I'm going to say something that doesn't reflect well on me or my wife. We let the kids have the iPad for too long. Way too long. We realized that it was ruining their personalities. I watched it happen and I didn't act fast enough. We took the iPads... away. Took the phones. All of it. And I got my children back. They’ve been de-zombified. The difference was immediate and it was dramatic. So let me give credit where it's due. Shout out to Jonathan Haidt. Shout out to Kara Swisher You think you're giving your kid entertainment. A way to decompress. Something to keep them occupied. You're handing them something that is quietly rewiring how they think, how they feel, and how they connect with the people right in front of them. Take it away. You'll get your kid back too. I promise you won’t regret it!show more

My wife won’t let the kids use screens. She is fantastic. Nice work.

Yes. It is an addiction. And not only children suffer from this. Look around. Everyone is staring down at their phones.

1. Let your kids be bored 2. Their brain will figure out a way to entertain themselves IRL

That takes honesty to admit. Most people see it happening and still delay acting. The fact you stepped in and reversed it says a lot. How long did it take before you noticed the change?

Hey Mooch I hear the honesty in this — and so many parents will quietly recognise themselves in it. But I’d gently reframe one part. It’s rarely about being a “bad” decision or acting too late.
It’s about how powerful these devices and platforms are — they’re designed to hold attention, not to support childhood. What you noticed wasn’t your children “changing personality.”
It was their behaviour adapting to an environment that’s fast, stimulating, and very hard to step away from. And yes… when you remove it, something shifts. But I’d be careful with the message “just take it all away.” Because for many families, that can feel overwhelming, unrealistic — or lead to constant battles. What I see working, again and again, is this: 👉 moving from access → to boundaries
👉 from reacting → to planning
👉 from monitoring → to mentoring Things like:
• agreeing when and where screens are used
• having clear stopping points (before you even start)
• keeping devices out of bedrooms
• building in daily “no screen” anchors (mealtimes, mornings, before bed) That’s where the real change sticks. And the most important bit? Not just removing the screen — but reconnecting the child. Because what children are really drawn back to is:
connection, conversation, boredom, play… and us. I talk about this a lot on my podcast, Navigating the Digital Jungle with Sue Atkins and Friends — real conversations, practical scripts, and calm guidance for real family life.

Kids on Tablets/Phones in restaurants or anywhere public without headphones should be outlawed by society

Good! Now they only have their moron father to worry about.

We have five kids. We've learned the exact same thing over the years. Monitoring screen time is a must for children and no screens at all until at least 3 or 4. Our three youngest have no screen time at all because of this exact reason. The hardest part is going out to eat at the beginning, but they eventually get used to it and are fine. If you do not do this, you're raising little screen zombies — terrible for society.

It gets harder the older they are. Like taking away a drug

I’m curious (as the parent of 10 year old) what were they doing with it? We let her watch some movies but no social media, etc.

Same. Kids didn’t melt down they leveled up.

I never agree 98% of the time with Lilliputian Scaramutian… but I agree with him 100% on this post every parent should read this post. But only this post.

what age ranges were they using the iPad? there are millions of parents in this same boat. thanks AS

Yeah we've pretty much removed the iPad too. Immediate improvement in mood. Still watch the good old fashioned TV (we did as kids too!) but I find they prefer playing with friends or doing craft/drawing etc and going out.

Kind of a personal question…how old were they when they got the iPads, and how long did they have them before you took them away? I have a seven year old daughter who has an iPad, and I have been feeling the same way you do. I’m not sure how to take it away because all of her friends have them and it’s their chief way of communicating when not together.

We had good luck with giving our son an iPhone on his 7th birthday, but no phone plan and no games, etc. just calculator ( he and his sister love math), compass, measuring tool, and other built-in utilities like that along with the camera, which he uses to record his gymnastics routines. He sees it as a tool…and rarely uses it. So much so that it was dead every time he went to use it, so we had to get a charger stand it just sits on now. He and his sister do have iPads, but can only play Minecraft on the weekend with their cousins or on long road trips. They also have @synthesischool, which they can use any time. I also game him my old MacBook Pro with @opencode which he uses to make his own math games and is cool to watch, but doesn’t do as much anymore since he’s more into gymnastics now.

Dead on right Anthony, we have had the same results.

Yes 100%. My kids were the last generation to be born before iPads, smartphones, etc. They were exposed to computer games in school & got phones in high school, but their childhoods were mostly free of electronics. They can now navigate the world of devices without being hooked.

Same can be said for us adults/parents. We are leading ourselves into ruin. 🤪

My wife did the same and it was hard at first (they literary had withdrawal symptoms) but we had them back I a couple of weeks. Instead of handing them drugs (iPad) we took walks in the park and then our house filled up with their friends. Real human connection occurred.

@toly Just like anything else in life, it’s about balance. Also specifically referring to screen time, content is more important than time. Kids can learn a multitude of things easily, which used to take massive amounts of time. It is a parent’s job to control what they are doing.

100 %! Am curious: At which age did you let it happen? And how did they react, when they weren't allowed any longer?

Kids shouldn't be exposed to: SM until 16yo SCREENS of until age 6 TV after age 3 Some critical brain synapses are DEVELOPED under age 3. If they aren't connected by then, THEY NEVER DEV. IE: empathy, socialization, social queues. Look it up: brain synapse dev under age 3

Give them a book like my parents did. Now of course I struggle through books but as a kid I would even read a book while eating. That wasn’t good either.

How rough was the transition? It’s definitely something I’ve thought about trying to do.

Just watch your kids and stop bitching

Great post Anthony. I have a similar situation when my friend ( former trader at Goldman) give up on smart phone. Switched to blackberry))) his life changed drastically. In the good way. Less bs from social media, no more crappy news. More time to be productive and less stress

Kids should not have any of that stuff unless it’s structured time to use a productive app to do something creative or learn

History was made yesterday!!

@toly Super interesting @Scaramucci what age did you take it back.

I think this varies a lot from kid to kid and parent to parent. My oldest grew up with an iPad and he just made Eagle Scout. He also has a great personality. His two younger siblings have iPads, but they spend a lot of time playing games together with them. To each their own.

at which age did this happen?

Kudos for admitting the iPad trap! But let’s be real—are we really prepared to face our kids in their raw, unfiltered forms? #ParentalRealityCheck

You should discuss the withdrawal symptoms they experienced. I’ve seen it and it isn’t pretty.

How old were they