Tiny Techies

It started when Brady was 2. I joined the rest of the world and traded in my old flip phone for an iPhone. I didn't care for it at the time, but once I figured out how to navigate it I downloaded Angry Birds. The second Brady saw Angry Birds he was entranced. The child wanted my phone ALL the time. I let him carry it around thinking it was cute. No one could have a phone out around him without him completely taking it over. He watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on repeat every time I had to take him grocery shopping. We literally could not leave the house without that phone. Somehow, it survived 2 years in his grips without breaking.
When he was 3, I received a Kindle Fire for Mothers' Day. I hid it from him for a week or so because I knew what would happen. Sure enough he found it and I have not read a book on it to this day. This went on, and my father received a tablet for work. Brady wanted to go see Grandma and Pa Pa every weekend just so he could play games on that tablet. One low point was when Brady downloaded a $19.99 bowling game on my credit card. I knew I had to be more careful about parental controls. He had also figured out how to watch videos on YouTube. I then blocked the internet.
I purchased him an InnoTab tablet just for kids. I was so excited when I first saw the commercial! Finally, a tablet for kids! My son isn't the only one! He took one look at it on Christmas morning and decided it was for babies. It didn't have "hi-fly" (wi-fi) and you couldn't play any game you wanted. The touch screen wasn't advanced enough for him. So the thing sits in a drawer in his room while he continues to use anything else he can get his little hands on. Don't get me wrong- he still did normal little boy things. He played sports and did art and liked to help cook. But he had a serious technology addiction.
When Cecilia was born, he was getting bored of the games on the iPhone and Kindle. He had played pretty much every free game for kids, and some paid ones that he HAD to have. He saw a commercial on Nick Jr. for online games and activities. The commercial said "have a parent log on to nickjr.com and check out games from your favorite shows." The next thing I know, Brady was playing a Bubble Guppies game on the computer. How he figured out how to operate my laptop (and the fact that he had carried it around) was sort of unsettling. I knew my son was smart, but he had just turned 4 years old. I never even saw a computer until I was in middle school.
I remembered I had an old Nintendo DS from when I was younger. I was desperate to keep him busy since I was busy with the new baby. I also wanted my phone, computer, and Kindle back. So I charged up the Nintendo and popped Super Mario Brothers in. It was love at first sight. He had the whole game practically beaten in a week. We went on a vacation in the mountains when James returned from Afghanistan. The cabin we stayed at had a Wii. I begged James not to let him see it. We waited until the last night in the cabin to show it to him. If he had seen it earlier, we wouldn't have done any of the activities I had planned. It was amazing. He figured it out immediately. He kept beating James in boxing and bowling. I thought his dad was letting him win, but he wasn't. Brady was even able to beat the computer within a few minutes. He didn't want to leave the Wii and I told him the only Wii was at that cabin in the mountains.
Against my wishes and better judgement, my mother and James decided he needed a Wii for Christmas. On Christmas morning, Brady acted like I would if I saw a new car in the driveway. Unfortunately, my misgivings about him getting the Wii all proved true. He didn't want to stop playing. Ever. It caused many tears and arguments and even some threats to take it away. Finally, 3 weeks after Christmas, the "new" has started to wear off and there are a couple of days where he hasn't played at all.
About 2 weeks ago, my 13 month old Cecilia started saying "Moni." I thought it was some cute new nickname for me. But she was getting frustrated that I didn't understand. She became increasingly angry and would scream and thrash when we got in the car. It happened every time we dropped Brady off at school. I finally saw what she was grabbing for. The Nintendo DS. She was saying "Mario." My sweet little baby girl's third word was "Mario." I gave her the game and she immediately relaxed and began pushing the buttons. She had already loved playing with my iPhone, and her tiny fingers knew to scroll through the pictures, and type letters under 'Notes."

The same thing is beginning again. I know now is the time to set the rules. But I have to ask myself, is it really that bad? I wish I knew more about technology. It is embarrassing when my 4 year old gets annoyed when I can't figure something out on the Wii or my phone and says "Mom, just give it to me. I'll just do it." I don't know where they get it from. James doesn't play video games, or even use the computer unless it is work related. And I am completely clueless when it comes to all things technology related. I won't even say how long it took me to figure out this blog thing. So, again, is it wrong that they learn at an early age? Is it best to allow it but set more limits? Will it help them in the future? Maybe I struggle with this because I was growing up just as the internet was becoming a household phenomenon. It has changed so much in the past 20 years. How much more advanced will it be in another 20 years? Will it hold my children back if I don't let them continue to learn? I just don't know at this point. Maybe I'll ask Google.