Being a teachers kid is a bittersweet experience. My kids get educational gifts for most birthdays. There’s no way to opt out of homework when your mom is a teacher. Your world is filled with all of your mom’s friends watching your every move.  Vacations are often filled with sightseeing of historical places and reading lots of literature.  Teaching is the best job in the world for a mom though. Most of the time my schedule is just perfect for being part of my kids’ lives. Although the last week of summer is usually the pits for them because they have to suffer through a sitter (or worse, in my classroom) while I am at inservice. The rest of the year they are home with me on breaks and holiday. One bonus for my kids is that I love educational websites and techie toys, so they get to enjoy those on a frequent basis. All of my friends are iPad junkies but I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money on one. For once, my procrastination paid off.  For a little while, at least.

When I recently received an iPad from my work, my kids sang the praises of being a teacher’s kid. They happily pass a tiny part of the day playing angry birds or temple run. It’s amazing that one device can change our lives in such a short time.  Within a few weeks, though, they started fighting over the iPad.  I tried to establish specific playing times.  They lost “screen time” when they argued about whose turn it was.  None of it really resolved the problem, so finally we threw in the towel.  They each now have their own tablet so mommy can have hers all to herself.  They were actually the biggest birthday hits my kids have ever had.

My husband was the one who justified the very expensive splurge.  His reasoning is that (1) they might break my school-issued device and (2) we spent far less on my son’s electronic toys than we did my daughter at that age.  Actually, it’s true.  My daughter had every V-Tech toy and LeapPad version possible.  By the time my son arrived, those toys were starting to go downhill and I was tired of paying $20+ for individual games.  Even the Nintendo 3DS was getting to be expensive with those tiny little games that seem determined to live under my couch.  Although there is the initial up-front cost for the iPad (in our case, we got the mini’s for the kids) many of the apps are free.  I’m pretty sure that my son will learn to read by playing on the iPad.  That’s what I’m telling myself, anyway.

At what point do you just give in and go with the flow?  Does technology save you time or do you find yourself having a bigger headache sometimes because of it?