Technology-Changing Fun
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 10:48 PM
This morning I had an OB appointment and my husband and I had to bring the kids along.
While we were waiting in the exam room, we handed over our iPod touches to keep Camilla and Blaise amused. They’d already behaved nicely through a 15-minute ultrasound and we didn’t want to test them too hard. They - as usual when they have the iPods - played little games. Camilla “colored” various pictures and showed us the finished products, while Blaise flew a tiny bird up and down some hills in a game he doesn’t understand but still enjoys.
Bryan and I chatted and enjoyed the time together, and were grateful we had a way to keep the kids occupied.
Later, we started reminiscing about technology during our childhoods, and how much it has changed. Bryan remembers having an early Game Boy, a hefty thing with a black-and-white screen.
Years before that, my sister and I got very excited when our dad would lug a portable computer home from work. I think it was a Compaq, which folded up into a huge suitcase-type thing. The screen was green (or maybe gray?) and we loved the chance to play Paint on it, drawing circles and squares in monochrome. Also thrilling was the chance to “type” on a DOS command line.
And of course, for my grandfather, who worked for IBM in the 1950s and 60s, that technology of the mid-80s was incredible. I doubt my children would be very impressed, though!
I don’t think you *need* technology to amuse kids. My children’s favorite playthings are not even actual toys - a blanket and a chair, anyone? - and the best and most-used of the toys they have are the simplest ones, like our set of unpainted wooden unit blocks. But I admit that I enjoy being able to give my kids the occasional chance at “iPod time” because they enjoy it so much. And when I get a question like “What are fire ants, Mama?” all the information I need - including pictures and videos - is just a search term and a few clicks away. Handy!
I have fun trying to imagine the technology that my grandchildren will consider standard. When the time comes, I bet I’ll also have fun regaling them with stories of making simple circles on a green screen with a mouse (“What’s a mouse, Grandma?”) using a computer the size of a small table. Their minds will be blown.
Want to reminisce about technology from your own childhood? How do you plan to shock your grandchildren some day?
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