Nothing can divide parents quite like the discussion of technology use among their kids — what to use, how often to use it, and whether or not some parents are "terrible" or "lazy" for relying heavily on tablets. I might be risking ire from the internet, but my big, dirty parenting secret is that I let my son use a tablet all the time. I know, I'm clearly the worst parent in the world. My apologies.
While it started as a way for him to watch a few cartoons here and there, it's now become a really lovely part of our day together. Sometimes we play records and listen to music, sometimes he plays educational games, and sometimes we watch one of his favorite shows. He's 2 1/2 years old, and over the last few months of his increased screen time, I've noticed a few things about why his technology use never bothers me. These are the five most important reasons I let him have screen time.