The shocking reason Steve Jobs didn’t let his kids use Ipads! And several click-baity variations of that have been floating around my Facebook page, with parents giving all sorts of commentary on how the elite make these things to control the masses but they don’t let their precious offspring near them!
Whatever. Steve Jobs also turned down traditional cancer treatment in favor of “natural” remedies, the result of which probably meant a shortened lifespan. (That said, pancreatic cancer is particularly awful, and often kills quickly, so I kind of get why you’d try something different.) But my point is, Steve Jobs is not an expert on raising kids, any more than I am. In fact, I’m probably more of an expert on raising kids than he was, as I have 3 younger siblings (two older ones), started babysitting at 11 (yes, eleven–for a family with 5 kids!), and have only worked part time since offspring number 1 arrived on the scene, so I’ve probably had more hands on kid experience than Steve did.
So, why should we listen to what he says about raising kids?
I swear there is an HR/Business application for this little rant. Why do we look to people with no practical experience to tell us how to run our businesses? (I’m talking about you, Congress.) Why do we seek out an “expert” who really just is an expert in another field?
I’ll never tell you how to write your business plan, or get money from venture capitalists, because I have no clue. I will tell you how to maximize employee happiness, that you have to pay overtime to your non-exempt employees, and that if you treat people poorly, they won’t work as well, because that is the area I’ve focused on.
You want to raise great kids? Look at people who have already raised great kids (they are called “responsible adults” when you’re done raising them). Didn’t your mom say, “Turn off the television. Go outside and play. Read a book.”? Yeah, probably. So, why when Steve Jobs says it, does it become oh so important? It doesn’t.
For the record, the Evil Household has a one hour limit on screen time for each offspring. Offspring 1 uses this to read Viral Nova and watch Doctor Who. Offspring 2 uses this to play Minecraft.
We do this because, we, as parents, think that that is what is best for our children. Not because Steve Jobs was part of some conspiracy to turn the masses into zombies so that his un-screened children could rule the world.
You rock!! Thanks for that!
Thank you. Sometimes I just can’t take it any more.
I’m laughing. This is great! Like you, I figure a man as driven as Mr Jobs probably didn’t spend a whole heckuva lot of time hanging out with the offspring. If I had a computer issue, or an entrepreneurial one, I’d listen to his advice. Parenting? He’s just one man among billions…
It boggles my mind how much we look to celebrities of one sort or another for guidance in areas in which they have absolutely no more expertise than anyone else. Bizarre!
Exactly. Oh he’s smart! And Famous! So he must be right!!!!
Also, since televisions came out, parents have been limiting screen time, so it’s not like this is new or shocking.
You hit the nail on the head – well said!
I started babysitting at 11, too! And now there are kids who can’t even walk to school alone at that age?
My parents wouldn’t buy a tv. They told us to go outside or to read. We all turned out bad. Only two masters’ degrees among the three of us.
Well, we had a tv (and an Atari 48!) and our percents aren’t as good as your. Only 2 master’s degrees and one law degree out of the 6 of us. And 2 others with bachelor’s degrees. Oh, also, we’re all self supporting adults who, you know, pay taxes and raise kids and stuff.
I can’t believe my parents were able to accomplish that without Steve Jobs to light the way!
Evil HR you are joke. Wonder what kind of treatment you would choose if you get cancer some day…
People would rather listen to Jobs than you because he made something big in his life. Meanwhile you can keep on the rants.
Yes but he made something about his life while spending it in front of a screen so your point is really not valid in this argument. The fact is he is not an expert in parenting.
You’re right about the parenting part. You’re also right about the company part. Why do companies hire all these consultants who make crazy suggestions that seem to have no relevance? We are getting advice on business from people who haven’t worked on business in the last 10 years.
You know what drives me nuts about consultants? They hire straight out of school. People with no experience telling people with experience what to do.
Ummm, okay.
..but these straight out of school consultants all come from the right background (upper/upper-middle class and with the right connections), went to the ‘right’ (Ivy League) schools, are all pretty (perfect hair and teeth), and wear the appropriate clothes (Brooks Brothers only).
