Cell phone applications for babies?

by Sandy Maple (Subscribe to Sandy Maple's posts)
Aug 22nd 2008 12:00PM

Filed under: Babies, Toddlers Preschoolers, Preschoolers, Activities: Babies, In The News

What parent hasn't handed over the car keys to a fussy baby in order to distract and entertain them? A shake or two of the magic keys is usually all it takes for most babies to become enthralled and forget what they were fussing about in the first place. Keys as a makeshift rattle are a tried and true baby distracter, but after a while baby loses interest, right? You start digging into your purse and handing over any non-toxic items you can find. What about your cell-phone? Do you ever let the baby play with that?

Disney suspects that you do and is looking to create cell-phone applications specifically for the preschool set. Like a digital pacifier, you could hand over your phone to keep baby busy on the go. No word on the specifics of these baby cell-phone games, but I imagine they would involve lots of button pushing and annoying sounds. Which, to me, is only slightly more appealing than the sound of baby fussing.

But If they really are going to make cell phone applications for babies, they may need to rethink the design of the phone itself. Babies might actually push a few buttons on the phone, but they will also try to eat it. And unless the phone is drool-proof, it is going to end up in the junk drawer like the remote clicker for my last car.