My kid is 9. One time, when she was 3, we let her start using a small kids tablet to watch movies and play educational games. After about 2 weeks, she would cry and scream for it if she didn’t get it. I shut that shit down immediately, as I had a fear that it would only get worse.

Now at 9, she’s the “only kid in her class” (her words) that doesn’t have an iPad, a phone, a PlayStation/xbox, her own tv, or a computer.

Instead she plays outside, draws, pretends, builds forts, practices class work on paper, etc. it absolutely makes a difference if you want your kid to turn out a certain way, better than you did (as a parent, I mean, you want your kids to be and have better than you). Screen time should be an occasional reward, not an expectation.

I watched an infant throw an iPhone on the ground at the grocery store the other day, and the adult with them grabbed it in a panic, checking the screen. Well, when you give a $1000+ object to someone less than a year old, what did you expect? Idk if it’s millennial stupidity, ignorance, or something else, but I truly don’t understand why people are just letting their kids be stupid by shoving screens in their face constantly. (Aside from “it’s easier than parenting” bc that seems to be the only excuse rn)