re: Upper-class parents are raising their children better than lower/middle-class

Pecker still hasn't had his own kids yet, right?

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He's not. And he's right. Far too many variables to issue a blanket statement saying one is better than another

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Your statement, at face value, is absolutely true.

But in the absence of any other information, I'd be willing to bet that a parent who has their kid taking piano lessons is generally a better parent than one who hands their kid an ipad for their extracurricular activity.

I'm honestly at a loss as to how this is even up for debate. It's like ya'll just read Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mother and think that a parent who has their kid in piano lessons must be a ruthless whip-cracking dictator.

It doesn't have to be piano. It can be sports. Dancing. Painting. Whatever. Any of these are generally much better for a child's cognitive, creative, and social development than playing on a ipad.

Which I believe is the point of the thread. Good parents should be encouraging and pushing their kids towards healthier activities and discouraging less healthy activities. Nothing about that concept has changed in the past 300 years.

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Rather, considering recent research on device and social media use, there are trends which suggest that excessive use stunts a child's cognitive development.

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I've read some of those articles, and there actually hasn't been much that has linked the two past a general correlation. In other words, are the screens to blame or are they a symptom? However, I think moderation is important with anything.

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I love technology. I am a nerd and IT person. But I would love for my kids to not have anything to do with ipads. And it's our fault that they do. I don't mind them, but I wish my kids would have the same types of friends I had when I was a kid growing up. We always played outside damn near every day until dark, or until we had to do homework. We'd get together ride bikes, play football, basketball, baseball. We'd actually go knocking on their doors to see if they could come out to play. I hate this play date shite. I want my kids to be able to go beat on their friends door and tell them to come outside and ride bikes and shite. Maybe sneak off in the woods behind the house and look at some nudie mags. Fun stuff

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Sounds like you need a different neighborhood. I have an 11 and 9 year old (along with a 5 and 4 year old). The older two are almost exclusively outside playing with friends in the neighborhood when there's daylight. And our door is constantly knocked on by other kids.

That doesn't mean they don't play video games, because they do. But they are expected to maintain good grades and behavior to have that priviledge. They are also active in multiple sports.

The one thing I will not allow at this point is social media. They absolutely will not have access to it until an age my wife and I deem appropriate (probably some time in HS).

I do actually.

Please tell me how it's relevant though.

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Irrelevant to the topic at hand.

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It's not irrelevant.

Who would you rather take a golf lesson from? A golfer, or some kid who is an expert at golf clash?

Who would you rather show you how to cook? A person who cooks regularly, or a person who watches the Food Network?

Who would you rather lecture you about parenting? A person who has experience raising kids on his own, or some kid who talks down to you based on an article he read and his ignorant ideals of what it takes to be a good parent?

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Why can't you have a 5-10 year old who plays on an iPad for an hour or two each day?

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That's a horrible parenting decision.

And, yes, I can judge parents on it. Now, it may not guarantee that their kid turns out to be this ADHD simpleton but willfully making that decision given the known data is poor parenting.

It's like arguing that its not bad parenting if I just give my kids 3-4 cigarettes a day so long as it isn't extreme.

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Which I believe is the point of the thread. Good parents should be encouraging and pushing their kids towards healthier activities and discouraging less healthy activities. Nothing about that concept has changed in the past 300 years.

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Well maybe I missed this point. The fact of the matter is kids have killed free time with less healthy (mental/physical health) activities for decades. If I see a kid playing with an ipad, I don't make a judgment on that person's parenting skills one way or the other. If I saw that person playing on an ipad for 5 hours, it would be a little different.

The bottom line is that it doesn't have to be an either/or situation. Plenty of good parents have kids who are involved in offline activities while still spending an hour or two in front of a screen each day. If my previous posts have insinuated otherwise, my apologies.

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He is commenting on stidies and findings

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Yet interjecting opinion and not considering numerous variables.

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And, yes, I can judge parents on it. Now, it may not guarantee that their kid turns out to be this ADHD simpleton but the willfully making that decision giving the known data is poor parenting.

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An iPad is a better educational tool than anything we grew up with honestly