trust me when i say i am no Take a stand against screen time for kids. If I decided to round up the number of times I’ve put my kids in front of the TV so I could enjoy a moment of peace or get some chores done, I’d lose count. That said, my husband and I are very strict about no iPads or tablets at the table, especially when we go out to restaurants. Looks like we’re not alone!
On The Him & Her Podcast with Lauren and Michael Bostic, parenting expert Dr. Becky Kennedy joins the polarizing conversation. Michael is adamant that he believes there should never be iPads in restaurants and calls parents who do so “selfish.”
“I think one of the selfish things that parents do as individuals – and this is what I get online – is to say, ‘Well, I need to be able to go to dinner with my spouse and I want to take my kids, So that’s the only way I can bring it. I don’t have child care,” and I said, “Yeah, but if you fast forward, you’re going to create a lifelong behavior. Are you really like that? Me In a perfect world, there would never be an iPad on the table, and if that’s a requirement for them to come to dinner, then they’re not going to come to dinner,” he said.
Dr. Becky nodded while adding to Michael’s point that if parents want their children to be able to sit at the dinner table without interruption or entertainment, we as parents need to give them the tools to do so. Dr. Betsy also avoids using screens at the dinner table, a rule she sees as a message to her children.
“I think what I’m saying to my kids is that the world is not entirely optimized for your pleasure. You’re not meant to be entertained every moment. Sitting in a restaurant, ordering, and waiting— — these life skills rise to become the most important of the adult life skills we know, like waiting, which is an actual skill,” she said.
“We don’t want kids to swim in the ocean before they go into the pool, the training pool, we often give them swimming lessons for a period of time before they can really swim independently. So, I would say the same thing in the restaurant.
Dr. Becky then gave an example of how parents can help prepare their children for a screen-free restaurant.
“Well, tonight is our first screen-free dinner, and it’s screen-free for everyone. That’s what’s so helpful. Even a two-year-old can understand that. Sometimes Mom And dad’s got a screen on the table. You probably saw that starting tonight, we won’t, if you see us kind of sneaking around, you can say, ‘Screen!
She went on to give another example, showing a simple timer game parents can play with their children.
“‘I’m going to set a timer. Do you think we can do it? I’ll do it for one minute. The next night, I’ll do it for two minutes. Now, all of a sudden, in addition to setting boundaries, I’m actually I’ve set my kids up for success. It’s not the first time I’ve gone out to eat and I’ll yell at them because they’ve never been in this situation before.
All kids have different needs, and some parents can’t keep their kids home overnight, so I won’t judge those who decide to go this route and let their kids use tablets at restaurants. Still, if you’re gaming long-term and removing the screen, there may be more benefits.