I believe you HR people have a term for this.
“Cultural fit”
A lot of people “worship” Steve Jobs, and even more people respect and appreciate the technology innovation and in particular human interfaces with that technology that he is associated with. Schools are filling up with iPads, huge numbers of children carry iPhones and other smart phones around all the time. The mainstream media, in Norway and other countries, are full of politicians, education ‘experts’ and technologist pushing for more and more technology, earlier and earlier in schools and even kindergartens. Against this background it is extremely relevant that leading people within technology such as Steve Jobs do (did) NOT feel that early extended use of technology is suitable for young children, or aid their development. A democratic society cannot function properly unless diverging opinions are heard. In view of this the most useful part of your article is not your rant against those who want to spread those diverging opinions. It is the fact that: your “Household has a one hour limit on screen time for each offspring. Offspring 1 uses this to read Viral Nova and watch Doctor Who. Offspring 2 uses this to play Minecraft.” Thank you.
I’m not ranting about those who spread “divergent opinions.” I’m pointing out that Steve Jobs is not an expert at parenting and probably has LESS experience with the day to day of parenting than I, my friends, and family do.
Why on earth should I take parenting advice from a computer expert? And while I’m at it, I’m not telling you to take my parenting advice either. I’m an HR expert, and while employees often act like children, I’m not allowed to put them in time out.
He wasn’t giving parenting advice though. He simply gave a response to a question regarding how well his kids liked the new iPad. It became a well know answer because people are interested in understanding why someone who’s life was so obviously submerged in technology would keep that from his kids. He had his own reasons, which, as far as I’m aware, he never stated.
This is stupid!
Yet his kids will grow up becoming billionaires because of this reason and many others he taught them and your kids will become average Americans barely making it by…. I’m sorry but I think jobs does know a little more then you about parenting and what your kids should and shouldn’t be around. Cell phones and laptops iPad and what not are the big key things why kids these days are brats and little asshole because parents let them play on th 24/7 how do you grow from watching a screen and not being outside in the world?
His kids will grow up to be wealthy because they are already extremely wealthy… Wealthy children beget wealthy adults – don’t kid yourself by thinking that his children are going to be more equipped to earn money because their Dad kept them from technology. They will earn more money because they are on a gilded path to top schools and they have great connections.
I’m sure this woman’s children will turn out fairly well and will get by just fine. Why would you get on her blog to be so hateful?
I truly wish you the best of luck and sincerely hope that you find happiness because it is obvious that you are a sad man who has suffered greatly.
Wow. When you disagree with the author you’re a sad person who has suffered greatly. How about a happy person who just has a different opinion?
This all sounds too much like an crotchety old person complaining about not being the center of attention.
Nobody is an expert at parenting. Nobody has the correct answer. Everybody is just trying to do the best they can. What works for your kids will likely not work for somebody elses kid. Jobs is on record for not letting his kids use ipads. Anything beyond that is speculation.
Exactly. The reference of Steve Jobs is because nearly everyone knows him, not you.
In a tech giant household where you’d expect Ipads lining the walls and ceilings, it’s quite the opposite.
That, is why the stories are relevant.
Maybe you should (the author) put your technology down, stop reading facebook, and go outside and play with your kids.
The point is not that he was a great parent. Rather that as an expert in technology (and he may have had access to data on the effects of that technology on human development, who knows), he made a decision as a parent to limit his kids exposure to technology. And just maybe because he is recognizable, some parent who is not sure about which way to go with kids and technology will pay attention to this strategy and think more carefully about shoving an smart phone or ipad into the hands of a child that is bored, or not behaving.
So how did you manage to espouse that very good advise about employee relations without getting fired. Doesn’t seem a common CEO or HR trait that I have had the opportunity to be a part of in my 60 years of working.
You’ll note I no longer work in HR. 🙂
I hear ya, how ridiculous Steve Jobs, albeit quite brilliant… I would never listen to what he has to say.. SHEESH. I’m with you, who is putting out all this crap?
He just made a statement. Didn’t give parenting advise. Why jump on him. Really.
