iPhones, Apps, and Preschoolers

1 - article is about letting your toddlers/preschoolers play with your Iphone, not buying them one 2 - People should stop thinking of the Iphones/technology as the evil and instead go to what 'apps' are used. The article cites 'board books, music and playing with a crayon' but there are apps for that. I read interactive books from Starfall.com that are 10x better than most board books out there. They 'teach' and get kids enthused. I read ebooks and so does my niece. Once my daughter is reading, she will probably read via an electronic device since it stores more books, is interactive and you can carry all your books with you as you go. Die hards of 'paper' copies can read that way, but I'm a voracious reader, going through 1 book every 1.5 days, and for those of us who truly enjoy reading a lot, ebooks are an obvious choice. Music - ipod feature on Iphone - I have Cinderella and Little Mermaid audiobooks ready to be listened to in the car on long trips, I have Dr Seuss, Roald Dahl, amazing radio plays from the 50s and 60s such as Peter Pan acted out or the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with Dame Judy Dench and other fine British actors lending their voices to the radio play. Phenomenal! I bring it to the beach to listen to fun songs, and I listen to Sesame Street or 'Down by the Bay' with my youngest as we drive around. Music is part of many activities we do rather than just something we listen to now and then thanks to the Iphone. I have wonderful 'Learn How to Read' apps, apps to teach my toddler to recognize her shapes, numbers, etc. Animal sound fun apps, Memory Game apps, puzzles, and pure silly fun apps. The apps are more fun than most of the toys out there for kids. The apps 'are' the toys. A Memory Match game where kids turn over cards trying to get 2 of a kind is the same whether it be in packaged board format or on the Iphone. Candyland is the same whether played with your friends online at Nickelodeon kids or as a board game. My daughters play together - air hockey - on my Iphone. My hubby and I wait our turn patiently. It's fun for the whole family, and it's interactive and something I do 'with' them. And as for crayons, my goodness.....have you seen the apps out there....you can draw in Iphone 'crayon' and your doodles come to life! Or you can splatter and draw really cool masterpieces. If those who are against 'technology' were exposed to the countless learning and fun opportunities technology offers, they might change their tune...then again they might not. Luckily society keeps moving forward despite protestations 'against' change and technological improvements....I remember reading how the telephone was going to be atrocious, making people stop writing altogether, but instead we now write to each other more than ever, every single day, through email. It's different, it's changed, and many of us would say it's better - I can now show my grandma pics of the kids on Facebook, talk on Skype with family all over the world, and have a video conference with my entire family out East in the blink of an eye! My Iphone changed how I live, and it has changed for the better. I can now bring my toddler out to supper and she just watches Elmo or Cinderella when she starts acting up. I can entertain a bouncing 3-year-old and prevent meltdowns in lineups. I have my weapon of choice and it isn't sweets or punishment, it's my Iphone! And it works like a charm every single time.