I Share My IPhone with My "Techie" Toddler

I ecstatically received an IPhone as a birthday present from my husband. My son is 15 months old at the time and is constantly curious about everything. As I am getting acquainted with my new phone, he would always interrupt me and will never stop bugging me until he gets hold of this "very interesting object."

Of course, he has his own colorful toy phone. But he knows the difference between the fake and the real phone, and prefers the latter. Frustrated, I always give up and hand him my precious iPhone, just making sure it was on lock. But lo and behold, my smart toddler found a way to unlock it. I observed him as he took the phone in his hands and made a sliding motion with his finger on the touch-screen, which is precisely how you unlock it. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Soon after that, my toddler once again demonstrated his observant skills. I have a hobby of taking photos of myself with my phone, at times including my adorable toddler. One time I saw him holding his favorite gagdet with outstretched arms, the phone facing the other way, and him staring straight at it. Turns out, he's trying to take a picture of himself, imitating what he'd seen me done a hundred times. It was beyond cute. I was so proud of him at that time.

Our iPhone bonding moments include enjoying the LOL Dogs app and laughing together at these dogs' hilarious pictures. I have to say it's our favorite app. Sometimes we'd play games involving animals and he would be entertained by the sound effects. Whenever I leave the phone with him to keep him busy for a few minutes, I discovered he can already access his favorite videos and games. Since it's touch-screen, he can control it real easy. A number of times, he unknowingly called some people in my contacts. One time, he got hold of his godmother and even had a two-minute conversation with her. According to my sister-in-law, he kept on saying "Hello" and sounded like he's trying to tell her something. When he's crying for my attention and I'm busy at the moment, I'd go to Youtube and play his favorite video, either Barney singing or the baby laughing (both bookmarked already), and he will stop instantly. This piece of technology had officially become a part of our daily life.

My most unforgettable experience with my toddler and my iPhone had become an anecdote I love to share. For a couple days, I noticed that my son had taken to throwing things in our kitchen trash can, which is as tall as he is. I made a mental note to get a lock for it since it has a lid, if such thing was available at the store. For the meantime, I just have to keep a close eye on him. That evening, I couldn't find my iPhone anywhere. I searched every corner of our apartment to no avail. A crazy idea popped in my head. I checked the trash can and to my horror, it was just emptied out and taken to the bin outside by my Dad, who visited us that afternoon. Hurriedly, I took my sleeping husband's phone and went outside to the huge garbage bin, which by the way, I share with 50 or so apartment residents. I dialed my number and sure enough, I heard my familiar ringtone coming out of the smelly bin half-full of disgusting waste. Our trash bag was on top, thankfully, and after reaching for it, I fished out my phone with a groan. But I was relieved more than anything to get it out of there in time. Our trash can is now in a more secure place, thanks to that incident. Still, I developed an annoying habit of checking my phone before I or anyone else take out the trash.

For now, the only "alone time" I have with my iPhone is when my little techie is asleep. I made several attempts to get him to be attached to more toddler-friendly toys, and all were in vain. He continues to grab my phone whenever it meets his eye. This is giving me ideas on his hobby preferences later on in life. I haven't even started with his fascination for computers. Instead of being frustrated about him, I just took to sharing my phone with him for now and wait till he gets tired of it. Until when that is, I don't know. Is there a realistic looking iPhone toy out there?