Before we upgraded, we would Skype Dad every night that he was away at work. This involved finishing dinner and going upstairs to the office where the computer stays and chatting with him.
But I got an iPod Touch recently and we have wireless. So now we have Facetime. Facetime and Skype are pretty comparable in picture quality, reliability, etc. But the big difference is that the little device can join us for dinner, where the computer cannot. So now we call Dad over dinner, and "Dad" sits against the fruitbowl and talks to the kids as if he's actually there.
Boy, 2, has gotten very used to interacting with his Dad on this 4 inch screen. In fact, much giggling is achieved by Boy "feeding" his Dad, in which a piece of food is advanced toward the screen, and Dad makes a big chomping sounds and makes his mouth approach and darken the screen.
Girl, 0.5, will sit and stare at the screen and has just this week begun to smile when her Dad does something silly.
Having the small portable device allows me also to record anything funny the kids do and e-mail it whenever I am in
a wireless zone. Of course other smartphones are capable of this, without the wireless requirement..
It seems strange to watch my children interacting with a small piece of metal, but I think its a great tool to include Dad in our daily life.
I think this is a great idea! I love that Boy gets to "feed" dad through the screen. We Skype with my parents and now Little T says their names when she sees the computer. Such a great tool! Still haven't used Facetime...need to check it out.
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