I Confess, My Toddler Has An iTouch
Yes, you read that right. My little man has his very own iTouch. It was a birthday gift from his daddy. I am a professed gadget girl, but am sheepish about the fact that my boy has already had his first byte of Apple Inc.
My boys playing with the iTouch.
It started early this summer when Hubby proposed getting one for Logan’s birthday. I thought he was nuts at the time, but after talking to some educators, they all thought it was a smart idea and started extolling the virtues of such devices. They’re perfect for small hands! There’s tons of teaching apps! It’s important to introduce technology early!
I asked myself, has Steve Jobs been talking to my friends or is it that iAmOutOfTouch?
Logan got his iTouch for his 3rd birthday and he really likes it. He knows how to turn it on, unlock it and play whatever games he wants. The usual faves are counting monkies jumping on the bed, alphabetic flashcards, a matching game and all the puzzles. He’s also got a few episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Tigger and Friends and Backyardigans. He figured out how to access all of them fairly quickly.
Hubby wrapped the iTouch in an apparently tantrum-proof case that was put to the test this weekend during our road trip. Somewhere just east of the Mississippi River, it came hurtling from the backseat, whizzed by my shoulder and slammed into the front window. I pulled it from the dashboard, completely unscathed.
Although I’m still not comfortable with him having one, I have to admit I like the educational apps Hubby’s downloaded. Speaking of Hubby, many people asked me if the iTouch was really for him. I assured them that nope, Hubby wanted it for Logan.
Then I began to wonder myself after he accidentally pocket dialed me from a boys weekend and I could hear him showing off the new iTouch to his buddies. (It was funny to listen to drunken grown men talking about kiddie apps!) And recently there’s been some downloads of Hubby’s favorite bands, a-ha and Depeche Mode. Nevertheless it seems like it’s 80 percent Logan’s and 20 percent Hubby’s, which is fine, as both boys seem very happy with the gadget.
Again, it’s been good for Logan, but the practical Kansas girl in me has a hard time wrapping my mind around him having such an item. After all, the “big gift” I got for him was a $24 toy guitar that he loves so much, he sleeps with it.
So I don’t know if he’ll be more apt to turn out like Steve Jobs or Slash, but at least the boy’s got choices.
My 2yo has a iPhone, that has no service. Has all her apps, games and tv shows. She
Works it well! She charges it, cleans it and packs it in her purse when we leave the house. Kids these days are just techno-savvy!
I think it’s great if I had just a little extra money Dariya would gave one also. She already hogs mine and I must admit that sometimes I do not like to share. The games have been great even helping with her reading and math , she navigates that device like a pro. So though I understand the dilemma of overindulgence or sensory overload, I think that it’s a perfect device for kids.
I’m soooo glad I did this post because hearing how everyone is for having one or that their kid already has one is very reassuring. I want to provide for Logan, but don’t want to spoil him rotten.
My kids are a little older, but they get our iPhones every time Mommy, Daddy or Grandpa, upgrades. They don’t have phone service, but it’s essentially an iTouch when you have no service. My kids use them for all kinds of things. My daughter especially uses hers for her music. The songs that she’s learning are in the iPod (as well as Lady Gaga, of course!), there’s an app for tuning her guitar, metronome, a chord dictionary and we even splurged on a high end vocal warm up app. (I like that one too.) Granted, my children are a little bit older, but there are so many great learning apps.