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To Ipod or not to Ipod

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"Sure, you can have a $300 Ipod. How about a $400 Iphone instead?" you sarcastically ask your child while shopping at the mega tech store. That huge grin on her face turns upside down as soon as you finish your tone-charged question. But the real question on your mind is "shouldn't I be getting these expensive gadgets for myself first?"

You are not a lone parent in this technological jungle, and certainly not the only parent to second guess yourself when it comes to getting these seemingly common items for your children. We all struggle to justify getting them the latest cell phone or MP3, only to find ourselves falling in line with the rest of the crowd by purchasing some form of electronic devise this generation just can't function without. Once the box gets home, the machine is totally in the child's control, and you trust they know how to make it work!

Parents are usually a step behind their kids when it comes to taking full advantage of the latest telephone devises, computers or MP3s - I am no exception. However, I decidedly dove into this brave new world, and have managed to conquer the basic uses of this modern vital equipment. If you haven't done so, you do this at your own peril.

Admittedly, the Ipod is a wonderful thing, and it's usefulness in our daily lives is endless. Music and books are the most popular uses for the Ipod, but in exploring other options I also uploaded a foreign language course. I had this epiphany while browsing at a software store. All that French I learned in college twenty years ago was quickly coming back to me as I followed the instructions ecoutez et repetez (listen and repeat) while on my morning walks. My daughter also has it on her Ipod, and is learning basic phrases. I highly recommend this to all of you who have invested time in learning a foreign language, but don't have the chance to use it.

Finally, there is another more important reason to avail yourself of these items, and that is to stay synchronized with your kids. As parents in a fast paced society, we must stay connected with our children and keep up with the latest modes of communication; be it via e-mail, instant messaging (IM) or texting, you better make sure you can say to them loud and clear: "can you hear me now?"

Read more at http://mamarazzi.blogharbor.com

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Suzette1 5 pts

Suzette Valle

Isn't it difficult to stay on top of all the new electronics being marketed to our young kids these days? And you are also right, our kids like to teach us a thing or two, but hopefully we as parents do this more often, right?

Thanks for reading, and for a bit more please visit my site at: http://mamarazzi.blogharbor.com ( http://mamarazzi.blogharbor.com/ )

Hope to read you there!

Suzette

Candelaria Silva 5 pts

I hope people who are currently parenting read your words and partake of your wisdom.   You have to keep up with what your children are doing technologically and in all forms of communication.  When my children were adolescents, musiv videos were relatively new and I watched with them.  I told them they could watch any of the videos as long as I watched them, too. This led to many an interesting discussion around sexism, gender roles, violence, etc. 

Another benefit is that children like to teach their parents things.  I also feel that linking their technological savvy to things that are useful for the family or the community is important.

Thanks for sharing.

blog.candelariasilva.com

Good and plenty!