– 8:38 am

I am currently at Gatwick Airport Gate 1 reflecting, and thinking about you, technology and our role as primary caregivers in your introduction to it. According to this, “When the child is between 18 to about 24 months, they recommend that tech devices can be introduced to the child up to a limit of 30mins per day on the devices, TV screens, and others.”

Inevitably, you’ve seen phones, laptops and tablets but we’ve more or less stayed within these parameters, leaning more towards micro dosage. Our first stance is no phones, screens or tablets. However, as we know, Tiny Desk has a big influence on you sonically, and without being there in person, it can only be streamed. The magic is finding a middle ground between entertainment and overstimulation. That’s no easy thing (given we can’t measure either). In that sense, abstinence seems logical.

To put some makeup on this, you’ve been in Riga (with your mum and grandparents) coming up to a fortnight. You’ll turn two there hence my weekend trip. So far, technology has mediated our interactions via video calls and media-rich texts. Thus, it’s fair to say you’ve had some screen time. Not much but more than usual, necessitated and amplified by distance.

I’m also half thinking maybe cumulatively you’ve had even less time onscreen. Your mum isn’t one to stay put, and from the pictures, there hasn’t been room for Tiny Desk. So perhaps my reflections are more visceral than actual. Anyhow, I’m on the plane. Embrace soon.