Addicted to gadgets

I think most kids nowadays are addicted to mobile gadgets especially iPads and iPhones. This is unavoidable when kids loves to emulate their parents who usually owns one of these gadgets. It definitely sparks their curiosity to see an adult using the device everyday. Speaking of which, at times we had to use our phones secretly under the table, behind the pillow etc to avoid letting Miley see the device. My mum says her iPad is now Miley's as its loaded with all her apps and she has no priority to use it because Miley would snatch it away at the sight of it! haha... While some parents by all means and ways tried to disallow their kids to use these gadgets, we allow her to use it to watch kids nursery videos and play with interactive apps for kids now and then - whenever we needed a break or to distract her from something else that is a bigger no-no.

At 16 months old, Miley is quite an active girl. Definitely influenced by these videos she watches for she can now sing the last word of several nursery rhymes' phrases! When you sing "Twinkle twinkle little .....", she will say "Star!". She can count 1 to 7 and she grooves to the Gangnam Style song! Was at a friend's birthday party the other day and obviously most kids probably know this song through YouTube.

Someone said that kids who watched too much video or TV will become disinterested in books. That's a little worrying. However I also dislike reading despite there were no such gadgets during my time. Maybe in the future all learning will be become interactive as the technology progresses. Nevertheless, we still tried to make her enjoy books from a young age, by buying her a few children's books although it bored her after some time.

In a bid to save cost on books, we recently decided to borrow from public library. The branch at NEX shopping mall has a huge selection for children and a few shelves dedicated for babies. They also have reading corners with tables and chairs for kids. The conditions of the books are pretty decent. Try to select the newer ones if you are concerned with hygiene. Do make sure they wash their hands before meals. The library is also a great place to spend an afternoon together, browsing books and letting her run around the carpeted flooring. :P

We borrowed 4 books today. Returning 3 weeks later, just about time when the novelty wears off.