Of course, ahem, as the parent, I’m in charge. I can set limits! No more than 10 minutes of screen time a day, and only when we travel or as a reward for when she takes a really, really long nap. Or I can buy her one of her own. A decoy, of course.
So I was psyched to stumble across the I-Wood, a kids’ travel art case designed to look like a laptop from clever. Genius! Where the screen and keyboard should be, there’s a black chalkboard. Instead of a track pad there’s a handy rectangular slot for chalk. The wood case is sturdy enough to be propped up on laps for on-the-go artistry. It’s retro and mod at the same time: a 21st century Etch a Sketch. There’s no on-off switch, no batteries to drain, no half-started novel manuscript to be irretrievably lost should the “laptop” get dropped. If it breaks, it only costs 40 euros to replace.
But let’s be real. It doesn’t blink and flash. It won’t read Peter Rabbit aloud to her like her interactive e-book will. You can’t watch kids from New York's PS 22 chorus belt out Katy Perry’s “Firework” on it. How can it possibly compete? Guess she can always use the I-wood to draw her own apps.
, about $. Due to high demand, available in late February.
–Katie Arnold