4 Outrageous Baby Devices: Parenting hindered by a technological age

4 Outrageous Baby Devices: Parenting hindered by a technological age

BY NICOLETTE EMMINO

Recently, I attended a baby shower. As the mom-to-be was “showered” with gifts for her unborn bundle of joy, I began thinking about babies and my newfound concentration, electronic products. After doing some research about hi-tech baby products, I had to ask one question: Has parenting been redefined by our digital age and smart devices?

I must state that I, myself, am not a parent, but I was a baby once and have a younger sibling and cousins that I have watched, as their parents scrambled around using all of the “traditional” parenting techniques. Never once have I witnessed any of the parents that I know use any of the outrageous baby technologies introduced today.

Here are four tech baby gadgets that may cause you to scratch your head.

1. The Child Minder Infant-Toddler Elite Pad System

Place the Elite Pad between your car cushions and attach the key ring to your car keys. The pad is activated when a child is seated in the car seat and notifies the parent if they walk more than 15 feet away from the vehicle. The Child Minder uses digital wireless technology. This device reminds you to take your child out of the car when you get out. Do parents often forget that they have children?

2. The self-folding Origami Stroller

The Origami Stroller has a built in generator that allows it to open and close by itself. I must admit, that feature is quite helpful, as I remember my own mother struggling to pack up. But wait, there’s more. You can add features such as speakers and daytime running lights. The Origami stroller comes equipped with an LCD display that will tell you if your child is in the stroller. Do we really need a screen to tell us if they’re still in there? Can’t we peek over and check on our own children?

3. Why Cry Baby Crying Analyzer

Here’s a device that will tell a parent why their baby is crying by analyzing the cry. The technology was developed to recognize the pattern of a crying baby by analyzing the power of the cry, its frequency, and the intervals at which it cries. Just hold the device at a distance from your baby and allow 20 seconds to collect cry sounds.

First of all, I was once a colicky baby. I cried and I cried and I cried, and it did not matter if I was fed, burped, changed, or held, I continued to cry. No analyzing device would have helped the situation. Secondly, what did parents do before something like this was introduced? They checked the diaper, tried feeding, attempted a burping session, and rocked and sang as concerned parents. There was no lazy alternative. Parents were forced to interact with their infants in a way that brought them closer together.

4. Baby Bottom Fan

Here’s a battery powered fan to dry your baby’s bottom. It has foam sponge blades, keeps noise to a minimum, and dispenses a lavender scent onto the baby’s backside. Pretty straightforward I guess.

My question is, why? Is this really a necessary product or are we being asked to buy products that are unnecessary to the value of parenting. I think we can just as easily use baby wipes, powder, and cream, producing the same fresh result. How would you manage to get a baby to sit still every time you changed them anyway?

Traditional parenting is a philosophy based on family and giving the child what it needs: food, shelter, clothing, water, education, medical attention, and love. Modern day parenting is geared toward giving the child what it wants at any cost and placing them on pedestals, be it deserving or not. Maybe lazy parenting is not the problem as much as the parents themselves, who are not involved in the process as much, but rather disconnected by the barriers technology has created. This is so real that a gadget needs to be created to remind you to remove your own child from the car. Are parents so consumed by their own smart devices that they don’t have the time to be interactive with their children anymore? ■