Stop playing with that phone!! Go do something else; like watch TV…

“Stop playing with that phone!! Go do something else; like watch TV…”

Yes. I´ve actually said that. To my kids.

When I first got my smartphone, a few years back, it was revolutionary. I was amazed by all that it could do. The emailing made everything so easy, I could be anywhere and still check it. The camera was also great. With it I never missed a “kodak moment”. Facebook became fun again. And the world became smaller, I could talk to my siblings in the US for free!! Being online all the time. What a bliss.
Hey, what song is that? the one that plays as Christly Blinkly drives the Ferrari in National Lampoons?”
Hang on I´ll YouTube it.” It´s Little Boy Sweet.

Then came Wordfeud. Crazy Mouth. Twitter. Blocket (Craig´s list in Sweden). The lightsaber. ibeer. Yatzy. Paper Toss. You see where this is going right? I was hooked on things I didn’t need.

At first I just loved it. But now I kind off hate that I love it so much.

Kids here, where I live in Sweden, are so into these new gadgets. Most have either their own Ipad, a Laptop or  their parents old smart phone.

What´s it like where you live?
What are your own rules or principal?

 

Picture: Viola made a phone from an old case.

 

 

 

8 Comments

Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.

avatar
Marie
June 7, 2013 at 12:43

I have 3 kids, one girl who’s 10 and two boys, who are 8 and 4.
The are only allowed to watch one children-tv-channel..(the one with no commercials ;) )
My Iphone is for my eyes only.
We have no Ipad, just a laptop where they can go one during 4 and 6 in the afternoon, when they are nice ;-)

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Jenny Brandt
June 7, 2013 at 13:39
– In reply to: Marie

Marie!

Thank you for sharing.

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erika
June 7, 2013 at 19:53

I have a boy that will be 3 in September. We live in Brooklyn but my husband is from Sweden so we are making sure he learns Swedish.

Having access to bilingual apps like “Beck and Bo” has been really helpful (he usually uses iPhone only during diaper changes/potty training).

He also watches Bolibompa and nickelodeon.se on the computer (about 30 minutes while I make dinner).

I’d appreciate any other Swedish app suggestion for his age.
Thanks!

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Jenny Brandt
June 7, 2013 at 20:38
– In reply to: erika

Oh Erika!! This sounds great

Hmm let me think.

Hey speaking of brooklyn. We are going to ny in two weeks for work.
I’m looking for sweet homes to photgraph. If you know any or have one please let me know.

Jenny

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Rozenn
June 8, 2013 at 21:02

I have 2 boys, we live in France, and they are addict with my Iphone but I just let them use it when they have to wait ( waiting room, jams…).
Otherwise, they use occasionaly my computer ( they are fans of the children’s site “poisson rouge” in french, it’s very fun for us).

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Isabelle McAllister
June 9, 2013 at 15:05

After a week without my phoen and internet my head feel new again. Have to turn off more frequently!

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Amalie
June 10, 2013 at 15:10

I felt the same way half a year ago…I was kind of stressed out by being online all the time and found my self spending so much time doing all these ridiculous things on my phone. So I bought an old NOKIA phone (nice and pink :-)) and I was surprised to find, that i didn’t miss my iPhone at all. Now I get through tons of books at night time, which makes me sleep a lot better and makes so much more sense. It cost me about 300 danish kroner, that’s it. One of the best decisions I’ve made :-)

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Marta
June 16, 2013 at 20:56

My 6 years old son Max loves my iphone :) Most applications are my son’s games – Plants vs Zombies, Angry Birds, Pettson Inventions, Lego, etc. It is very useful in these difficult situations like: a long journey, sitting in a waiting room (especially at the doctor – playing is a form of relaxation). But on the other hand I know, that smartphone entertainment can be fatal – when Max plays too long he becames more agitated, grumpy. So we let him play 30 minutes a day, not more. It was difficult but I believe it’s important for his mental health ;) Greets from Poland!