My two boys, Cashill and Beau, are growing up in a world inundated with technology. From the moment their alarm clock’s glow switches from red to green their life is guided by the many devices that surround them. Despite best efforts on my part, they’ve been navigating my iPhone seamlessly since before their second birthday. They’re as content drawing on the iPad as they are with a marker and paper. When curiosity strikes, their first instinct is to ask Siri.
The boys’ comfort in—and reliance on—technology contrasts starkly with their Grandparents’ wary adoption of iPhones and apps and emojis.
But here’s the thing: our boys are as at ease with my Oregonian parents as they are with their Coloradan grandparents thanks to their tech assimilation. With four states between Boulder, CO and Bend, Oregon, it’s precisely the high tech world that keeps my family closely connected. Over the past several years my parents, a.k.a. Ter Ter and Papa, have bravely taught themselves how to text message, Facebook and Google Hangout. It’s through these tools that my parents were virtually present when Cash lost his first tooth, at preschool graduation and during Beau’s first steps. Their tech savviness is bridging the geographic gap that stands between them and their only grandchildren.
These days, we’re adventuring beyond video chatting to stay connected. As Cashill closes out his kindergarten year he’s discovered a deep love for coding with Bitsbox. Cash builds apps with Bitsbox and through its sharing capabilities he’s able to share his coding work with Ter Ter and Papa in real-time.
Whether sharing a work-in-progress or completed app, Cash thrives off the feedback his grandparents give him. The pride on his face is only surpassed by that in my parents’ eyes. As a mother and daughter, my heart swells with the love exchanged through this new discipline Cash is exploring.
Recently Cash built his most complicated app yet—a two player Tic Tac Toe game. Within minutes of completion Ter Ter had scanned the app onto her tablet in Oregon, Cash activated his version on my laptop and the two were engaged in an hour long Tic Tac Toe tournament. He ate up his screen time for that day and the next, but we all agreed it was entirely worth it.
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Written by: Alexandra Ostler
Alexandra lives in Boulder, CO with her two sons, husband, cat and puppy. She recently left her cushy corporate job at Google to join Bitsbox on their mission to teach kids the world over how to code. Most days you’ll find her and her brood tending to their vegetable garden, exploring the foothills or tinkering with Bitsbox coding projects.