DH and electronic media

[MamaRuga]

Well, my husband and I are not altogether on the same page about electronic use in our home.  He is chomping at the bit to share movies with our daughter who is only 3.  But he has agreed to wait until at least 7, I am hoping to hold out until 9.  We will see.  And the computer kind of goes along with this, although she does see us both using them often since we WAH.

But DH has a new ipad and he has gotten a few "games" and books that are very simple and for young children.  One he just showed me has cartoon animals and color keys at the bottom.  When you press the key the animal makes their sound.  DH is just such a techno-geek.  He really wants to share this sort of thing with our daughter because it is the sort of thing that makes him happy.  But I want to keep her away from the digital age and let her live in the "real world" for a while longer.  He doesn't think that a few minutes here and there when they are hanging out together is an issue.

Problem is I have a really hard time articulating to DH why I feel so strongly about this.  It is just something that I feel deep in my bones.  I feel that the digital world is closing in around us and I want to hold it off for as long as possible.  But DH just feels like I'm being a stick in the mud and not letting them have any fun and that I'm making too big of a deal about this.

I just wish so much that we shared the same values!  How do I handle this?

[nanette0269]

I understand, but then again, I think the bonding is more important than the anti-media.  I do hate when children are thrown to media to distract them, or to entertain them without physical interaction...but the difference here is that I think DH is entertaining them via the ipad with physical interaction, rather than the ipad is entertaining them.  Is there any room for compromise here?

[lyrebird]

perhaps the compromise could be small amounts on weekends - if you can negotiate that, then it's something for them both to look forward to rather than feel they're doing something naughty that you don't like... then you can get joy from their enjoyment? 

[elus0814]

I would try to compromise. Maybe using an e-reader to read children's books. DH and I have books like the poky little puppy on ours and read them to the kids. It's fun for DH who like the gadget, it's great for the kids. We don't let them play video games but the e reader books are fine, the screen looks just like paper so it's not colorful or flashy.