Tech Savvy Mums
A growing number of modern women say parenting is a full time job that impinges on their career. More than half of the working mothers I know say working part time would best fit their life, preferring it to working full time or staying at home. Employers, though, are not always happy to offer appealing part-time positions that aren’t dead-end jobs. This is just one obvious reflection of the challenges women face when trying to balance work and a young family – a story for another time.
Luckily we are in the 21st Century, and many cool gadgets are now available to help mothers juggle kids, careers, socializing and, perhaps, even an hour pedicure. This week, I play a female gadget expert and introduce the coolest must-have items for a busy mother to make the most out of her day. Get these for yourself and show your husband that you are indeed a very cool mommy who doesn’t consign anything battery-powered to him as if he is got a second employer at home.
- Webcam Today’s webcam technology is not just for sleazy chat rooms! If you are away at the office or in another room in the house, a webcam like Summer Infant Baby’s Quiet Sounds Video Monitor will allow you to check in to see how baby is doing. It is small, quiet, and has an additional handheld unit with LCD screen that is portable around the house.
- Blackberry If you decide to work part time or from home, you can still keep up with what’s going on in the office using push E-mail services. I recommend the Blackberry Pearl, which can nestle neatly in your Hermes handbag between the milk bottle and facial powder. Once set up, you will be maintaining the chain of command right from your beside bassinet.
- GPS watch and wristband Peace of mind is worth more than gold. Knowing where your kid is through out the day prevents a mother from worrying why the young one hasn’t arrived home at 5 o’clock. When it is impossible to reach your family members via mobile phones (such as in the case of a major disaster), knowing that the kids are at the disastrous scene doesn’t necessarily help. But knowing they really aren’t there can save a lot of angst. JJ Kent’s GPS Locator Watch lets you track the child’s whereabouts at all time. It has a safety lock that prevents a child or someone taking the watch off, and it is tough enough to withstand a 5-year-old life style.
- Online Grocery Wouldn’t it be a truly gigantic convenience to select items online and have them delivered? You don’t want to leave the kids home alone, but taking them to the supermarket is like a time bomb waiting to go off. In Thailand, we are half way there with getting rid of the shopping errands. Tops Supermarket started a delivery service, sending groceries to your doorstep without you having to lift all those heavy weights. A newborn could use up to 12 diapers a day, and that’s a lot of weight to carry home by yourself. The only thing left now for Tops to offer is an online service so you don’t have to be at the store at all.
Technology cannot replace a mother’s love and attention for her child, but it can certainly give her more peaceful time with the little one. These days, I see more mothers making it to the kids’ Tae Kwon Do and ballet classes. I don’t think it is de rigueur for parents to attend everything in their children’s lives, but it’s nice if they do.
With all this technology beware of the seductive feeling of empowerment
Sometimes the use of technology can go beyond the realm of convenience. It can create a seductive feeling of empowerment, a little rush when you can cross an item off your to-do list; you know what I mean. That little rush can, however, become addictive. If you’ve ever written something you’ve already done onto a to-do list, just for the pleasure of crossing them off, you know what I mean there, too.) Before long, it becomes tempting to constantly check my Blackberry or finding shopping tasks that, strictly speaking, doesn’t need to be done right away.
I knew this was happening to me when I realized I had become very adept at using my Blackberry, and even have the gadget memorize my credit-card number (this eliminates the need to get up off the couch and fetch my handbag). My latest run-in came last week, when I needed to order a few things for my friend’s wedding later this summer. Let’s just say I am really, really ready for her wedding now.
