After reading about yet another piece of technology that can sing for parents and allow them to “interact remotely” I am asking myself “Is singing to your child yourself while actually holding them becoming a radical act?” Forgive me, but today I am giving in to the urge to rant a bit against the marketing machine that constantly works to make us feel that gadgets can raise our children better than we can.

Have we become so judgemental of our own voices that we would rather have our babies in utero bond with music other than our own voices? Don’t we as parents want to be the voice of comfort to our own children? Are we really okay with our voices coming from a machine instead of from ourselves?

There was an article a few months ago about a child calling his iphone “Mama.” Is that funny or tragic?

I understand that things like this baby monitor can make our lives more convenient, but when has raising children ever been “convenient?” When has that convenience been the goal of parenting?

It is not convenient to get up with a baby in the middle of the night for the first or the fourth time and the fact that parents do that is what makes it so heroic. It is not convenient to walk your baby around when they have colic or lay beside them to comfort them. It is not convenient to take the time to sing instead of putting on a CD or an iphone but IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Our children need to hear our voices. They need to know that music is something created not just consumed. They need to be held and comforted by our own hands. They need to know that they are being raised by loving people who are willing to sacrifice the convenience of machines for the comfort of home.

What do you think? Do you sing to your child? What do you think about technology in the nursery?

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