I have surprised myself! Before having Poppy, I had quite strong ideals about screen time and the importance of minimal exposure. I had done quite a bit of reading about exposing little ones to television, computers etc and found any screen time over stimulated their minds.
I have been quite diligent up until now and would rarely turn the telly on, but I have had a relapse. I find the time between 4.30 pm and 5.00 pm crazy … you will find me (and all Mums) in the kitchen trying to whizz up a meal that Poppy will eat; she is often whinging or crying and pulling on my leg (whilst wiping her snotty nose against my work clothes). As a last resort I have sought the entertainment of Humf and Giggle & Hoot on ABC4Kids and all becomes quite peaceful. Mmmmm! I have been having an internal and ethical dilemma and I realised I am relying on the ‘electronic babysitter’ all too often!
Even when I am checking my emails, Poppy clambers up to look at the screen, and is already adept at using my iPhone (she doesn’t quite swipe it to open, but almost). I justify it by thinking that Poppy will be a Digital Native and technology will be a huge part of her world.
What to do? What do you think?
The Poppy Files 
It Is hard to know regarding these matters. Technology will definitely be a large part of her world, just like we grew up with cars, TV and phones…but it wasn’t always like that. I think it is funny when people say how little television they watch, yet how many hours each week do people now spend checking their phones, tablet devices and surfing the internet, no it’s no television but it is all screen time. Anyway enough from me, I will head back to my rocking chair with my ipad.