Andy Rankin

I’m pretty handy when it comes to technology but I also understand that there’s no way to stay ahead of kids. My grandparents never figured out how to set the clock on their VCR. I’m sure when I’m a grandparent my grandkids will know how to do things that I’ll have no idea about.

I’m hoping to stay somewhat ahead of the curve as my kids get older. If nothing else, I’m hoping that I’ll at least realize when my kids have surpassed me.

Here’s a quick example of what I’m talking about. The other day my daughter asked me if she could take some pictures. We have a spiffy little Canon Digital Elph which, apparently, my kid has already mastered (she’s almost 3). Like most digital cameras, after you take a photo the picture is displayed on the LCD screen. You can set the camera to display it only for a few seconds, or for longer. I usually have it set to show the picture only for a couple of seconds - mostly because it is confusing to some people how to jump away from the display in order to take another picture without waiting for the default period to pass. The trick is to slightly depress the shutter button and it will jump back into picture taking mode.

When my daughter is taking pictures I set the display time to 10 seconds or so - it gives her time to snap a shot and run over and show it to me before it disappears. Well the other day she figured out the trick to getting the photo display to go away so she could take another picture. I never showed her - she just figured it out.

I think the key is that kids don’t know how anything works - so they use trial and error. Figuring out how to use a high tech digital camera isn’t much different than figuring out how to use a fork, or open a door, or put on your clothes. Adults, on the other hand, have preconceived ideas for how things should, or even can, work. Sometimes this makes it hard for us to figure out new fangled high tech stuff.