We have done the unthinkable.
Yesterday we allowed two more i-devices into our house when we gave our twins an ipod touch each for their ninth birthdays.
And this is the scene this morning…
If everyone gets up, dressed, makes their lunch, packs their bags, washes their face, brushes their teeth and finds both of their shoes…. then they get ten minutes on the i-bribes.
Because in real life I often don’t take my own advice about bribes and intrinsic motivation.
What does real life look like at your house?
Thanks to everyone for playing along last week, there were so many lovely posts to read and comment on.
The post from That Space In Between had me smiling, nodding along and thinking… what will I be like when I am old?
And a post about prawns from Stuff With Thing made me giggle. My toddler has so many cute miss-sayings at the moment. I would feed him lollies forever just to hear him say “Can I have another yolly’ over and over.
What part of real life will you share this week? It could be a photo, a story, a funny incident, a confession…
Blog it or play along via instagram or twitter with the hashtag #reallifewednesday (@katepickle when you do so I can find it!). Then add a link back to this post and pop on over and say hello to some others who have linked up too. Feel free to grab the button below if you like, and don’t worry, you don’t have to post today, the linky will stay live all week.
Link up to Real Life Wednesday below…
Oh that is too funny!
Our 2 & 4 yr olds fight over Daddy’s i-items and I’m limiting their access more and more. They are far too young to be i-kids! What happened to the days when children actually PLAYED? hehe x
I am sick of technology encroaching on my children’s time that I’ve cut it back a lot. My 8 year was turning into a zombie from playing on computers, iphones and tv all the time. My one year was coming home and pointing at the tv. So I have stopped all computer games and all borrowing and playing on mum/dad’s iphone. The kids can only use the computer to write stories/schoolwork and tv time is limited to 1 hour a day.
The kids had a fit but within an hour, the toys were out and they were playing again. They’ve been playing so much more since. I am so happy.
Their school has been talking about giving every student an ipad by 2015. I’m dreading it. There will be strict restrictions on its use at home when that happens. They will not be getting smart phones till they have a job and can pay for it. If we don’t stay one step ahead and put boundaries on the use of highly entertaining technology, it will rule our lives and our children will grow up knowing no other life.
I couldn’t agree more. It has taken us a while to come to an arrangement where technology works for us rather than against us in our family.
My big kids get 30 minutes computer time a week, and 20-30 minutes of TV time each day, but often they don’t watch any TV because they are busy doing other things. The ipad and ipods are a new arrival in our house so for now I am watching and seeing what the impact is and how much they will really use it once the novelty as worn off. For now… ten minutes before school if they are ready works for us.
Thanks for your reply. I will be really interested in seeing how they impact and if the novelty wears off. I’ve found my kids want the iphones more, the more they use them. I think it’s becuase they can browse through the store and pick new games.
Thanks for your great blog. I’ve just started reading it.
My kids don’t have access to the internet on the ipods nor on the ipad. We have very limited internet where we live so there is no chance of them downloading more games any time soon.
They lobbied for a long time for why they should get ipods, and made some persuasive arguments for then and saved and saved to pay half. To be honest I am still unsure if we’ve done the right thing, but I guess time will tell!
I wrote this post long about TV use in our house… https://picklebums.com/2010/11/25/the-idiot-box-and-us/
It’s interesting because the only thing that has changed since writing that is post is that the TV time has lessened, and not because of me setting it, just because that is how the day runs now.
Anyway I find talking about how to balance technology and kids and play really interesting and could chat about it for hours, but will stop gabbing on now!
The iToys are a godsend for my girls, they make such a huge difference to children with special needs. Yesterday Heidi had to wait with me while Annie was in an hour long consultation. The tiny waiting room didn’t have much space to play and the child before us had destroyed the toys that were there, bits were literally in splinters. Thankfully I had Heidi’s ipad and she played minecraft for a while, then played with a couple of her toys I had packed for a little while. I am so grateful.
We’ve recently discovered an app that has relaxation techniques for children aimed at different age ranges. I’m testing it out with Annie at bedtime to see how it helps.
that was the big seller for me when the girls started arguing for ipods… with four kids and a shift working husband I usually have to take all four kids with me to appointments or activities. Having the i-bribes for those times is awesome.
Would love to hear about the relaxation app too… my anxious girl could use some help settling at night quite often, and might even be good before Izzy goes in to have her tonsils out as she is stressing about that heaps!
Great photos! I think it’s very impressive that you keep it to 10 minutes. Some mornings (especially on weekends!) Pebble wakes up and comes in for a cuddle with us, and plays a game with us on one of our phones. Apart from that she only uses the i-bribe during doctors appointments or waiting room situations, and even then she much prefers the box of (icky) toys.
*photo!
I’m stealing the term i-bribes! Love it
Real life vs. our best intentions! My 18-month-old tyrannically hounds her father to watch Elmo videos from Youtube on his smart phone. Sigh…
I am so with you! This morning if it wasn’t for my iDistractor I never would have gotten a shower! And man did I need one :-)
Love the I-Bribes phrase lol! i am really struggling with the whole tech thing balance…i am so reluctant to go there with the twins and probably should stop listening to advertising and what others do as theya re only 2! But i already feel pressured that i don’t have an iphone to pass onto them occasionally….so i really enjoy your posts on this subject kate. I have had to take my teens ipod(which she brought herself) off of her at times just to help her realise how it was taking her over and isolating her from the rest of the family at times. Seems to help her reset and use more wisely. They were given mini laptops in yr 10 by the school but they are very restricted on what sites they can visit so they have actually been more of a help with schoolwork etc than as a tool for any social media (they are set so they can only access approved educational sites)
I think small bursts like you allow in the above photo are lovely and encourage the use of a broad range of experiences in this modern world without going over the top…thanks for sharing your pic and real life wisdom!And of course you don’t need to take your own advice :)
love this post! we are learning to use i-bribes (can i steal this expression?) with our monkeys, but as they are still little i am limiting the screen time they are allowed (whether that be tv, computer or occasional phone games). i had strong opinions on brain numbing before i had kids (when i was a teacher, hehe) but i have changed my view to ‘everything in moderation’. i like your thoughts on tv viewing (in your tv post) about the ‘zoning out’… i know my son loves the tv for that reason (i also enjoy half an hour of ‘brain dead’ time after dinner at night), so he is allowed about an hr during his sister’s rest time – on the days he is not at kindy. kindy days don’t see the tv on at all – and he doesn’t even ask for it. we have a few games on our phones (originally used in emergencies, however grocery shopping with my two is becoming more ’emergency-like’ every day!), but my hubbie has more reservations about the amount of radiation coming off mobile phones when kids sit with them for too long than about the games themselves.
i think the thing is that to a certain extent we have to tool these kids up to cope in the technical world, without turning them into techno-zombies… they are expected to do so much with technology at school from such a young age, that failing to expose them to anything before they hit school is almost like not reading to them cause you don’t want them to become an antisocial bookworm :)
thanks for the insights into your family life, it is nice to see other people keeping it real!
Love how you coined the name I-Bribes! That’s what it’s all about! (Cute picture of all your angels! Wink, wink!) Hmmm… my son will be nine next fall!
Love your honesty! Ideals do not always equal reality – that is the great secret that all parents soon learn!
Great idea and great phrase! My 8 year has asked Santa for an iPod…keeping this in mind for school year next year.