I just don't buy into the "I didn't need X, so I will not provide X" argument. It is clear that toddler iphone apps are not required for learning. That doesn't mean they aren't good at what they do. And, even if they're merely neutral w/r/t learning, the kids demonstrably love playing with them.

The "love playing with them" seems to apply to sweets too. Kids love sweets. I love sweets. They're not the healthy part of the diet, but that's why they're intake-limited, not unmetered.

Mobile phones are useful too. When I was a kid, I was terrible about phoning home to let them know whose house I was playing at. Knowing that a kid has a mobile phone that you can reach them on is awesome. The other (cool?) stuff can just be a fringe perk for the kid.

So, I dunno. The alternative to minimalism isn't maximalism. Things like access to highly-attractive, disproportionately rewarding relative to their merits activities can be rationed. But I just don't see not letting a kid play with things that they think are awesome just because if they were to overdo it makes it harmful.

Indeed, the concept of self-metering is huge. I've never seen kids explode quite so spectacularly as when they are released from a restrictive regime into an environment where they have not learned the habits of self control.