Yes...both boys. The almost 5 year old and the 1 1/2 year old.
There is the occasional judgmental stare that follows my telling some people that, but honestly, those don't bother me all that much.
Yes. My 1 1/2 year old has his own iPad. He also has a temper and a pretty decent screen protector on it, although I am fairly certain that is not the main point of concern when said judgers are in the middle of judging me. But if you are reading this as a judger and were concerned solely for the protection of the iPad...rest assured that we have it set to withstand the wrath of Blake.
It kind of makes me laugh when I get these looks, honestly.
When these people stare at me like I am some sort of dead beat parent who is turning to the world of technology to serve as my live in nanny so that I can have free time to sip my coffee and kick my feet up and blog while my children get dumber by the second due to no human interaction, I kind of feel the need to point out that when utilized correctly...the technology actually can be used in an incredibly positive way.
Sure my kids have movies and shows on their iPads...and you better believe that I do use those to my advantage when I need them to sit on one place long enough for me to get a 10 minute shower. But they also have learned a ton through carefully selected apps and we have spent lots of time learning together on them.
Not all kids with iPads have them connected to their hands at all times.
We still color with real crayons, play grocery store with actual toy food and cash registers, play real sports, ride real bikes, make most of our trips to the grocery store without the need to be entertained by a movie...
Blake has actually learned quite a few new words while playing some of the games we have loaded for him. And (bonus) I'm brushing up on my animal knowledge. Who knew this somewhat educated mom confused goats and sheep on a fairly regular basis?You learn (or relearn) something new every day.
I also have learned that my affinity for taking 295 pictures of the same thing just to make sure I have the perfect shot must run through my blood, because Ben has apparently inherited this little portion of my OCD.
Here we have an example of how excited Ben was that Blake got the same shoes as him for Christmas. Note: I carefully chose the best 4 of the 32 photos he took in what had to have been 5 seconds, because Blake has never...ever...in the history of Blake...never sat still for longer than that.
Apparently these were taken in case he forgets where he likes to set up the toy dumpsters all throughout the house. Although I'm not sure how he could forget, because these are set up from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep.But...in case he ever does. He has multiple pictures at multiple angles to remind him where they belong. Whew.
Lastly, we have my favorite group of pictures...the group that B decided to take because he said Blake looked so cute reading his book. Chances are, he thought Blake looked so cute reading his book because it meant Blake was not removing toy garbage from the garbage cans, or stealing Ben's iPad just because he knows it will make Ben mad, or (God forbid) trying to play with him...but he thought Blake was being adorable nonetheless.And I will cherish that and keep these pictures stored safely on my phone so that I can remind Ben that sometimes he does really like his brother.
Another awesome part of the iPads? Ben can text me on days that he is home with Joe and I am at work! Nothing relieves a little bit of stress at work like this...
It made my day that he was thinking of me when he should have been laying down resting or taking a nap! I was equally thankful for the message and the ammo to use against Joe.
Both boys love Face Timing...and thanks to these iPads, they can take advantage of getting to talk to some of the family who we live far away from a bit more often. Who am I kidding...they have only used it so far to call YaYa and PaPa, who live like 10 minutes away.
Oh wait!
That's not entirely true.
I was out shopping one day and Ben Face Timed me...sort of. He had his finger over the lens and I could hear Joe in the background saying "Benjamin do not bring that iPad in the bathroom while I am in the shower...who are you even calling? Ben...I said out of the bathroom. Ben!"
And then he call was lost.
The new thing I learned that day? Only store Mommy's phone number in each iPad. See?
Very educational, all around!
I really do understand a certain level of the confusion in the faces of some when I say that both of our kids have their own iPads...especially when they know how old Blake is, but I also think they need to open up their eyes to the benefits of this as well.
We are relatively smart parents (most of the time) and we regularly verify the location and privacy settings on all of their apps and their cameras. We play with our kids, we eat dinner technology free, we use real flash cards and we read real books with real pages.
But the ability to navigate technology is just as important as all of those things.
And the balance between it all is not that tough.
They don't ask to play with the iPads every day. Those are on the same rotation as every other toy (aside from the garbage trucks) that get remembered and forgotten daily.
So to you, person (who will remain nameless) who attempted to make me feel like a terrible parent for neglecting my children by allowing them technology...I think I have made my point.
And with that, I am out of writing time...Blake's iPad just died.
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