[blparent] Accessible apps

[Star Gazer]

My views are a bit different. 
My daughter would scream when the tv was on when she was a baby. I have no
idea why. We stopped watching tv for the most part due to that. 
There were still things we cared about, so we'd watch them on Netflix when
she was in bed. 
Those of you who know me know that I am very passionate about the space
program. I'd follow the shuttle missions and I'd tell my daughter what was
going on, because it's just plain cool. 
She had just turned two when STS 119 launched.  That mission is special to
me for a couple of reasons. First, I noticed my daughter paying attention to
me in a different way. She seemed to listen to me very seriously when I'd
talk about the mission. Second, my sister who never really cared about the
space program was very excited about one of the teachers that was on that
mission. He had done something with marine biology and then became an
astronaut. When my sister saw that, she called me to say "That'd be like
what would happen if I woke up one morning and turned into you". It was the
first and probably only space shuttle mission my sister ever got excited
about:) 
Anyway, that mission was due to land right in the middle of naptime.  I
tried to get my daughter to sleep, and she made it clear that a nap wasn't
happening that day. So I told her she could stay up but that we were going
to watch the landing.  This is what we did. I explained to her what was
happening.  We watched on the NASA channel and there are periods of silence
when people aren't talking. I remember she would get very excited when she'd
hear the com loop and take my hand to place it on the tv. 
She doesn't remember the landing at all.  What she does have is my same
passion for things that fly. 

I had no clue if my daughter would learn anything from watching that
landing.  I do know that it mattered to me, and I wanted to share it with
her. 
We watch other things now too, sports is a fun way to bond. She has a few
shows she likes, and I have a couple I like. 
I don't have any hard and fast rules about anything.  Kids are part of a
family and that involves exposure and sharing of the members' interests.  If
there is nothing on tv that lights your fire, that's fine.  Your kid will be
fine either way. 

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bernadetta
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 8:05 PM
To: blparent at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [blparent] Accessible apps

I agree with bridget here.
Personally, I am firmly against having my sun watch tv or learn anything
from an IPhone etc.
I'm not one of thosemoms who will deny her kid something just on teh basis
of being strict, but like bridget, I believe that there's not much good that
can come from allowing an infant or a toddler to watch a screen.
I know I'm probably not in the majority with my views on this; Plenty of
parents seem to be ok with allowing their kids to watch tv and play with
IDevices from the youngest age.
My own mother doesn't even see the point of me not wanting my one year old
to play with her IPhone or watch cartoons on a regular basis. She gets a
huge kick out of using the application facetime to try to interact with my
son when she's not around and she wants to see him, but I've had to turn her
down when she's wanted to talk to him over facetime because my child, who
rarely has tantrums insisted on performing a shrieking concert for us
whenever it was time to take the IPhone out of his sight.
An uncle of mine wanted to buy Gabriel a bear which is supposed to be used
with an IDevice to make it come to life, so to speak, but I dissuaded him
from doing so because I didnt' think it healthy for a child his age to rely
on a device such as that for games and entertainment.
I know of a mother who insists that her child watches tv all the time in
order to become better educated in the future. Her child is seven months
old, and she's been watching hours of television on a regular basis since
she was about six weeks old. I cant' imagine what kind of repercussions that
will have on her later on.
By the way, I love doug and melissa for wooden toys and games. We have a
bunch of wonderful toys from them and all are creative, durable and fun.

Bernadetta

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