Kindergarten Tech Cop: The Job I Never Wanted

This month, we’ve asked parents to share their experiences of raising kids in the tech age. Today’s guest author is Sara Given, creator of the viral blog “It’s Like They Know Us,” which skewers the myth of the perfect parent. She’s also the author of Parenting Is Easy: You’re Probably Just Doing It Wrong.

“Mom, what’s your passcode?”

I looked up to find my 5-year-old daughter jabbing her finger at my iPhone screen. She continued, “My school iPad has a passcode. What’s yours? I need to take pictures of the cat.”

This was a tame request compared to her other inquiries, (“Can I have a little brother?”), but it bothered me for two reasons: First, I knew that if I gave her that passcode, she would immediately take 5,000 pictures of the floor. And second, I hadn’t considered that at age 5 she’d already be so immersed in technology. That she’d know the lingo. That she probably already had more Instagram followers than me. #floorpics

While my daughter chattered away about the cartoon-character math app she’d been using in class, I found myself facing a dilemma: I want to limit my child’s exposure to Continue reading