Jake's Journey with Apraxia

I have a confession to make: I’m starting to think that my child is in the beginning stages of iPad addiction.

For a couple of weeks now, I’ve noticed the attraction getting stronger. Here’s Lil’ Man’s symptoms:

1. Within the first five minutes of waking up, he requests “Daddy’s iPad.” And yep, you guessed it … a child who mispronounces words, says this phrase perfectly.
2. He gets mad if he doesn’t get his way … real mad. This fairly chilled out kid can produce massive tears and a poked out lip if his request isn’t met pronto.
3. He is very good on the iPad … crazy good. His scores are comparable to my eight and fourteen year old.
4. He can’t get enough. If he were to play with the iPad for an hour and take a 30 minute break, he would probably ask to play again.
5. He’s always requesting more apps. The verse from Kenny Chesney’s song “You and Tequila” pops into my head – One is one too many. One more is never enough.

Needless to say, I’ve been starting to get a little annoyed with this obnoxious problem. Jake initially started using the iPad for speech games, but in the course of ten months, more and more games have been added by he and his brothers. Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds, Temple Run, and Sonic are his favorites with a few other games sprinkled into the mix.

Since Jake began his new diet and supplement program, I have tried to make a conscious effort to spend as much time as possible playing with him. This declaration doesn’t make me a saint. Some days I’ve met the goals that I’ve set for myself and other days it just hasn’t worked out.

However, it appears that his speech is better when I limit iPad, computer, and TV time. He’s been talking exceptionally well when he gets back from my parents’ house where he gets lots of one-on-one play, school work, and zero technology.

This past weekend I decided to try a one-week technology fast:

• No more than one hour of television per day
• No iPad or computer time
• Me – Check email once a day with no apraxia research or Facebook time

Yikes! Will we be able to pull it off?

When I was checking into my local apraxia Facebook page on Sunday for the last time before my break, someone had shared the following blog post and I took it as a “sign” from above that I was on the right track:

“How to Really Play with Your Child” by Cari Ebert at the new “Learning Through Play” blog

Cari writes …

As a pediatric speech-language pathologist parents often ask me what they can do to help their child learn to talk.  My most common response is “Find time to sit down on the floor and play with your child every day.”  That may not sound like much of a recommendation, but it is so important.  Many parents do not understand or appreciate the power of play in the development of young children and may actually view play as something children do when they aren’t learning.  This is a myth.  Play is how children learn.

I encourage you to take a few minutes to visit this site at http://www.learning-through-play.com/ and read more of Cari’s post. I love her “Top 10 Play Guidelines!”

 

Tune in next Thursday for the results of our technology fast.