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src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130628162923-girl-ipad-story-top.jpg" alt="Giving kids a little one-on-one time with Thomas the Tank Engine can be useful for parents, writer Bunmi Laditan says." border="0" height="360" width="640"/></div> <div class="cnn_stryimg640caption"><div class="cnn_strycaptiontxt">Giving kids a little one-on-one time with Thomas the Tank Engine can be useful for parents, writer Bunmi Laditan says.</div></div> <a name="em0"></a> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt"><div class="cnn_strylctcntr"> <div><strong>STORY HIGHLIGHTS</strong></div> <ul class="cnn_bulletbin cnnStryHghLght">  <li>A recent study says parents use tech devices to 'babysit' children</li> <li>Columnist Bunmi Laditan says "So what?" Tech can be useful</li> <li>Laditan says such studies often serve to convince parents they're flawed</li> <li>Studies that sound alarmist should be taken with a grain of salt, she finds</li>  </ul> </div></div>  <p class="cnnEditorialNote"><em><strong>Editor's note:</strong> Bunmi Laditan is a parenting writer and the keeper of the Honest Toddler <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/https://twitter.com/HonestToddler" target="_blank">twitter feed</a> and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/http://thehonesttoddler.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>. Her book, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/http://www.amazon.com/Honest-Toddler-Childs-Guide-Parenting/dp/1476733716/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361809860&sr=1-1&keywords=honest+toddler" target="_blank">"The Honest Toddler: A Child's Guide to Parenting,"</a> is available now.</em></p> <p><strong>(CNN)</strong> -- "Half of Parents Admit to Using Tech as Baby Sitters," the headline shouted in bold, alarmist Helvetica. As I sat staring at the words, I knew I was supposed to feel some kind of outrage, but all I could muster was a "so what?"</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph2">I kept reading: "New research from the leading money saving website in the U.S. has discovered that the majority of American parents have used their tech gadgets as a means of "baby-sitting" their children before, with the average occurrence being twice a week."</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph3">Twice a week? These kids are on Mom's iPad or fumbling with Dad's Android twice a week? Someone call Child Protective Services, stat!</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph4">The best parents <i>know</i> that if their kids are awake, they must be engaged in a papier-mache craft, baking organic biscotti or locked hand in hand with their caregiver singing <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh1ZeWhAtRI" target="_blank">"If All Raindrops Were Lemondrops and Gumdrops."</a></p> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt"><div class="cnn_strylctcntr cnn_strylccimg214"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130702175525-bunmi-laditan-headshot-left-tease.jpg" alt="Bunmi Laditan" border="0" class="box-image" height="122" width="214"/> <div>Bunmi Laditan</div> </div></div> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph5">The study, conducted by couponcodes4u.com, polled 2,403 American parents of children ages 2 to 13, most of whom said they have devices such as smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles at home: 27% of respondents said they allowed kids to access tech devices on a daily basis; 22% on a weekly basis; and 19% said they do it "occasionally"; 18% said they rarely did; and 15% said never.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph6">"Furthermore, when asked if they often used their tech gadgets to effectively 'baby-sit' their children (keep them occupied so the parents didn't have to), the majority, 58%, said that they did, while 25% admitted that it 'depended' on the situation," the study goes.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph7">It's one thing to have your kid play on your phone so much they develop juvenile carpal tunnel syndrome, it's quite another thing to allow them to be -- I don't know -- modern kids.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph8">I'd like to know why the term "baby-sitting" is being used. A baby sitter is someone you pay to fully care for your child so that you can peel out of the driveway. The Thomas the Tank Engine app can't do that. In fact, any mom, dad or caregiver who has handed a child a device with the intention of getting a moment's peace knows that it always backfires.</p> <script> var currExpandable="expand19"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2013/04/03/thepoint-toddlers-technology-ipads.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130403122704-thepoint-toddlers-technology-ipads-00011123-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand19Store=mObj; </script> <a name="em2"></a> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt cnn_strylftcexpbx" id="expand19"> <div class="cnn_strylceclbtn"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif" alt="" border="0" height="23" width="58"/></div> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130403122704-thepoint-toddlers-technology-ipads-00011123-story-body.jpg" alt="" border="0" class="box-image" height="120" width="214"/><cite class="expCaption"><span>Toddlers and technology: Good or bad?