This makes it sound as if it were impossible to raise a child before the advent of the iPad.

We're lucky these things didn't exist before the introduction of the iPad, otherwise parenting would have been completely impossible and there wouldn't be any humans

> Are you a parent?

Yes, I am. And my spouse and I managed to raise two kids under the age of two without giving them an iPad. Yeah, it meant we didn't go to restaurants as much and that the house wasn't as clean as it was before. It's all trade offs.

I'm not saying this to say I'm a better parent than you are, but you don't __need__ an iPad or to plop them in front of a tv. Claims otherwise are just excuse making.

> You’re at a restaurant and your toddler is trying to run away and generally make a mess out of everything

I don't think toddlers should be at most restaurants. I have a toddler and a 7 month old. I'm not even saying that for the sake of the other patrons. There's really nothing fun whatsoever about being at restaurant with your toddler. We don't even have bad outcomes, but you're sort of trapped in your seat, it's messy, it's expensive, and you're constantly keeping your toddler in line.

Restaurant food is really not so good as to overcome those issues.

Oh woe is me! Sometimes your kid is going to cry. They’ll make a scene. Who cares that’s what children do. That doesn’t mean you throw an iPad in front of them so that they’ll shut up. I swear my fellow millennials are the worst parents because they won’t let their kids ever be uncomfortable for a second, and they’re too afraid of being embarrassed about their crying kids. Meanwhile putting a screen in front of them is just making everything worse long term

The reality is that your kid only demands an iPad because they know what an an iPad is. If you never crack the seal and show them a scren, even once, your kid will be briefly annoyed and then figure out ways to entertain themselves with the silverware.

(yes, I have 3 kids, I am speaking from experience)

I'm a parent (age 7 and 5 now). We had a strict no screen policy before the age of two, which really meant the oldest saw very little until after the second was born. It isn't that hard to live a normal life without screen in the home. I think a big part of the problem nowadays is making sure home is for home stuff. Not just work, but all other non-home stuff (preparing taxes, discussing bills, online banking, online health insurance bullshit, and so on) has infiltrated our homes. I've found that reserving a block of time to tackle that stuff instead of trying to do it throughout the makes parenting more manageable without giving children a screen.

Both my kids really struggled at night for years, and I sypmpathize with the lack of sleep.

I'm a parent and I have no idea what you're talking about. Especially that thing about not being able to get away for a shower... That seems ridiculous like it's coming from another species from another planet! I mean kids are ultimately people. You care for and love them but they neither want nor need your attention 100% of the time, not even as an infant. The vibe I get is the parents who go through this are super nervous and anxious about their kids well being so they create this unnecessary and unrealistic demand on themselves that they can't meet. The sad irony is that when the relationship is so fraught the poor child really only sees you as a nervous wreck so of course they're attachment will itself become anxious. I really enjoy being a dad and my kids are great and every time I hear this characterization of it it kind of pisses me off. Sure maybe I'm just lucky, my personality is well suited to it or the kids are genetically suited to being good kids or whatever, but something tells me the vast majority of humans have a positive experience being a parent or else the species wouldn't continue to exist.

Nice edit. I'm not sure "don't put an ipad in front of your infant" qualifies as "unproductive" or a "hot take".