The other day a reporter contacted us, having read our web site, and said that she was doing a story on the use of high-tech toys and gadgets with babies and toddlers. At this point, it tickles me to think that a product like the LeapFrog Learning Table is high-tech, because what plastic living room fixture doesn’t have lights and music these days? But to the moms of yesteryore, of course it is high-tech. Anyhow, she thought that we would have something to say about this topic.
Neither of us thought we had much interesting to say, but we want to stand up and represent for anyone who might feel the same way — moderate. We both let our kids play with toys that are electronic, toys that are not electronic, and toys that are not toys, for example sticks and salad bowls. We also have exposed them to the computer, to our iPods, and of course to cell phones and digital cameras.
I think this was pretty well captured in the article and I have only two corrections to make.
1- To correct the claim that Holden’s favorite activity is using the Internet. I don’t live with Holden, but from what I know, his favorite activities are talking, vehicle play, music, and napping.
2- The LeapPad learning system does not go online as stated in the article.
After we met the reporter at a cafe where she interviewed us about our kids and their use of technology, a photographer snapped a bunch of photos – and the one of Scarlett that appeared in the paper is darn cute if I do say so myself.
Read the article and let us know if we sound like jackasses. (That’s what Heather would say anyhow, and she’s at work and cannot blog right now.)
I had to drive all over town to find this paper, as it’s for the county next to us, and it just really got me thinking about how ironic it was that we are used to being all over the Internet, but to be in the printed paper was a treat.
