My Tween and Electronics...

Has anyone had “experiences” with kids and electronics? Our house seems to have had its fair share…

First, let me give you a little background. I am a 40-something mom, who grew up with no video game system (a what?) I dragged my feet, over and over, and stood my ground. I was not going to be the one to buy a video game system… no matter what kind! I did not have one, my theory is that there is no reason to need one. Yes, want one…maybe. Need one…no.

My son worked hard and earned his own money…and he actually saved up…which is what he bought his first Game Boy with!

It seems like once we have one system, the world starts spinning in hyper drive. Someone gave us a system for the tv, then he bought a DS, then someone sold him an Original Game Boy (which did not come with the detachable light… Awwwwwww) Another friend then gave him an original Atari. Okay, so now we have more game cartridges and game systems than we know what to do. For the love of Pete, he is the only child in the house… I sure don’t play those games. I couldn’t play them with a joystick on the big arcade machines, what makes you think that, as I am getting older, with reading glasses and stiff hands, that I would even think of trying the hand-eye coordination. I get nauseous just watching roller coaster advertisements on tv. Oh sure, I can hear it now...let’s call the paramedics because mom got sick while playing a hand-held video system. Yeah… NOT!

Now, the games are all labeled and put together…thrown into boxes, labeled with masking tape, and sitting in our basement…with all the other boxes of “I gotta haves”.

By the way, we never did determine which cords go with which units, and/or if they even work. One Game Cube system can never have too many controller… I think last count it was 5 or 6. Do they work? Hell if I know… I don’t think he does either!

And then there are ear buds for the MP3 players. First I made him use them on a portable CD player because I refused to buy him an MP3 (I know, I am a mean heartless mom who doesn't care... boohoo... sob... sniff...). The first set of buds, they eventually died because a tween boy and dollar-store merchandise do not necessarily go hand-in-hand, unless it’s giving the store more money for something they keep breaking!

The second pair, he borrowed from me. The last thing I told him was to keep them in the case when he is not using them. Can you see where this story is going? It was only a couple days later when he picked up a bud from his floor. Gee, I think something might be missing… Yup! Both buds. Apparently cats do not like to play with buds while they are attached to a 4-ft cord. Makes it kinda hard to run, play, and not be noticed. So, to solve the problem, get rid of the extra baggage… Now we have enough toys for all three cats… two ear buds with the squishy cushions on them and one long cord with a plug adapter. Woohoo!! Guess sharing came first in their mind. The third pair then got lost and the forth had the wires broke (because wrapping them tightly around something, pulling the wires tight and bending them the wrong way would seem like the logical thing to do!) I don’t understand why they even come in a case, if it doesn’t work! Damn cases, what's the use anyway?!

In the midst, we have managed to lose one MP3 player (headphones and all), several video game cartridges (maybe they shrunk when they went through the washer and dryer?), and a couple cell phone chargers.

I know, all these items are hidden somewhere with all this missing socks that never come back out of the dryer! Or maybe the mice are having a dance party – listening to the MP3 player… 'cuz I don’t think those buds were broken… yet!

Oh yeah, one more for you… a friend of mine gave him a small MP3 player. I was against it because he should not be able to have one if he isn’t responsible enough to keep track of it. I finally gave in. Now, all I hear is how it’s full. He wants a different one, with more memory. Gee, I guess the common logic of deleting some songs is obviously something far-fetched. Can one person truly listen to 400+ songs at once? I bet he doesn’t even know what songs are on the unit????????

Oh well, until next time.