</span></cite> </div> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph9">"I can't win the game -- can you help me?"</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph10">"This app is boring/not working/needs $4.99 and your iTunes password for the full version."</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph11"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/04/tech/gaming-gadgets/parenting-digital-devices-study/index.html?iref=allsearch">U.S. parents not worried about kids' digital-media use</a></p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph12">Do children younger than 5 even engage with devices for more than 14 seconds at a time before making you regret not buying that extended warranty?</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph13">I grew up playing Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. on my Nintendo. As the second born, I always had to be dorky Luigi to my big brother's Mario -- I found this far more damaging than being exposed to electronic entertainment. While we were upstairs using our Italian avatars to rescue the princess, our parents were nowhere to be seen. Could they have been (gasp!) having a moment to themselves?</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph14">In an age of parenting extremism, studies such as these play to insecurities.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph15">We can't go a full week without an organization dramatizing its findings into a sensationalized article. In an age of fear-fueled parenting, this "research" throws gasoline on an already raging bonfire of guilt and judgment.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph16">When The New York Times reported on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-valley-technology-can-wait.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" target="_blank">a 100% tech-free private Waldorf school</a> in northern California, some parents panicked.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph17">The article painted a picture of a utopia full of young geniuses. All of a sudden, the masses were asking themselves, "If those successful Silicon Valley parents had chosen a school where motherboards were banished, do they know something we don't?"</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph18"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/14/tech/innovation/computer-science-teals/index.html?iref=allsearch">Molding the next generation of computer scientists</a></p> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt"> <div class="cnn_strylctcntr cnn_stryfactbox"> <div class="cnn_strycorrheader"><b>Stay in touch!</b></div> Don't miss out on the conversation we're having at CNN Living. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/https://twitter.com/cnnliving" target="_blank">Follow us on Twitter </a>and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/http://www.facebook.com/CnnLiving" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for the latest stories and tell us what's influencing your life. <div class="cnn_pad20top"></div> </div></div> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph19">Many Waldorf schools also don't allow children to wear black or color with black crayons because according to the pedagogy's founder, Rudolf Steiner, it is the "absence of color" and somehow detrimental to the learning environment.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph20">Perhaps instead of chasing current parenting fads, we need to find a sense of balance that works for our particular family.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph21">We're creating a perfect storm of parental neurosis fed by anecdotal data cleverly masked as universal truth. The best thing we can all do as we're bombarded with seemingly urgent material for our consumption is to read it all with a grain of locally sourced Himalayan sea salt.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph22">What's that? You don't live in the Himalayan mountains? That's sad because a recent study just named it the best place to raise kids.</p> <script type="text/javascript">if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}</script> <p class="cnn_strycbftrtxt"></p>   <div class="cnn_stryshrwdgtbtm"> <div id="cnn_sharebar2"> <div class="c_sharebar_cntr c_sharebar_loading"> <div class="cnn_stryswdgtbtm1"> <div class="cnn_stryswdgtbtm1a"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/03/living/cnn-parents-technology-children/index.html#disqus_thread">0</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryswdgtbtm1b"><a href="#cnn-disqus-area">Comments »</a></div> </div> <div class="cnn_stryswdgtbtm2"> <div class="c_sharebtmcol1"> <div class="c_sharetitle">SHARE THIS</div> <div class="c_sharebtns"> <ul> <li class="c_sharebtn c_sharebtnfb"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'facebook');"></a></li> <li class="c_sharebtn c_sharebtntwtr"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'twitter');"></a></li> <li class="c_sharebtn c_sharebtngplus"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'googleplus');"></a></li> <li class="c_sharebtn c_sharebtnlnkn"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'linkedin');"></a></li> </ul> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div> </div> <div class="c_sharebtmdiv"></div> <div class="c_sharebtmcol2"> <div class="fb-like" data-send="false" data-layout="box_count" data-width="90" data-show-faces="false" data-action="recommend" href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/03/living/cnn-parents-technology-children/index.html"></div> </div> <div class="c_sharebtmdiv"></div> <div class="c_shareweb c_sharebtmcol3"> <ul> <li class="cnn_sswdgtweb1"><a href="#" onclick="if(typeof CleanPrintPrintHtml!