My 5-Year-Old's First-World Problems

Some mornings I wake to heavy breathing, hot on my forehead only to look up into angry eyes.  "Why didn't you charge my iPod?!?! It's DEEEAAD!"

Pardon???

Since when did I become the keeper of all things electronic? Apparently it was an unspoken rule that as Queen Bee over this hive, I was in charge of "the charge". I had forgotten to throw the iPod on the dock as I went to bed last night. Heaven help us ALL if Mr. Grouchy Pants can't get his Angry Birds fix first thing in the morning!  These are the first world problems that I deal with on a daily basis with my 5-year-old.

Can anyone relate?

From a very ripe age of terrible two, Mr. Grouch has been tech-savvy. Teaching ME how to change my wallpaper on my iPhone and showing his Aunt Sissy how to advance to the next level of Angry Birds Space. With eye-rolling and a sigh of,  I can't believe you are only to level 10. . .  Careful Grouch, Sissy buys you Christmas presents. . .remember your manners.

He's always been sensitive to visual stimulation, wanting to watch and re-watch and watch AGAIN each episode of Dora the Explorer in order to memorize every Spanish phrase and next location on the map. He knows the difference between 3G and WiFi and is easily annoyed when we go to breakfast at IHOP instead of Denny's because then he can't access the free Internet to watch youtube videos while he waits for his short stack of pancakes. Heaven forbid!

Before you go pointing fingers about how engrossed my son is in media and how bad all this is for him, let me go ahead and agree with you. Yes, I get that kids need to go outside and play and not stare at a television screen. I totally get that all these video games can "fry one's little brains" and all that jazz. I don't necessarily love the fact that he continually steals my phone and uses up all my data downloading the latest version of Jetpack Joyride. But you know what I also know?  The fact that he can teach anyone I know how to navigate through google maps is impressive!  I also know that he can build tunnels and pixelated houses in Minecraft that may rival my husband's attempts!  I also know that he gets plenty of exercise jumping from building to building pretending to be Spiderman on the Wii. He may not be the most athletic and outdoorsy kid on the block, but his little mind is growing and learning to problem-solve faster than any other kid his age that I know. I'm exceptionally proud of him!  I still try to curb the constant screen time with active play with others or board games or time at the park. At the end of the day, if all he wants is to stimulate his mind with Alphabet Matching Games on the iPad or a round or two of Doodle Jump, I say power to him!

We're going to have to give him access to the charger dock though. I can't handle any more first world problems before my morning coffee.