Fast-forward to 2013, when I was
expecting baby number three in an age
when “packing bulky parenting books
in your suitcase” and “having to sit
in front of a computer to log on to the
internet to access information” sound
archaic. The technological advances
of those ten years were so tremendous
that I felt like I was re-learning how
to care for an infant, in a new and
revolutionary way. This time around,
my What to Expect… titles are in
eBook form; I can Google my child’s
symptoms with my smartphone while
waiting for our turn at the doctor’s
office; and I can even take a photo of
my baby’s rash and WhatsApp it to a
doctor friend across the globe to get a
second opinion instantly.
The information age has
revolutionised every aspect of our
lives, and the parenting department
wasn’t spared. We have become such
an information-driven society that we
are no longer satisfied with fast access
to a high volume of information
alone. We want it instantaneous
and precisely accurate. Take the
baby monitor, for example: These
days, an audio baby monitor is not
enough. Parents want eyes on their
baby, too. Enter the baby monitor
with a camera, soon followed by an
upgraded version that allows parents
to remotely hear and see their babies
at home whether they are ten metres
or 10,000 miles away.
Capturing the moment
The way we document, organise and
store information on our children’s
early years and milestones have also
leapt to a new level. Since we are
never without our phones these days,
we are never without our cameras.
For parents, this leads to thousands –
maybe tens of thousands – of photos
and plenty of video.
A child’s life has never been so
chronicled until today. With apps,
we can digitally record and organise
everything that’s happening in our
children’s lives. Search “parenting”
on the Apple Apps store and
you’ll get more than 800 results,
ranging from really awesome to
ridiculous. You can now keep track
of every aspect of your child’s life –
beginning from your pre-pregnancy
planning to baby feedings, from
potty training to toddler behaviour,
to weekly allowances and to your
teenager’s whereabouts.
Not only will the current
and future generations have well-
documented lives, they will have
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