At my very first job I was nicknamed "The Whiz Kid" (in fact, my first boss Cindy made a digital poster of my face on that movie poster). Just recently, I was called that again at my latest job, so apparently its a fitting name (Actually, in all fairness, I am "Digital Director" so I guess its fitting). But by the looks of things, I may be passing that nickname down to Kaylani.
Kids these days grow up around technology, and there's just no way around it (at least not when you live in big city areas). So it didn't really come as a surprise to me when Kaylani learned that the red button on the remote turned on the TV, or the dial on the humidifier turns it on, or that the button on the other remote can turn the lights on and off. And it wasn't too surprising when she learned to play "Peek-a-boo Barn" on my iPod Touch since all you had to do was touch the barn door and an animal appeared. But over time, she's gotten more advanced.
For instance, not only can she play "Peek-a-boo Barn", but she can turn on/off my iPod, scroll to the game (or any game), start it, press start, then play it. Or she can go to Super Why and spell words or solve story sentences. She can even play "Traffic Rush" and crash the cars (ok, so she may not get the point of that one). But since she does any or all of those things most mornings while Mommy or I are taking showers, she was bound to get good at them. It was when she translated those skills to the iPad that we took notice.
On the iPad (Yin Yin's...not mine since she's not allowed to play with Papa's iPad), she can turn it on and successfully play "Pac-Man", "Angry Birds", or "Cut The Rope" with little assistance. She knows how to start the game, turn it sideways, fling birds across the screen, feed the frog, or run away from the ghosts. Its amazing! But at the same time, its actually a little scary.
I remember growing up and playing Nintendo or Computer games with my Dad...and absolutely crushing him in them. He never stood a chance, whether if it was original Mario Bros, or Tecmo Bowl, or even Mario Kart and any other game that came out past 1986. And back then, I remember saying that I hope technology never passes me by where my kid(s) embarass me in a video game. And for the longest time, I didn't think that would ever be possible, but now I'm not so sure.
Kaylani is just a shade over 2 and she's already playing video games and using electronics. I was 5 or 6 when I started, and in all fairness to my Dad, he was almost 40 when he started playing, so I had an advantage. But with Kaylani, I've technically had a 30 year head start on her, and I'm not sure its enough. Already I've been beaten by a 4 year old in Wii bowling and challenged on several occasions in other digital aspects. If Kaylani is starting at 2 (actually earlier), am I doomed to be left behindl by my own next generation "Whiz Kid"?
Maybe there's still time to recover and I just need to carve out time (and money) to get moving with the new Wii games and/or Xbox and Xbox Connect. Maybe I need to trade in my Blackberries (yes, that's plural) for an iPhone AND an Android. Maybe I need to suck it up and get with the times so that I don't get passed by digitally. It'll be a lot of effort, but I think it might be worth it. At least I can stay at the top of the pyramid digitally because when it comes time for Kaylani to do dance, ballet, Cheerleading, or something along those lines, I'll be thoroughly embarassed...likely by my own doing.
So today I apologize to Kaylani and to baby #2 on the way, but the digital space will always be mine. But don't worry, there will be plenty of other areas Papa will be embarrasing in. Some by my own doing, but embarassing nonetheless. Kinda like being called "The Whiz Kid"...twice.
Daddy has spent a majority of his life in front of a computer. From the second he started using LOGO on his very own Apple IIe when he was 4 years old (remember the digital turtle that you could make go crazy by using the right commands??), his parents knew that he was going to be obsessed with computers. Back in 1984, anyone using a computer was pretty ahead of the game, so a 4 year old using a computer was REALLY ahead of the game, and that was Daddy. And 25 years later, he's still obsessed with the computer.
Kaylani's not even 4 months old yet, and already I think she's obsessed with the computer. I think she's obsessed with TV/monitors in general, but since we don't let her watch TV (or watch TV in front of her) anymore, it's just down to the computer. Well actually, we don't LET her watch the computer, but she does anyways. And if Daddy wants to keep this blog a daily blog, then it's going to have to be something we just accept.
Every night while Mommy nurses Kaylani before bedtime, it signals the start of roughly 25 minutes that Daddy has to get the following things done: turn on the nightlight, prepare Kaylani's blanket for bedtime, fill the humidifier, get Mommy water, write his blog, and then read it to Kaylani and Mommy. The first 4 things take less than 5 minutes, so that leaves about 20 for writing and reading. And on average, it takes about 15 minutes to write and post. It's during these 15 minutes that we noticed Kaylani's obsession with the computer.
When it's time for Kaylani to take a break from nursing, Mommy burps her, and then stands her up for a few seconds so she can switch sides. It's during these few seconds that Kaylani finds the light of the computer (which isn't hard since it's dark in the room except for the light from the monitor) and stares at it. She stares at it the entire time she's not nursing, and twists her head as far as she can so she can still see it while she's trying to nurse. Sometimes, when she's really attentive still, she'll actually unlatch so she can see the computer (which is not one of Mommy's favorite things).
The "scientific explanation" would be that Kaylani is attracted to the light in the dark room. But Daddy didn't become a scientist for a reason, so forget the scientific explanation. Daddy's explanation is that Kaylani takes after him, and will also become obsessed with the computer. And the fact that she started 4 years earlier then Daddy just means that she'll be far more advanced then he will, which I have to admit, would make her pretty damned advanced.
Anyways, it's time to wrap it up and shut down since she's staring our way right now. It's lights out time in Kaylani's room, which also means its time to start the night's sleep training session. As a quick update, she's been sleeping the first 5 to 6 hours after only crying for 10-15 minutes, so I guess it's working. We're still hoping she'll turn that into 8 or 9 hours, but she might just be too old for that now. Oh well, it was a good run while it lasted!
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