old addicted to them

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  • I’m not sure I could have smashed them but I would have sold them if they didn’t contain any personal information. I hope they learned their lesson but I wouldn’t be buying them another one that’s for certain.

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  • This seems a little extreme.
    So many other things that could have been done with the device.
    I’m curious to know the impact this had on the kids… I definitely want to know more to the story.

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  • I wonder how many times the kids had been warned. I would have confiscated them and hidden them, not necessarily at our house, maybe with a trusted adult who lives elsewhere who wouldn’t allow them access at their place either. Then make the decision what you will do with them, stpre them for awhile and give them another chance, sell them and use the money for something else they definitely need or perhaps donate either them or the money to a charity or person unable yo buy one that there it/they will be appreciated and not abused.

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  • Surely it just teaches a child that they can smash things too? Take it away, have rules, but to break it seems like a waste of money and resources.

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  • I think it’s great that she was tough, however, I think smashing them was a bit destructive. I think confiscating, selling or donating to charity would have been better and still had the same result. Plus I think kids need the opportunity for redemption as this teaches them about forgiveness- taking them away for a period of time and allowing them to earn them back would probably have been the best approach.

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  • I think it was reasonable. The kids have set rules about the tablets and they are old enough to know better.
    And like most parents she probably has confiscated them before and the kids didn’t listen.
    Sometimes you need to be harsh.

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  • Yay, finally someone following through with consequences. More parents need to do this then it wouldn’t be so tough on those of us to have rules.

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  • I have a 13 &14 year old.our rules are they can not use social media (my husband and I don’t use it either) no going on unauthorised websites or playing games unless we give them permission to play a game.(my husband and I each have a iPad Pro with games we have downloaded and are kids friendly) they each get a turn to play the game only when homework is done.if they break the rules they don’t play..my son when he started high school last year decided to get on instagram at school under age….he was up all night..I caught him one night playing games..he lost his I pad I took it off him and sold it…he now gets to take my iPad 2 days a week at school comes home and sits on dining table to do homework. His sister did the same..on school computer..she now gets monitored when going homework on pc..we sit with her..its a nightmare

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  • An expensive and wrong lesson in my opinion. Why teaching your children by destroying their electronic devices in order for them to keep the rules ? And what do you teach them in this way ?


    • I agree with you – not the way I teach lessons and get results.

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  • Probably went a bit too far with hitting them on the table leg.

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  • I think it was an over reaction. I would have taken them off the kids or deleted the apps.

    Reply

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