='undefined' && CleanPrintPrintHtml) CleanPrintPrintHtml(); else window.print(); return false;">Print</a></li> <li class="cnn_sswdgtweb2"><a href="#" onclick="return(ET());">Email</a></li> <li class="cnn_sswdgtweb3"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="$j('#cnn_sharebarmore2').toggle();">More sharing</a> <div id="cnn_sharebarmore2" class="sharebar_othersites sharebar_othersitesl" style="display:none;"> <div class="shareProp"> <div class="sharebutton_reddit" title="Reddit"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'reddit');">Reddit</a></div> </div> <div class="shareProp"> <div class="sharebutton_stumbleupon" title="StumbleUpon"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'stumbleupon');">StumbleUpon</a></div> </div> <div class="shareProp"> <div class="sharebutton_delicious" title="Delicious"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'delicious');">Delicious</a></div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div> </div> </div> <script> /* push in config for this share instance */ cnn_shareconfig.push({ "id" : "cnn_sharebar2", "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/03/living/cnn-parents-technology-children/index.html", "title" : "What\'s wrong with using tech to distract kids?" }); </script> <div class="cnn_strybtmcntnt"> <div class="cnn_divline"></div> <div class="cnn_divline"></div> <div class="cnn_strybtmmorebx" id="outbrain_ext_element" style="display:none;"> <div class="cnn_strybtmmbx1"> <h4>We recommend</h4><div class="cnn_clear"></div> <script> var cnn_oburlStr=location.pathname+''; cnn_oburlStr=(cnn_oburlStr.indexOf('?') > -1) ? 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No big deal.</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/http://ireport.cnn.com/topics/995934?iid=article_sidebar">Share your parenting confessions</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558/http://ireport.cnn.com/topics/995934?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130626140829-cake-kid-messy-toddler-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">We want you to tell it like it is: Let's share the mess-ups, the chaos and the truth -- good, bad and ugly -- about all stages of child rearing. </div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130706105558/http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/02/living/cnn-parents-helicopter-parenting-job-search/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">Helicopter parents ruin kids' job hopes</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 12:24 PM EDT, Tue July 2, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130706105558/http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/02/living/cnn-parents-helicopter-parenting-job-search/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130626103433-helicopter-moms-video-tease.jpg" alt="helicopter, mom, parent, parenting, illustration" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Nicole Williams thought she had found the ideal job applicant -- until a phone call came from Mom. </div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130706105558/http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/01/living/cnn-parents-kelly-wallace-stage-parent/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">How not to be a scary stage parent</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 10:46 AM EDT, Mon July 1, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130706105558/http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/01/living/cnn-parents-kelly-wallace-stage-parent/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130627073246-01-stage-moms-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Motivated by unfulfilled personal ambition or desire to encourage children not to give up? How much should parents push?</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130706105558/http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2013/07/03/newday-intv-retired-teacher-wears-same-sweater.cnn.html?iid=article_sidebar">Teacher wears same outfit for 40 years</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 8:11 AM EDT, Wed July 3, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130706105558/http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2013/07/03/newday-intv-retired-teacher-wears-same-sweater.cnn.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130706105558im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130703075220-teacher-wears-same-sweater-split-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">A recently retired Texas gym teacher wore the same outfit for every yearbook photo throughout his 40-year 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