I’m not jumping on Jobs. I’m jumping on the people who are taking his statement about his kids and using it as proof that screen time is of the devil.
All parents have opinions about parenting and we should give Steve Jobs as much credit as we give our mechanic. They aren’t experts in this field so who cares what they think.
There’s actually a lot of data about the dangers of technology and how it will negatively effect human social and cognitive development… we are way beyond “opinion”.
And guess what? Our kids are going to be using tablets and computers in their jobs, on a daily basis. There is time for playing outside, creating, and imagining, but to say “NO ELECTRONICS!” is crazy. Some of the older people I’ve worked with are scared to restart a computer, and need help with simple tasks such as updating a program, they are a hindrance. Times are changing, people.
“So, why should we listen to what he says about raising kids?”
Not because he was an expert on parenting, simply because he was an expert on technology… and he was, that’s irrefutable. He was actively, if not directly involved in technology that will forever change the human race. He was part of every study, every survey, every human experiment that tested and recorded the effects of “screen-time” and how it effects the human brain. And more-so the developing human brain. The results of all that data is terrifying. (google: screen-time brain)
I really don’t care what kind of parent he was, I’m more concerned with the fact that he was a technology giant who saw fit to protect his family from the monster he created.
It would be the same if you witnessed a farmer avoiding his own crop at dinner time. Would you eat food grown on a farm that the farmer wouldn’t feed his own family? Of course not. It has nothing to do with the farmers experience as a father and husband, it has everything to do with the farmer and his knowledge of what’s on his plate.
I don’t know much about or have any opinion of Steve Jobs, but I know he died of pancreatic cancer, and mentioning his choice of treatment to discredit his concern for his children’s cognitive brain development was sort of a [crude word] low blow. Especially since he’s dead and will never get a chance to defend or explain his position.
well said . . . all around . . . especially the [crude word] comment . . . well said
Couldn’t of said it better myself. … though i tried lol
Why you limit is the reason why he decided to more so limit the offspring exposure to the electronic, because he first hand had experience of knowing what it could REALLY do to the person without being able to disclose it publicly. Obviously there is a physical damage to a person, hence why he didn’t want his offspring exposed, though not immediate but bad enough that HE with hands on knowledge/experience knew about and try to protect his offspring. You ONLY look at it from a psychological side because that is all the info had been given publicly.
I try to read between the lines. Ask more question, do more research, cause ultimately I AM responsible for my son! No one else. It is MY job to make the most EDUCATED guess. … not something to decide whether Mr jobs did it or not. When the disease hits especially fatal. …it’s too late to look for those answers then. What i do for my son today WILL have an impact in the future. .. so why not care about choices. We ALL have them ;)!
What’s your choice?
Totally agree with your article, but the reason I shared Steve’s on FB is because of his tech status, people assume high tech people think it’s smart to raise high tech kids. None of us regular not-high-tech millionaires agree & yet when someone in that arena states it-it might be a wake up call for the masses we know in our little towns. The ones who think that without supplying their children with every known electronic gadget out there and giving them full freedom to use it all the day long. The ones whose kids don’t know how to socialize anymore face to face but who feel that this is the future and best way to prepare them for it. When you say the man who created it holds it from his kids…they look again. If I were to say the same thing, they laugh. Hubby & I set the same house rule 1 hr. They don’t need more than that a day-some days not even that.
and now you are the “click-baity variation” you so loathe.
step outside for a breath of fresh air.
no, stop checking your google analytics for this post.
without your smartphone, too. put it that down..
.. if you can.
For those of you who aren’t regular readers, please note you are free to disagree with me, but I don’t tolerate crude language. Your crude post will either be edited or deleted.
Steve Jobs was simply answering a question from a reporter. But there was no preparation in the answer at all. I say all the time that my kids only eat sweets on Saturdays when I am asked. Is that reality? No. They eat sweets more often than that. Its just the guideline which I imagine is what Steve Jobs meant.
It is a good point that the author makes that Steve Jobs is no expert on parenting. I read his book and it was very well stated in there. He was never home that much either. I am no expert either. It is quite hard and you just do the best you can with plenty of support and affection.
