The power of suggestion

My boys never cease to amaze me. Even though I am convinced that they are both special little brilliant geniuses, I still underestimate them all the time.

I found a version of some older software for toddlers that S used to love playing. When I first put Z in front of it, I figured he would be hitting the keyboard randomly for a while, and it would be forever before he started pointing and clicking the mouse, and even longer before he actually understood that it corresponded to something on the screen in front of him.

Well, he was pointing, clicking and dragging within about 2 days.

The other thing I underestimated was the ability of Z to be influenced by what he was looking at on a screen. When he pointed and clicked on the number seven, seven apples popped up and he said “Caco!” (his word for apple…it actually is short for avocado…long story). He ran to the refrigerator, grabbed himself an apple, and proceeded to eat it. Ten minutes later, a similar situation happened with bananas showing up in the game. He chirped “ ‘nana!”, jumped up, and insisted on eating a banana.

Luckily, he doesn’t watch much TV, and what he does watch has few commercials. But, the power of image to be converted instantly into want and then action made my head spin. And, of course, it made me paranoid about what future effects advertising will have on his mind and on his waistline.

I found a good site from PBS called Don’t Buy It. This site is geared more towards kids S’s age (7 ½) than Z’s age (2). I will try it out on his older brother first. But, who knows, he may be ready for it. I may just be underestimating him again.

Photo credit: anissat at www.sxc.hu

The next insurgents

(Originally posted Sept. 11, 2006)

Ahhh, September 11^th. A fruitful paranoia day.

The horrific events of September 11^th, 2001 have upset the calm of the nation for five years. My generation used to feel invincible. Now, we have seen jets plummet out of the sky and crash into buildings. Anthrax showed up in office buildings and in post offices.

Where is the next sci fi threat coming from? Nukes from North Korea? (Or Iran?)

Smallpox? A meteor?

Or.....rebellious robots?

Check out “How to Spot a Hostile Robot” and “Fight Back.” If 9/11 taught us anything, it is that we need to be prepared.

Something new under the sun

I assume many of you are like me, and are proud of yourselves as conscientious parents every time you remember to slather your family with sunscreen. Skin cancer, premature aging, sunburn....threats averted! We are making our kids healthier, right?

Well, if it was that easy, I wouldn't be paranoid! The mad scientists have been at it again, and this time they were using nanotechnology. More than just a fun word to say, it is the science of creating new products by altering atoms and molecules. Sounds more like NASA than sunscreen? If only the mad scientists thought like we do!

Get a load of this article about nanosunscreen altering the brain cells of the mice unfortunate enough to have this scary but common sunblock tested on them. Wait, the study was on mice brain cell culture. So, the headlines saying sunscreen causes brain damage may be premature, but just the thought of it being possible is making me reach for the tinfoil hat.

I thought the open manholes that were the dangerous ones...

I was visiting New York City recently, and my local friend regaled me with stories about how dangerous it was to walk around there. Not crime dangerous, which wouldn't faze me in the least, having grown up in Miami. But, random threats from an old city which is falling apart.

Well, she sent me a news article proving that she wasn't exaggerating:

Girl electrocuted by manhole cover

Of course, we here in Florida have a hard time letting anything weird happen anywhere else. We had a similar incident a few years ago:

Boy electrocuted by bus stop

Makes me want to trade in the house in the burbs of a big city for a cabin off the grid...