Popularity of selfies extends to toddlers
Every so often, Brandi Koskie finds dozens of photos of her 3-year-old daughter, Paisley, on her iPhone – but they aren’t ones Koskie has taken.
“There’ll be 90 pictures, sideways, of the corner of her eye, her eyebrow,” said Koskie, who lives in Wichita, Kan. “She’s just tapping her way right into my phone.”
The hidden photos, all shot by Paisley, illustrate a phenomenon familiar to many parents in today’s tech-savvy world: Toddlers love selfies. Observant entrepreneurs have caught on to these image-obsessed tots, marketing special apps that make taking photos super-easy for little fingers. You even can buy a pillow with a smartphone pocket so toddlers can take selfies during diaper changes.
But toddlers aren’t the only ones taking photos nonstop. It’s not unusual for doting parents to snap thousands of digital photos by the time their child is 2. Today’s toddlers think nothing of finding their own biopic stored in a device barely bigger than a deck of cards.
While the barrage of images might keep distant grandparents happy, it’s not yet clear how such a steady diet of self-affirming navel-gazing will affect members of the first truly “smartphone generation.” Tot-centric snapshots can help build a healthy self-image and boost childhood memories when handled correctly, but shooting too many photos or videos and playing them back instantly for a demanding toddler could backfire, said Deborah Best, a professor of cognitive developmental psychology at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The instant gratification that smartphones provide today’s toddlers is “going to be hard to overcome,” she said. “They like things immediately, and they like it short and quick. It’s going to have an impact on kids’ ability to wait for gratification.”
Julie Young, a Boston-based behavioral analyst, has seen that firsthand. She recently was helping her 3-year-old son record a short birthday video for his cousin on her iPhone when he stopped midsentence, lunged for her phone and shouted, “Mom, can I see it?”
“It’s caught on the end of the video. He couldn’t even wait to get the last sentence out,” said Young, who has two sons. “The second the phone comes out, they stop, they look and they attack.”
Now Young and her husband make their sons wait to look at a new video or photo until after dinner or until the other parent comes home, when everyone can watch together. They are careful to sit with their kids when looking at photos and have adopted the phrase “practice patience” as a family mantra.
It’s natural for toddlers to be fascinated with their own image (think mirrors), and that interest plays an important developmental role as they develop a sense of self, child development experts say. But like any other fun thing kids get obsessed with, too much of it can be bad. Parents should make sure some photos show the child with other family members or friends. Parents also can sit with kids and narrate the photo or video as if it were a bedtime story.
Koskie has noticed that cuddling in bed on a lazy Saturday morning and swiping through digital photos is one of Paisley’s favorite activities, and it seems to encourage her to ask about her place in the world. They look at photos and videos together on the iPad going back to Paisley’s birth and “she’ll start to ask questions: ‘When I was a little tiny baby did I do this? Did I do that?'”
ADDS WIFE’S NAME – Massachusetts Gov. Deval?Patrick, right, greets Transit Police Officer Richard Donohue, left, and his wife Kim, as he enters the House chamber at the Statehouse before his State of the State address, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Boston. Donohue suffered a gun shot wound during a shoot-out with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
ADDS WIFE’S NAME – Massachusetts Gov. Deval?Patrick, right, greets Transit Police Officer Richard Donohue, left, and his wife Kim, as he enters the House chamber at the Statehouse before his State of the State address, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Boston. Donohue suffered a gun shot wound during a shoot-out with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Massachusetts Gov. Deval?Patrick, right, delivers his State of the State address in the House chamber at the Statehouse, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Boston. While the economy continues to recover, the governor says many people in the state are still being left behind. Mass. Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo is seated at left. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Massachusetts Gov. Deval?Patrick, center, greets law makers and guests as he enters the House chamber at the Statehouse before his State of the State address, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Boston. While the economy continues to recover, the governor says many people in the state are still being left behind. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Massachusetts Gov. Deval?Patrick, right, greets Transit Police Officer Richard Donohue, left, as he enters the House chamber at the Statehouse before his State of the State address, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Boston. Donohue suffered a gun shot wound during a shoot-out with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
This January 2014 screen grab shows a photo collage provided by Brandi Koskie of her daughter, Paisley, 3, in selfies that Paisley shot on her mother’s phone in an unsupervised moment at her Wichita, Kansas home. An increasing number of parents of toddlers are finding their tech-savvy 2- and 3-year-old kids are obsessed with selfies. (AP Photo/Brandi Koskie)
In this January 2014 photo provided by Brandi Koskie, her daughter, Paisley, 3, uses Facetime at her home in Wichita, Kansas to chat with her cousin, who lives in Oklahoma. An increasing number of parents of toddlers are finding their tech-savvy 2- and 3-year-old kids are obsessed with selfies (AP Photo/Brandi Koskie)
In this December 2012 image provided by Brandi Koskie, her husband Shelton Koskie is shown seated with their daughter Paisley Koskie, then age two, at their Wichita, Kansas home as she plays with an iPad. An increasing number of parents of toddlers are finding their tech-savvy 2- and 3-year-old kids are obsessed with selfies. (AP Photo/Brandi Koskie)
Julie Young, a Boston-based behavioral analyst, center, sits with her sons Nolan, 3, left, and Jameson, 4, right, while looking at a smart phone at their home, in Boston, Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. Child development experts say it?s natural for toddlers to be fascinated with their own image, and that interest plays an important developmental role as they develop a sense of self. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Nolan Young, 3, front, looks at a smart phone while his brother Jameson, right, 4, looks at a smart tablet at their home, in Boston, Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. Child development experts say it?s natural for toddlers to be fascinated with their own image, and that interest plays an important developmental role as they develop a sense of self. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Jameson Young, 4, left, plays with a smart phone as his brother Nolan, 3, looks on at their home, in Boston, Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. Child development experts say it?s natural for toddlers to be fascinated with their own image, and that interest plays an important developmental role as they develop a sense of self. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)