iPads, Headphones, and Summer Travel

Over the past few years, our family has racked up a lot of miles. From flying cross country to driving around town, sometimes it feels like we’re always on the move. With three young kids, it can be hard to make it through these trips without a meltdown every ten minutes. To make flights and long car rides as smooth as possible, we’ve turned to the dreaded iPad to distract and entertain the kids.

My kids love their iPads. They are so convenient to have in our arsenal when we drive in the car or fly on an airplane. When Julian plays Minecraft, he’s less focused on the monotony of the flight; after reading some books Lily can play My Little Pony, which distracts her from the five hour travel time.

The only problem with iPad games and shows is noise. We’ve all been on flights where the kid sitting behind us leaves his volume turned up, thereby forcing us to listen to Candy Crush sounds for hours on end. Nobody wants to be that guy, and especially not the parent of that guy. Therefore, in order to keep my kids quiet and polite around other people, I have them wear headphones as well.

But while headphones eliminate noise for other people, they put my kids’ hearing in danger. Hearing loss among kids is skyrocketing with the rise of iPads, tablets, and cell phones. And using headphones in a car or in a plane is even worse for hearing health — because the background noise is so loud to begin with, the headphones need to be cranked up just so that the kid can hear.

With an iPad, it’s actually pretty easy to control how loud your kids can manipulate the volume. Under Settings → Music, there’s an option called “Volume Limit,” where you can set a maximum volume level well below the volume the device is capable of emitting. By enabling a lower volume limit, I know that my kids won’t be blasting themselves with the Frozen soundtrack.

As we drive and fly around this summer, I can guarantee that the iPads and headphones are the first things I’ll pack for my kids. I don’t want them on their devices for too long, but a half an hour of Rescue Bots here and there will make the ride more enjoyable for the whole family.

This piece was originally posted at VersaMe.com. VersaMe created the Starling the world’s first wearable engagement tracker that helps encourage and reinforce positive parenting behaviors.