I'm a full-time mummy

I came across this article which I must definitely share with you guys as I'm very interested to know your thoughts on this. Do note that sharing this does not mean I agree or disagree with it.

I do believe that iPads are beneficial for educational purposes provided that you moderate the usage of it for your kiddos and you filter through the apps that they have access to.

A friend once shared to us that one of their friend's child was so addicted to iPad that when given a real book to read, the child does not know how to turn the pages of the book. The child just stared at the book and tried to use their fingers to swipe the book expecting the pages to be flipped as how it would be on iPad.

Our kiddos used to have access to the iPads for up to 2 hours a day, then we switched it to weekend usage only and now, it has been almost 2 months since we took away all our iPads and our kiddos have been free from it. I do feel that they are better without it for now. Maybe we will change our stance in future but for now, the iPads are a no-no. That's just how we do it for now, of course, every family functions differently. Feel free to share your thoughts. No bashing, no judging please. For your convenience, I have copied the excerpts from the article here:

Experts have warned that parents who allow babies and toddlers to access tablet computers for several hours a day are in danger of causing “dangerous” long term effects.

 The youngest known patient being treated in the UK is a four-year-old girl from the South East. Her parents enrolled her for compulsive behaviour therapy after she became increasingly “distressed and inconsolable” when the iPad was taken away from her. Her use of the device had escalated over the course of a year and she had become addicted to using it up for to four hours a day.

Dr Richard Graham, who launched the UK’s first technology addiction programme three years ago, said he believed there were many more addicts of her age.  “The child's mother called me and described her symptoms,” he said. "She told me she had developed an obsession with the device and would ask for it constantly. She was using it three to four hours every day and showed increased agitation if it was removed."

Dr Graham said that young technology addicts experienced the same withdrawal symptoms as alcoholics or heroin addicts, when the devices were taken away. He warned that the condition prevented young people from forming normal social relationships, leaving them drained by the constant interaction.

 "Children have access to the internet almost from birth now,” he told the Sunday Mirror. “They see their parents playing on their mobile devices and they want to play too. It's difficult, because having a device can also be very useful in terms of having a reward, having a pacifier. But if you don't get the balance right it can be very dangerous.

"They can't cope and become addicted, reacting with tantrums and uncontrollable behaviour when they are taken away. Then as they grow older, the problem only gets worse. Even the most shy kids, when they hit their teens, suddenly want to become sociable and popular."

It is feared that products such as baby-proof iPad covers and iPotties, which feature built-in iPad stands, only fuel the problem. Parents who have found themselves unable to wean their children off computer games and mobile phones are paying up to £16,000 for a 28-day “digital detox” programme designed by Dr Graham at the Capio Nightingale Hospital in London.

Psychiatrists estimate that the number of people who have become digitally dependent has risen by 30 per cent over the past three years. A survey last week revealed that more than half of parents allowed their babies to play with their phone or tablet device. One in seven of more than 1,000 parents questioned by babies.co.uk website admitted that they let them use the gadgets for four or more hours a day.

James Macfarlane, managing director of the website, said: “Given that babies between 3-12 months are awake for only around 10 hours per day this is a huge proportion of their waking day. “Although 81 per cent of our users felt that children today spend too much time on smart devices, it hasn’t put most of them off using them to entertain their baby.”

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Facebook's redesigned Like button is finally here!!!

After months of testing, the social network is finally rolling out reactions to everyone, Facebook announced Wednesday. The update, which includes four new reactions — Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry — will be available to all users in the next couple of days.

Practically, reactions are very similar to likes: hold down on the Like button on the app (or hover over it with your mouse, if you're on desktop) to view all the reactions and tap on the one you want to add to a post. As with likes, you'll be able to see how many people have reacted to a particular post or photo.

The reactions rolling out today are the product of more than a year of research and experimentation. The biggest consideration through it all though was finding sentiments so universal that they would be easily translate across all the countries where people use Facebook (which is just about everywhere.) That's also why the company chose to roll the feature out first to countries like Spain, Portugal, Chile, Japan and Colombia before bringing them to the rest of the world.

Source :

* Facebook's New Like Button Is Here

* Facebook Reactions, the Totally Redesigned Like Button, Is Here

I came across this article which I must definitely share with you guys as I'm very interested to know your thoughts on this. Do note that sharing this does not mean I agree or disagree with it. For your convenience, I have copied the excerpts from the article here:

Families rely on a smoke alarm to wake them up in case of a fire at night, but will everyone hear the beep? That blaring sound of a smoke alarm may be loud and audible to an adult, but parents know, at times, kids can sleep through anything.

If you can’t get to your kids to save them during a fire: Will they wake up on their own, and know what to do? While adults may jump out of bed, sleep experts warn children often won’t hear or respond to the sound of a smoke alarm.

Watch a video (click on image below for link to launch video) taken of the Velsor family who allowed their family to be put to the test. The Velsor kids are 10-year-old Logan, 4-year-old Mason and 2-year-old Easton. The kids, especially the older two, know fires are dangerous. They’ve had fire drills at school, and they’ve heard the smoke alarm go off in their home. The family has talked about a plan in case of a fire, but they’ve never put it to the test.

Children get a tremendous amount of this deep sleep, and it’s during this deep sleep when the body doesn’t like to be bothered, and it really avoids or doesn’t respond to outside stimulants and as a result that’s a time when a child becomes very difficult to awaken.

Fire doubles in size every 30 to 60 seconds. An entire room can be engulfed in flames and full of smoke in minutes.

It’s crucial for families to practice their escape plan, and to make sure kids know, and are familiar with, the distinct sound of a smoke alarm. It’s important to test a plan at least twice a year, and at different times of the day and night.

For further reading:

* How to Conduct a Home Fire Drill

* What to do during a house fire?

* What to do in a fire?

Do you have anything else to add?

** Note: I have disabled the commenting feature on my blog engine thanks to all the spammers who happily spam my blog every day. If you wish to ask me any questions, you can find me at my Facebook page (I'm there almost everyday) or just drop me an email if you wish to maintain some anonymity.