Sarah's blog: An Apple a day...

I don't profess to know much about technology - my work pc is always crashing, I still can't use my home laptop and I have no idea how to fix it, and my work smartphone keeps coming up with error messages. But I admit it, I can't do without my technology - from using my iPad in meetings to take notes, to using reminders on my iPhone (an essential daily tool for me) and when I am at work I can get updates and photos of the children so I can feel involved in their lives. And as I write this blog on my iPad, I think back to the good old days of rummaging through my bag for pen and paper and wonder how manged without my gadgets

Each of our children have their own iPod touches. At the ages of 3, 7 and 9 I am sure many think this excessive, but I believe they work wonders. So why do we allow our children to own these devices?

Ammunition:

We call iPods "ammunition" because we find they are very powerful tools to occupy the kids. A sudden doorbell ringing, sibling music lesson that requires quiet, restaurant visit etc are all situations where these magical creations have been used to keep them out of mischief.

In fact, air travel will never be the same again. When our youngest first travelled on a plane, we did not have anything as clever. Good old fashioned books and toys filled our heavy bags.... And helped occupy her for perhaps 30 minutes. And then what? At least a tablet can occupy children for hours at a fraction of the weight.

Comforter:

An iPod has the power to stop a young child from crying in the blink of an eye. After an accident, injury, misunderstanding etc, or in a quiet place, these products (especially with children's noise limiting headphones) are an amazing tool.

Education

Do not underestimate the power of the iPod/iPad. Our children are learning to read apps, puzzles, maths games etc on them. Whilst I like to help the children with their homework and learning path, it is not possible to be there all the time given my full working week and there are some amazing apps out there that make learning a lot of fun and take the stress out of homework. Many schools even provide log-in IDs for apps such as Mathletics to assist with homework.

Since we limit the time they spend on their iPods, when they have been well behaved we use the devices as a reward. Having your child behave exceptionally well in order to do a maths test is pretty awesome.....

IT whizzkids:

And now our children know how to use iPods better than me. Since our 3 year old knows her way around her device so well (we ensure they do not have access to the Internet etc for safety reasons) I at least know there is someone in our house who will be able to sort out my IT issues. Perhaps it is time I let her see if she can fix my laptop....

Sarah is a mother of 3 children and working full time in an asset management company in the City.