I am not a big fan of the iPad for BabyBoy and BabyGirl (although I fully intend to make use of it on plane journeys – anything is better than screaming kids in a sardine tin in the sky). It tends to make both of them, particularly BabyGirl, hyper and they start displaying addictive behavior.
My mother-in-law, on the other hand, sees nothing wrong in that flashing screen.
It drives me up the wall. But as I try to forge some kind of uneasy compromise, I can make peace with her showing them photos and short video clips – I figure that’s all real life.
So today I was keeping one eye on her and the children as the iPad made an appearance. Just before bathtime, but I drew a calming breath and figured we had time to calm them down before bed. Photos and videos scrolled by. I began to relax.
Ping ping ping ping ping prrrrrr-ing!!!
I jumped and immediately re-focused in on the screen. She had got bored of photos and videos and had opened an app. An app that was some sort of slot machine game.
For my two year olds.
Sometimes there are no words.