My son has organized ‘his’ apps on my iPhone into these two folders. Please note to the right.. NETFLIX is apparently considered a kid’s app. Also take note of the 4 versions of Angry Birds.. Yes.. I have let my 4-year-old fall into the Angry Bird craze.
At age 4, Dylan is able to unlock my phone, he has memorized my 4 digit pass code, he can navigate in and out of his games, pull up YouTube to watch clips of AngryBirds or Sonic the Hedgehog, he can use Netflix and scroll through the queue to find his TV shows and movies, and he knows that the ‘Home’ button takes him back to the main screen. He also understands the concept of “Does this game cost money?” when he is looking in the AppStore for new games..
When I was 4 I could barely use a calculator… 
Is it good that this generation of children is so Tech Savvy?
My freshman year of college I wrote a paper on the effects of video games on kids; Weight gain, social lives become almost nonexistent, interaction with the ‘real world’ is lacking.. this is to the extreme. Now there is the Wii; Wii Fit, Wii games, Wii exercise! And especially for the youngsters, most video games (activities) are educational.
It does scare me sometimes.. thinking about what my son’s first cell phone will be. At what age should kids get a cell phone now? I didn’t get one until I was 15, and even then, I had it taken away for punishment and had to earn it back now and then. At age 23 I got my first iPhone (woohoo!). Within a month, Dylan had it figured out.
A few weeks ago, I caught Dylan showing my mom how to use my iPhone. My mom isn’t totally technologically inept.. but she is from the generation of Flintstone’s cars 😉 I have a feeling that when my mom decides to upgrade to a Smart Phone, Dylan will be teaching her how to use it.
Not your average iPhone user
Dylan uses my phone more that I do. Majority of the apps and games on my phone are his. I do have a few games that are just for fun.. ie AngryBirds. But I try to get ones that are somewhat educational; shapes, colors, animals, words, letters, numbers. I absolutely love it when I hear him talking to my phone while he is playing a game. He congratulates himself and will do a celebratory fist pump “Yess!” when he hears the automated voice say “You did it!”
I recently discovered a new blog from iGameMom http://igamemom.com/ iGameMom posts and writes about apps she has discovered. Search her blog for apps for a specific age range or subject. I will for sure be taking notes and downloading some new, FREE apps for Dylan tonight! He is going to LOVE me! 😉
In this day and age, I feel that it is SO common for young children to be as Tech Savvy as they are. Who knows.. maybe Dylan will grow up and invent something AMAZING.. all because I let him play with my iPhone and he fell in love with technology.. A mom can only dream..
momknowsbetter 