How one tech expert simplifies life with toddlers
These six essentials a dad relies on for keeping up with his toddlers are available to shop on Amazon, Walmart, BuyBuyBaby and more.
Whitson Gordon
Whitson Gordon
I cannot stress how useful white noise is for helping your kids sleep. Whether they’re newborns or rambunctious toddlers, white noise helps block sound from the rest of the house, and the Hatch Rest is much more than a noise machine. It also allows you to play lullabies while you get them ready, place everything on a timer and adjust a color-changing night light that lets your toddler know when nap time is over. I recommend the Hatch Rest+, which uses Wi-Fi, but if you want to save some money, the standard Hatch Rest is good too — it just uses Bluetooth, which means you have to be near the bedroom to adjust the light or noise thanks to Bluetooth’s shorter range.
Never underestimate the effect music can have on a fussy child. Our youngest daughter wakes up every morning and immediately starts pumping her fist, saying “Da. Da!” — this means she wants to dance. A voice-controlled speaker like the Amazon Echo is a crucial fixture in our day for playing our kids-focused Spotify playlist. (If you don’t have a playlist like this, look up Go Fish’s rendition of Five Little Monkeys — it’s kids’ music like you’ve never heard before.)
While our kids don’t really use iPads and phones (yet), we do use my iPad for FaceTiming liberally with Grandma and Pops across the country. While I often have to follow them with the iPad as they run around the house (I’m about ready to invest in a gimbal), it’s nice to have a stand to put the tablet on when they’re sitting on the couch or standing at the kitchen island for FaceTime. This stand from Lamicall works well — if you want something with even more freedom, Lamicall’s gooseneck tablet holder may be even better.
While our kids don’t get a ton of screen time, there are moments when everyone just needs a short break — or you need to make dinner without constant distractions. While any streaming device will do the trick — I usually recommend the Roku Ultra as the best overall — Amazon’s Fire Stick has one distinct advantage: full voice control. So instead of using the remote to find the show you want, you can just say “Alexa, watch the next episode of Dinosaur Train on Prime Video” while you start working in the kitchen. (Side note: I’ve learned more about dinosaurs this year than I ever thought I’d know.)
A lot of parents use timers to ease transitions from one activity to another — e.g. “When the timer goes off, it’ll be time to get ready for bed.” Our toddler is much more accepting of these transitions when we involve this external source. You could set a timer with your Echo, of course — but this six pack has our 3-year-old much more engaged with the process. He loves to pick the color and press the button himself. When it dings, he happily moves on to the next activity. You could always use a sand timer if you want something more fun, but those are also limited to a specific length of time, so they aren’t as versatile.
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