“We're born, we live for a brief instant, and we die. It's
been happening for a long time. Technology is not changing it much — if at
all.” ― Steve Jobs
Well, not to argue with the father of the iPhone, but technology
makes a huge difference in my household. From the bottle warmer to the quick
microwavable toddle meals to the books with sounds, technology has allowed me
to open up endless possibilities for my son.
But with great power comes great responsibility, and that
means monitoring that iPhone pretty closely when you have a toddler running
around.
This past week, I was sitting with my son on the couch. He
slyly pulled my phone into his hands, thinking he was really getting away with
something. I smiled, thinking how cute he was, secure in the knowledge that he
couldn’t do much harm.
I raised an eyebrow as he flipped the phone on its side. My
mouth fell agape when he selected the correct button to light up the
smartphone’s display screen. Then I watched in disbelief when he opened and
clenched his hand over the phone until his fingers hit the screen just right to
unlock the device for use.
How in the world did my 20-month-old learn how to operate a
computer?
Part of what separates the babies from the grownups is that
adults (in theory) know the ways of the world. Babies depend on us for certain
things — food, clothing, stinky diaper disposal — and the adults are expected
to provide.
It’s a little unsettling, however, when a child flirts with
knowing more than you do. My son hasn’t even started forming sentences yet, and
he knows how to take “selfies” with the camera on a cellphone. And just in case
you thought this was a fluke, he learned how to unlock my husband’s cellphone,
too, using an entirely different unlock mechanism.
Suddenly I don’t feel so secure in my technological
superiority, and I’m wondering what else this kid can figure out. For now, the
laptop is getting put on a higher shelf, the batteries are coming out of the
DVR remote and I’m calling Apple to see if there’s a minimum age for new
interns.
— Sarah Leach is editor at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her
at (616) 546-4278 or sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com.
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