It is also a good point that he “may” have had some data that “screen time ” is bad for children’s development. But we don’t know that for sure.
One thing from the recent book is that Jobs was a hippie or what ever you want to term it. He and his wife were and they lived more simply- not much furniture in the house, ate organic food, etc, etc . So that could have been the reason they had that rule. Who knows.
I have a cousin who played on a computer since he was like 6. He played games on them mostly. But he also took them apart and put them back together. Computers inspired him- he graduated from college with a computer degree and now at 30 years old makes $150,000 plus year as computer consultant.
All kids are different.
The best point made here is:
“You want to raise great kids? Look at people who have already raised great kids.” Take ideas from them and try them with your own kids to see if anything works.
All kids will respond differently to what you give them. So my wife and I are just trying things in moderation- things we have learned from other successful parents, things we read about that have worked, etc. A lot of things are the same basic concepts we all already know – like read more, do creative activities, be physically active. Putting some limits no screen time I am sure we all would agree is a good idea.
We are finding what works well for our own children in their development- not based on an off the cuff statement by Steve Jobs.
Indeed! The decision was probably from the wife.
Ugg, why on earth is this guy writing articles. Throughout the article the author spelled iPads, Ipads. Honesty if you cannot check your spelling for the topic of your post you simply should not be posting.
What you don’t know until you read his book is that he was a terrible husband/father. He didn’t even know his wife’s birthday!?!
Yes he was a genius and I would take any advice he had to give about technology but as far as being a husband or parent he was the worst possible example. I say give your kids technology JUST because this terrible husband/father says not to…
Steve Jobs was not “genius”; in reality he is an idea thief and exploiter..!
There is a few good documentaries one is called “rise of the hacker” and the other is “American Genius: Jobs vs Gates”
Steve Jobs knew how to take other peoples ideas and sell them; that is about it, he really was likely not that smart at all and likely knew nothing about how electronics even worked; id be surprised if he even knows basic programming skills or Ohms law…
Boring.
You claim not to be an expert on raising children, but have no problem beaking off about his cancer (“the result of which probably meant a shortened lifespan”), the details of which you know nothing about.
But i’m even more disappointed in myself for wasting time responding. Yuck.
I checked several times to be sure, and not once did I see Steve Jobs telling anyone how to raise their children. He limited his children’s use of technology because he thought it was right. I am confused as to how this ridiculous click bait is drawing criticism towards Steve?
Sadly, people don’t think before they post, and could give two shits about what people say about their posts after the fact. Please, everyone, think before you spew stupid things.
Thank you Joe!
Not once did he try to force his choice on anyone. Or tell any parent that what they were doing was wrong.
Don’t you dare tell a parent anything that differs from their opinion or belief because you are always wrong. Their kid could be on fire, but heaven forbid you say something like, “you might not want to let them play near a fire pit.”.
No one knows how to be or is a great or bad parent 100% of the time. They just do what they can, and try to do what’s best for either themselves and/or their kids. If my kid is happy, healthy, and kind, I’d consider myself blessed, if they went on to do amazing things , well that’s just icing on the cake.
Personally I’d rather give my kid puzzles or a DIY project than give them an IPad. That is my choice and my right. I don’t care what the rest of the world does. It isn’t a competition on who’s the best parent. I’d just rather work with my kid doing silly little things, laughing creating, and possibly gluing our fingers together.
I do believe computers and other technological devices are great at connecting, and getting information quickly, so I plan on introducing it to them later in life.
Till then glue sticks, colored paper, and arts & crafts.
I am no fan of Steve Jobs and I am a father of three but I do not understand where you come off with this attitude toward Steve Jobs comment about how he uses technology in his home. Somebody asked him a question and he answered. What crime did he commit that you must make a statement such as yours? It looks as though you’re very opinionated!
wow did you miss the point, except the point where you stated you’re ranting
Damn you’re evil, and ignorant!
Minecraft..? The Creator never plays the game..!
Your kids are on a streamlined path to being distracted by entertainment; period.
It will be likely that they will be living in your home until they are 40..! LoL
You are an Idiot..!