I didn’t get a cell phone until the summer after I graduated from college. Or fifteen summers ago. But it might as well have been a lifetime ago. Like most of us, I’m entirely too reliant on my phone. I can’t remember a time where I didn’t at least have a phone on me at all times. I go into spasms if I’m without my phone these days, it’s pretty sad.

The iPhone, or smartphone if you prefer, is still less than ten years old. But I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t freely check my email or set my fantasy football lineup from anywhere. The convenience is so great that it does make you forget how you lived before these devices. Somehow I made it 22 years, including four years away for college (and a semester abroad), without being in constant contact with everyone I know. If I tried to do that again now? I’d have a breakdown.

This is a long way of saying that I have no idea how my parents raised my sisters and me without the technology that we can use today. I’m not proud of this, but Apple products play a HUGE role in getting Cameron and me through a day. Sometimes its just pulling up YouTube Kids to get through a meal or firing up Elmo on demand on the iPad to survive the late day meltdown. Traveling is a little less scary with the ability to throw something on the phone or iPad anytime. Or a noise maker to help sleep in a hotel room. In fact, we have an iPad that has embarrassingly become the world’s most expensive night light.

When I was a kid, I watched plenty of Sesame Street, Mr Rogers, 3-2-1 Contact and whatever else was on in the early 80’s. Those shows came on at a set time. Everyday. Perhaps my mom plopped me down in front of the TV for a little while so she could get work done, but her window was so much smaller than what we have available now. Between streaming services, On Demand, and the hundreds of cable channels, there is always something that can bail me out.

As we approach Thanksgiving, I’m certainly thankful for all of the technology helping us raise our son. We do try to load up the activities so that we aren’t just watching PBS all day. But there are times everyday where the ability to turn over the parenting duties to my iTunes account comes in pretty handy.

Now if you’ll excuse me, my dropcam app on my iPad just let me know that my son’s nap has ended!