"Yes?"
"I'm going to Google 'Is the Tooth Fairy real'."
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Really? Did I really have that exchange with my 8 year old?
Yes. Yes I did.
The Internet is just going to be a part of life as she knows it. She'll never know the joy of turning on the radio, popping a cassette tape into her boom box, keeping her finger on the record button for hours, and the glow of accomplishment that comes after capturing her favorite songs for a remix tape. She probably won't ever dial a rotary phone...or speak on a phone with a curly cord that keeps getting tangled, for that matter. There's a good chance she'll never dig through a classified section of a newspaper, only to end up with black ink all over her fingertips. Good grief, she'll never even have to deal with dial-up while listening to the modem connect (or not).
I'm not ancient or anything, but let's face it: The Internet has been a game changer.
Next to her insulin pump, connecting to the Diabetes Online Community has been the greatest factor in revolutionizing my journey, as a parent raising a child with T1D. The friendships and connections I've found are invaluable.
When Sugar began asking how she'll be able to keep in touch with the friends she makes at diabetes camp and the Friends For Life Conference, I realized that she was going to need an email account. In other words, she was going to need a way to start tapping into the outskirts of her own DOC.
After doing some homework, I decided to set her up with a Zoobuh account. I love the amount of parental controls Zoobuh offers, especially the ability to approve all incoming messages before she sees them. There won't be any spam making it's way into her inbox, ads for "whatever" scattered all over her screen, or inappropriate language/email conversations being exchanged.
She's been able to test out her new email with a few pals, and I can already see a few budding DOC connections of her own...
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Tell me those email exchanges don't have "DOC" written all over them!
PS -- Check out this very awesome picture, drawn by one of her DOC emailing pals.
(The same one from the email above, who has been as low as 47 mg/dl.)
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I can see that Sugar is definitely walking in her mother's shoes!!!!! It's wonderful to see her making her own connections.
ReplyDeleteHaha! Love it!
ReplyDeleteThat is just fantastic!
ReplyDeleteSimply precious! Makes me have hope that my little guy will have this kind of support one day too.
ReplyDeleteThis is the most adorable thing ever! Will have to keep that email provider in mind when the time comes for us.
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool, Wendy.
ReplyDeleteTotally awesome!! Bean has an email, which she doesn't use, but I'm thinking she'll need to figure it out for FFL!!! ;)
ReplyDeleteSo cute!!! I have been wondering when to get Sydney an email account....I will have to check that one out!
ReplyDeleteMade me smile.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. The future of the DOC is awesome!
ReplyDeleteAwesome!!!!! That made my night.
ReplyDeleteSad part? Looks like we won't be at FFL as planned:(
I need to come visit soon :)
This post was great! You're right about your daughter being what is sometimes referred to as a "digital native" meaning she's never known a time before the internet. That's good and bad (the downsides are that simple joys of things like playing outdoors may not be a big part of her childhood, although parents play a huge role in that! Still, I think the idea of introducing her to the idea of keeping up with kids she meets at FFL via email is absolutely great! Once upon a time, kids that met at camp might become pen pals when they left, but today, email has made that so much faster! Anyway, thanks for sharing a delightful post!!
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