Do you have apps designed for toddlers?

An interesting story came across the Associated Press wire yesterday. It’s about iPhones and parenting. It’s the new “Do you sit your kids in front of the TV when they’re noisy” debate.

Here’s the top of the story:

There’s a new routine these days whenever Amber Mullaney goes out to eat at a restaurant. While waiting to be seated, she asks her husband to get the phone ready to hand over to their 2-year-old daughter, Tatum.

The phone — with its ability to stream episodes of Dora the Explorer — is a godsend, Mullaney says. Attempts at going out without whipping out the gadget have been disastrous, the Denver mom says. Her curious, independent toddler gets into everything. Salt shakers are fiddled with, drinks are spilled.
“She’ll color for a little bit or talk with us for a little bit, but it’s short-lived,” Mullaney says. “It’s miserable because all she wants to do is get out.”

With the iPhone, however, Tatum sits quietly in the booth while her parents get to enjoy a meal.

For the complete story, follow this link.

Now that you have the background and you’ve probably formed an opinion, is this lazy parenting or maintaining sanity?

Like similar debates over the years, experts contend it’s about balance.

After reading the story, I searched my iPhone. I have three “kid” apps — one a baby app with lots of colors, plus a Sesame Street app and a Veggie Tales app.

Before you judge, I, in fact, have a 1 year-old son.

He plays with them on occasion, but not even once a week.

Like food, like sugar, like Elmo, it’s all about moderation. None of these things are terrible — unless they are overused.

Fess up. How many iPhone apps do you have that are made specifically for the sub-5 year-old age group?

• An editor by day, Scott Mayes is also dad to Matthew, Micah and Nathan. He’s a high school parent, a youth basketball dad and changes diapers. He also spends more time looking at his iPhone than he should.