How many people have a toddler who cannot rest if they see your cell phone?
Well I have a toddler like that!! When he was a bit younger we would give him our phone to appease him–and boy oh boy–we created a monster! It wasn’t that big of a deal really, because he never threw the phones or was rough with them and we could always lock the keypad–but his drool may or may not have fried the battery on my last phone! Now when he reaches for phones we have to tell him, “no” and goes into full-blown tantrum mode!
(This doesn’t just happen at the sight of a cell phone, but at any electronic device, be it an Ipod, Blackberry, digital camera, laptop, REMOTE!…you get the picture!)
Well I found the cure!
A CALCULATOR!!
Seriously…there is nothing more to say about it. Because it is the same size as my husband’s Blackberry, I gave my son this little pocket calculator as a last desperate attempt to please him without giving in to him. (I’m sure hoping this sounds familiar to other parents!) It looks very similar to the one pictured here. At any given moment you can find him “talking” to “dada” or “texting”. It’s actually quite adorable!
So if you too, have created a monster when it comes to electronics…this might be something that you could come to love!
A Brief Story:
One day I was in the kitchen doing dishes while Ethan was playing in the livingroom. All of a sudden it got very quiet! We all know what that usually means–so I went to check on him. This is how I found him…
You’ll notice he is #1 sitting in the cart and #2 he is “texting” on his Calculator/Blackberry.
How could I be mad? I wasn’t! I laughed so hard and took a sloppy picture with my cell phone…what a good mommy moment 
(Also…don’t judge me by the condition of that room…it was one of those days!)
I love this idea! My little guy is obsessed with electronics and gadgets. He has an old blackberry of my dad’s that still has a battery and he loves it, but this is a great idea. I will have to try it out!
Twitter: FrugalAlly
My husband’s old blackberry has a dead battery and if it doesn’t light up…he’s not interested. But at least my guy isn’t the only obsessed one
admin´s last blog ..The Tantrum Cure…A Miracle!
So cute! I’m proud of you for claiming the mess. I would have just cropped it out! So much quicker than cleaning.
Twitter: FrugalAlly
Dang! I didn’t even consider cropping the photo
Hey! Thanks for the comment. LOVE the texting pic. Good find! I also appreciated your post on infertility. Way to be vulnerable- girl after my own heart in openness.
Twitter: FrugalAlly
Thanks for saying so…infertility tends to be kind of taboo–understandably so!
admin´s last blog ..The Tantrum Cure…A Miracle!
How cute! Happy TILT!
Twitter: LittleBitJen
Great idea! We used an old phone that we didn’t need anymore.
I love that photo!! I cannot even tell you how closely you described my day! In the kitchen, silence…messy room with boy. I love it!
We have (had) a calculator with a paper roll and printer on it. Even without the paper, completely satisfying. If you hit “enter” it made a printer sound. Hours of fun.
Twitter: FrugalAlly
Oh my word…Ethan would love a calculator like that one! I’ll have to hunt for one at goodwill and yard sales this summer! And let me just mention…silence is never a good thing! haha…thanks for stopping by
admin´s last blog ..The Tantrum Cure…A Miracle!
You are brilliant! I don’t have a toddler yet but my 9 month old is already into the electronics. I just might have to buy a calculator tomorrow…
Christine´s last blog ..Blissdom Recap: Content is Queen
That is HILLARIOUS! Where were you when my kids were toddlers? I just gave them my old demo phones from when I worked (I was a sales rep for Nextel) but they were dead therefore not nearly as interesting as my ‘real’ one.
Twitter: angie76
My five year old likes to use a calculator as a cell phone too. It cracks me up!
Really fun post!
Angie @ Many Little Blessings´s last blog ..7 Quick Takes: February 19, 2010 (Vol. 30)