Listen, I get it! Parents of newborns and toddlers NEED some not-holding-baby-time to do things as basic as bathing or eating. That’s why I say hallelujah to products like swings or bouncy seats that will give you a blessed 5-20 minutes of time to use your arms for yourself. I recommend these types of products to new parents, I give these types of products to new parents, but this product that Fisher Price has come out with is just WRONG. The Newborn-to-Toddler Apptivity™ Seat for iPad® device lets you strap your child into a bouncy seat and shove your iPad in their face to keep them occupied for GAWD knows how long. Oh yeah baby, just try not to look at that iPad!
Admittedly, I am no expert in this area, but aren’t children under 24 months supposed to get no screen time at all. Yeah, I TOTALLY broke that rule, but I didn’t strap my kids down and force them to watch things. Oh sure, supposedly there are apps that your 6 month old can use, but COME ON! We know that’s not what’s gonna happen. Why don’t we just duct tape our babies to our living room walls and put our big screen TVs right in front of them, that should keep them occupied for an hour or eight?!
Call me crazy (you wouldn’t be the first), but this totally reminds me of a very disturbing scene from A Clockwork Orange. Check it out and tell me you don’t see the similarity.
Image via Fisher Price
What do you think of this particular captivity seat?
Hey Claudya, I am so not happy with that! I’d rather let my babies run amok! I don’t like the screen like thing in the capptivity seat – it is so in the baby’s face!
That video completely froke me out! (froke is the past tense of freak)
Ha! I love the Clockwork Orange comparison. I’m not sure how I feel about this. As a soon-to-be parent, I’m all “I’m totally not going to let my toddler watch TV”, much less strap them into a seat with a screen. I know that when the time comes though, I will inevitably do whatever works to get us both through the day.
OK, that video is creepy! And I agree with you, babies DO NOT need to be watching an iPad! Nuts.
One would think that a company catering to moms and babies would have a child development specialist on staff. Maybe it’s for Google Hangouts with grandparents? 😉