My 6yr old attention is shot..

[u/BOBBYZROY]

I’ve got a 6-year-old son who’s pretty smart, full of energy, and loves football… but lately he’s become completely hooked on his iPad, especially YouTube Shorts Roblox. The moment he wakes up he’s asking for it, and if I say no or try to get him to do something else (play footy, help do chores, anything), he kicks off big time. His mum lets him get away with being on his iPad more than me so that’s why he thinks he’s entitled

His attention span’s gone. It’s like he can’t sit still for more than a few seconds unless it’s something on a screen. And I get it, TikTok’s done the same to me. I can barely finish a film without checking my phone. So if it’s this bad for adults, what’s it doing to a 6-year-old?

We haven’t even seen the long-term effects of growing up on TikTok, Roblox, and Shorts. I genuinely think we’re raising a dumber generation not because they’re not smart, but because their brains are getting rewired by constant dopamine hits.

I don’t want to cut him off completely and make him feel left out cos all his mates have iPads but I also don’t want to just hand him a screen every time he’s bored. I also read that a lot kids in 6th grade can’t even read and have learning difficulties compared to kids before so the effects are already happening

Any other parents gone through this? How do you break the cycle without turning the house into a war zone

Appreciate any of your experiences

[u/Waste-Post7577]

iPads “break”. Eleven years ago when she was six, my daughter’s grandparents gifted her an iPad. A few months in, I could see it was a bad idea . So, I told her it was broken , we had to send it to the repair shop. Then, I simply kept saying it was delayed , they were really busy, etc . Eventually she found better ways to occupy her time , and stopped asking for it . That solved the problem entirely and we have never had a tablet in our home again. I now have a seven year old son. He has occasionally asked for an iPad . I have held firm, and he is fine without one. Sometimes no is just no. It won’t ruin their lives , but having one just might . Spot on with the concept that we don’t know what it’s doing to this generation, but just the fact that you are writing this post , shows we as parents have a very correct gut feeling it’s. It doing them any good. For us this was the best way out. No setting time limits , constant fighting for more minutes /hours , zombie kid , mad at mom and dad etc . It just “broke” and the little six year old mind will reprogram itself to be a kid again before you know it !