Recently I had the opportunity to ponder another question regarding technology gifts: What benefit do children derive from giving their parents a computer? In 2010, Fred and I gave my parents one of the first Telikin computers. They were not computer literate and, initially, dad was reluctant to learn. He told me that he lived many years without this device, why did he need to learn it now? Happily, they did learn how to use their Telikin and they enjoyed many features, including skype, email, Facebook and more!
The computer gave me a shared interest with my parents, especially my dad. Initially, I spent time teaching him how to do many things, using our tech buddy program. I enjoyed watching him get more confident and exploring different programs. We bonded over sharing historic photos and memories of our hometown that were posted on a local Facebook site.
I learned many things about his life, and our hometown. He shared jokes with all of us. I got to see his sense of humor! He learned to keep their medication and health records, which helped me to stay current with their medical issues.
Dad wasn't much of a telephone conversationalist because he had some hearing loss, but he did really well with skype. He used videochat almost daily! My parents used the computer to keep in daily contact with our entire family.
In the month before dad's passing, we spoke about many things. He told me he was so happy he had learned the computer and was able to be useful to us in giving us feedback. We had given my parents the computer as a Christmas gift and had hoped it would bring joy to mom and dad. I never realized how much joy it would also give to me. Thanks, Dad, for all of your love and support.
In loving memory of my dad, Marv.