By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
Nigerian Ambassador-designate and public speaker, Reno Omokri, has described the practice of giving young children unsupervised access to iPhones, iPads and similar devices as one of the most irresponsible things a parent can do.
Omokri made this known in a post shared on his official X handle, @renoomokri, on Monday, 7 September 2026, drawing a comparison between Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’s parenting approach and the habits of many modern parents.
He claimed that Jobs, whom he described as more or less the inventor of the iPhone, iPod and other Apple devices, never allowed his own children to use such gadgets, opting instead to have them read or play mostly outdoors with him.
“One of the most irresponsible things you can do as a parent is to buy an iPhone, iPad, or any similar device for a young child and not monitor how they use it. Steve Jobs, who was more or less the inventor of the iPhone, iPod and other Apple devices, never let his own children use them. They read or played mostly outdoors with him. Please fact-check me,” he said.
Omokri acknowledged that such devices carried certain advantages, but only when their use was supervised.
He warned that unsupervised use could lead to addiction and prolonged exposure to LED lights, which, if not controlled, could affect a child’s eyesight, life expectancy and intelligence.
Drawing a further comparison, he likened unrestricted device use among children to parents who allow their children to consume fast food, colas and sugary soft drinks without limits, stressing that such children differed significantly from those raised on home-cooked meals.
“For young children, iPhones and iPads can be like junk food, while reading, or you are a parent reading for them, is like homemade food. After a while, the difference between children on iPhones and iPads and those who read exclusively or mostly becomes clear,” he said.
He rounded off his submission with a warning on the long-term implications of excessive screen exposure on children’s development.
“In future, the readers will be the leaders, while the scrollers may be the dullards,” he said.
