Wait A Minute

Hang on a second, isn't this supposed to be the other way around? #KidsIn2016

(and #ParentsIn2016)

Visit

The K-Grandfolks and Uncle James (Shu-Shu) were in town this week, and true to historical practice, showered K-bao with undeserved praise, attention, treats and gifts of all kinds.

In return, K-bao repeatedly hit up K-Grandpop and Shu-Shu for multiple rounds of her most recent favorite hobby. Oblivious to the generosity inherent in some of her opponents' moves, she ran around the house all week with vanquished chess pieces obnoxiously calling out, "Guess what? I ate his queen!"

For which she was then rewarded with goodies like chocolate-covered Pacific Puffs, Hello Kitty earmuffs, sparkly shoes, etc. That's right, the K-Grandfolks filled an entire suitcase with these things (and paid for additional checked luggage!), forcing them to take a full week to be able to pass them out in a manner that didn't overwhelm the little one with adrenaline. 

Grandma Visit

Grandma is visiting for a few weeks, something K-bao couldn't be happier with. A woman of infinite patience and energy, Grandma manages to make everyone around her feel ten times better by virtue of her presence alone. And yes, she still spoils little K-bao the same way she did a year ago. Here they are chilling on the Embarcadero on a Saturday morning.

Apple Addiction

With much fear and trembling, the K-folks have exposed K-bao to technology. This has consisted of letting her play some Fisher-Price games on the desktop, allowing her to monkey around with K-Pop's locked Blackberry, and yes, introducing her to some "educational apps" on the iPhone.

The result? Complete mayhem in the Hu family. A kid asking for - nay, demanding - her screen time 10 - 12 times a day. We are either shaping the next Marissa Mayer or creating a little technology brat emotionally dependent on Apple products.

The K-folks' only comfort is that this appears to be a commonplace problem. K-Pop came across the following GigaOm headline the other day: I Gave My 3 Year Old an iPhone: Have I Created a Monster?

And according to a Stanford University study, 25% of iPhone users reported the phone to be "dangerously alluring" and 41% said that losing their iPhone would be "a tragedy."

In the below video, shot with K-Pop's iPhone, little K-bao chants "iPhone" no less than 8 times before resorting to guilt-tripping her Dad with appeals to natural law and principles of selflessness.