This morning we had to finish off any shopping that needed to be done which included a Samsung Galaxy for my grand son. This is definitely not normal especially for a 7 year old and I will give a brief explanation as to why. When I first heard this I was anti the idea and now after knowing the real reason have no problems what so ever with the idea.
My grand son loves his Lego builds and the two we bought back from Dubai a few months ago are still sitting on the dining room table. The problem is he has poor vision and the instructions in the boxes are not legible for him. He wears glasses, but offer limited vision and why he borrows a phone to build his Lego.
The online instruction apps allow him to zoom in and build whatever he is building and offers him the independency to do what he loves. He can sit there for hours building, but the problem is someone will want their phone and why he can never complete the build. He used to use my phone, but obviously I need it for work calls so it was not exactly convenient for myself or my grand son.
As soon as I heard this was stopping him from doing his hobby I was sold on this and bought him one immediately. This is not a Christmas present, but just something he needs and I see this more as an educational toy. This for him is not going to be used as a phone and is literally his Lego instruction manual. If this was going to be used as a phone then he would not be getting it and this is a big difference. I have seen other kids with mobile/cell phones and I disagree with any kids having them at a young age. I am someone who believes in kids being kids for as long as possible and using recreational toys. Most kids today do not play outside like we used to when growing up and even my grand kids I tend to usher them into the garden.
The problem is the little guy is so normal you tend to forget the guy has poor vision that may or may not improve over time. He can see more than he used to so the hope is this continues to improve so he can lead a normal life. He is seriously clever and even the programs he chooses to watch are not kiddies cartoons, but documentaries on dinosaurs, The Titanic or various planets. He is always learning about something and the Lego is just another learning tool which needs to be encouraged.
His world and our world must look totally different and he knows no better so he does not know what he is missing out on and is such a happy kid. Whatever I can do to make life better for the kid I will and I think that is a normal type of reaction to have.