Our Mommyhood

Posts Tagged ‘technology’

By Brook, Staff Writer, Baby and Sofia (@babyandsofia)

My toddler loves technology. I know conventional wisdom says that we must keep our children away from too much television and computer time, but I beg to differ.  My SmartPhone is my toddler’s favorite toy.  Talking on Skype keeps him in touch with both sets of grandparents, who happen to live in opposite corners of the globe.  (Literally.  They live 12 time zones apart.) We love watching Curious George on PBS during breakfast. Oh, and I just bought my little one an $8 Buzz Lightyear “laptop,” which he absolutely adores.  (Did I mention this new MacBook look-alike buys me 5 minutes to answer my email? It’s glorious.)

I do understand that little ones shouldn’t be glued to the TV or to video games. In fact, I only let Paolo watch a few select programs on PBS during the week and Baby Einstein videos. (Currently we have been watching the farm video in Spanish; Paolo loves the cow sock puppet.  He thinks it’s absolutely hilarious.) Other than that, he’s not really allowed to watch anything else on television, and at 15 months he is clearly too little for video games. (I’ll have to tackle that when the time comes.)

At the same time, in this day and age, technology is a part of our lives, and teaching moderation is an important lesson.  Without Skype, Paolo would barely know his grandparents. With one set in southern Italy, the other in Hawaii and us in the Midwest, video chat has been an absolute lifesaver.  Not only does he know his relatives’ names, faces and voices, his Italian language skills are reinforced by chatting with his nonni in Italy.

I’ve read some articles condemning parents for letting their children play on their SmartPhones, saying the screens are the same as watching TV. But Paolo loves to play with mine; he pretends to make phone calls and babbles away into the receiver. He laughs and laughs, and make-believes that it’s for me, passing the phone my way to play along with him. And it keeps him happy and busy during errands or in the car. As a mom, what more could I ask for from a SmartPhone?

When it comes to toddlers and technology, I say moderation is key.

What is your method?  How do you feel about your little ones spending time with technological devices?

By Tamara

Normally I don’t need help shopping. I am very capable of going to the store, spending way too much time there browsing around, and dropping too much cash before leaving with too many bags.

However, for this particular item, I need your help. What is it that I want to buy?

A smart phone.

Yes. That’s right. The girl who has 2.5 blogs (I count this as a half since Elizabeth and I co-created it), is on Twitter and Facebook a lot, and can’t live without checking her emails multiple times a day, does not yet have a smart phone.

I have been dragging my feet up to this point because I felt I didn’t need anything else to distract me from the kids. But alas, I have realized that a smart phone might be more helpful than harmful.

Why?

One reason is that I won’t have to lug around my laptop to conferences or other places. Ever done that? It hurts your back after awhile.

Another reason is that I will be going on a trip soon for the ConAgra Food’s “Child Hunger Campaign” I am a part of (details next week…you don’t want to miss that post!) and would like the ability to easily tweet out pictures and updates to you all.

So I caved. Decided to upgrade and pay the little bit extra for the smart phone. But now I need to decide which one! There are no short of a million smart phones out there, each with their pros and cons. Reading the reviews only makes your head spin, too. So I wanted to get your input, either from experience or reviews from those you know who own one.

I may have gotten inpatient by the time this post goes live and already bought one, but I still want your input just in case. So tell me this….

What smart phone should I buy and why?

Are there any I should avoid or ones I must have?

*If it matters, I use T-Mobile for service.

Tamara is a mom of 2 boys and the voice behind The (Un)Experienced Mom. She’s also the creator of Blog Conference Newbie, which is already recognized as a resource in the blogging community. When she’s not blogging or tweeting, she’s most likely sleeping…or changing a poopy diaper.