I was recently informed by my (currently unemployed) eight-year-old son, that everyone has a Nintendo DSi. He told me he’s just bored to pieces when he has to wait too long at a restaurant or when we’re in the car too long. Apparently, it’s not fun to “just listen to us (the adults) talk.”
I’m not moved by his pleas. Call me old-fashioned, but I think that being bored is just part of the fun of being a kid. What would a road trip be without the incessant whining from the back seat? It would be unnatural, that’s what it would be. Still, I like to meddle with the natural order of things from time to time. So that’s why I’ve been known to hand my son some techie gadgets to entertain himself in the back seat.
The Portable DVD Player
When he was very young, we had a portable DVD player. He was a bit of tyrant on long road trips, so I was willing to try anything to keep him quiet. An episode of Thomas the Tank Engine usually did the trick. Then it was back to whining. When our DVD player broke, I didn’t bother replacing it because the little amount of quiet time it gave me from the back seat didn’t make it a worthwhile investment. Besides, it was bulky, I had to remember to recharge it, and carry around a whole bunch of discs.
The Portable Wiggles Tape Player
It was red, shiny, and had a built-in microphone. He sang along to his Wiggles tunes for a while, I went to my happy place, but when the tape ran out it was back to whining. I would up the ante, and pop some audiobooks into his big, red boombox. That kept him happy for a lot longer. Long live the audiobooks.
The Discman
Yes, you read it right. As my son got older, I figured he was ready to inherit a family heirloom: my old Discman. He could listen to more audiobooks, but now he had graduated to shiny CDs. I didn’t really care too much if he damaged the Discman, so he could experiment with the buttons as much as he wanted. The good news was that the car did get a whole lot quieter because he was old enough for the headphones. Long live the headphones.
The iPod
One happy Mother’s Day, I decided to spoil myself so I bought an iPod classic. Our family had entered a whole new age of technology. Suddenly there was a whole wide world of music, audiobooks, games, TV shows, and movies at my fingertips. But the iPod was more likely to end up in my son’s fingertips when we traveled. I willingly gave up the luxury of listening to my tunes if it meant I would get some peace and quiet. We still use the iPod and I love that it is so small that I can carry it around everywhere. So long to the bulky DVD player, Discman, and Big, Red Boombox. Technology is indeed a magical thing.
Today I purchased an iPhone. As you can tell from my list, our family doesn’t see a lot of high-tech wizardry in our home. I expect that when I open the box and pull out the shiny object, we are likely to resemble the big, hairy crew of the Planet of the Apes. I’ll keep you updated on how this new technology changes our travels.
I also expect I’ll be visiting the site Best Kids Apps a lot more often now to find iPhone apps for kids. So many apps, so little time. That’s why I’m glad that two savvy traveling moms are reviewing loads of apps to make the job easier for us busy moms. I’m also participating in a little contest they have going on there. They’re giving away an iPad to blogging moms. Now imagine if my son got his paws on a shiny iPad….
We take our fair share of road trips, too, and are definitely old school. In fact, we made a conscious choice NOT to purchase a portable DVD player (insane?). Instead, we play a lot of music & car bingo & indulge in snacks saved especially for road trips. That said, mom & dad love their gadgets! Can’t wait to hear more about how the iPhone impacts your travels & travel planning. Fun!
Loved this post and had to laugh because I just reconfiscated my ipod touch from my 11 year old a few minutes ago. It serves as my alarm clock when my husband is away and I can’t rely on his cell alarm.
Enjoy your new toy. I’m going to do an apps post in a few days (Next, travel tip tues?) so stay tuned…
A post after my own heart! I’ve been out of the loop, too focused on the tech side. Nice to get back to the travel side and see how both worlds are related.
i’m with you on this one. less is more. lots of road trips in my family and not one high tech gadget to get us through it. unless you count rubik’s cube. plenty of other things to do, like singing, telling stories, snacks, and me and my son’s favorite, listening to music and looking out the window daydreaming.
Your blog post is like a mirror image of my experience with my kids, I hated going on road trips as they keft fighting with ech other, so I go them a portable dvd player, it worked for a while.
The minute my oldest went to school all he want was an nintendo ds, I refused to give it to him until he was 8. But my sister gave him a psp before that. He was like a zombie with it, I kept repeating myself to him. One day a few months back I decided to hide it incase it would get lost. I hid it so well tht I cannot find it myself. He was upset for about 3 days and forgot all about it.
He now has a new bike and plenty of fresh air and exercise, which is great.
Just say NO to onboard (or portable) DVD players in the car. I believe that kids literally get smarter by looking out the window and internalizing landscape, noticing details, asking questions, etc. And coming up with goofy games is part of the fun. This summer my boys (6 and 8), my dad, and I made a 10,000 mile road trip without the help of digital distractions. Their favorite time-killer/attention-focuser? Be the first to yell “Coos” whenever you spot cows. Never got old. That and whack Dad every time you see a Volkswagen (“red one!”).
I must say, however, that I’m a big fan of books-on-CD. I bought Undaunted Courage for my dad and I to listen to in Lewis-and-Clark country, and lo-and-behold the boys were transfixed. Still looking out the window but seeing things with new eyes.