Long before I discovered the true ups and downs that is the joy of parenting, I was a nanny. For the most part, I watched one small family or another for the entire day. During this, the mom was usually present, attending chores or tucked away to work from home. This was a time in my life where I often observed what you would consider common parenting practices that I’d promised myself to never do in my own parenting journey. You’re probably chuckling to yourself right now, thinking how funny that concept truly is. Oh the ignorance of being young. Well, one of those things I promised myself was to never ever allow my child to play with my expensive smartphone. Emphasis on the word expensive.
Boy how times have changed! As quickly as I switched roles from non-parent to full time mom, so did my smartphone. It instantly turned from a device that was solely reserved for making calls, browsing the Internet and taking fun photos to a complete life saver. When you’re a parent of an infant, spending some much needed time out in the general public is fairly easy to handle since the baby sleeps or coos most of the time. Don’t get me wrong, I completely realize that having a baby in any environment is a total challenge, but I distinctly remember the change in our personal dining experience when our daughter hit toddlerhood. What was once a challenge turned into complete chaos. Going to a restaurant meant waiting on food and waiting on food meant trying to entertain a toddler in one very confined location for an undisclosed amount of time. Like I said, chaos.
Enter my beautiful, flawless smartphone. When you’re desperate for one more bite, you don’t really care much about the strange layer of slime coating your toddler’s hands. In fact, you’ll most likely find yourself forking over your beloved piece of advanced technology faster than you can blink to spare yourself a moment of peace. In those times, Youtube has always been my go to. Eating is just simply not a guarantee when you’re a parent.
Now with nearly three years under my belt, my phone has suffered so much abuse I’m surprised it still functions. While I still cringe every time I hand it over, it’s something that has always been a helping hand when I needed it, never mind the risk involved—until now.
I met Pipsqueak by Yip Yap a couple of months ago. Pipsqueak is a new kind of smart phone for kids that is both drop resistant and splash resistant. Can I get a hallelujah? The best part is it doesn’t cost anything near what your smart phone costs and there’s no phone plan required. The device uses Bluetooth from your phone or wifi to work. Parents completely manage what goes on the phone varying from approved contacts they can call, to what types of Youtube videos they are allowed to watch. This means, your child is totally safe from anything you don’t want them to run into. You can even put movies on it!
For the first time in years, I’ve been able to have a hot meal. When the color sheet gets old and the food is no longer appetizing to my toddler, I just pull out her little pink Pipsqueak with no fear of something happening to it. Her phone has saved us from many meal time disasters. I’ve never been so happy to hear Elmo screeching from the screen when my hot sizzling fajitas are sitting in front of me, beckoning. I have to say I truly love technology and don’t know how mothers did it before smartphones emerged on the scene. Mad props to them! As a first time mom, I’m not too proud to say I need help when it comes to dining out. I have absolutely no problem sticking my kid in front of a screen for a few minutes of prime chew time. If you can relate, grab yourself a Pipsqueak at www.yipyap.com. Trust me, you won’t be sorry.
