This came about because when we moved to Hawaii and waited over a month for our household goods to arrive, there wasn't very much for him to do. I packed a few toys, but he got bored with them pretty quickly. I took him to the park almost daily, but there's only so much time you can spend in the humid outdoors. So I loaded the iPad up with some downloaded shows and movies I knew he liked, and some educational games.
That held his attention. And it exercised his brain! Thanks to a few cheapo learning apps and the Dave and Ava video series, he already recognizes the entire alphabet, knows all of his shapes and colors, and even communicates a little more clearly.
Now that his toys are here, I try to limit his screen time, because I imagine millions of moms giving me side-eye for letting him have any at all. After all, STUDIES SHOW that screen time rots brain cells and destroys lives!
Except no. It doesn't, IN MODERATION. As with anything, some common sense is key. I keep an eye on what he's doing or watching, and if I don't feel like it's beneficial to him then I turn it off. I also don't shove it in his face to get him to leave me alone all the time. Sometimes, maybe. Like at 6 a.m. on a Saturday. Mama needs her beauty sleep! But most of the time I actually enjoy playing with him and watching his imagination work as he builds with blocks or pushes his cars around. If he starts seeming like a little zombie who won't respond to his own name, the iPad gets put away for a while.
Oh, but screen time isn't just portable devices, he watches TV, too! THE HORROR, amiright? Nah, not really. TV time equals snuggle time. And yeah, we read books too, frequently. But sometimes it's nice to just relax together and watch Monsters Inc. for the thousandth time. Or Mother Goose Club. Or a science documentary! Yep, he manages to learn from the good old TV.
All of this to say, I'm a fan of screen time. And of not guilting perfectly loving and involved parents for making certain choices based on irrelevant studies. The end.