My youngest daughter will be 4 this month, and she’s discovering video games. She just figured out how to play Elmo’s Pre-School and is very proud of herself. It is teaching her how to use the mouse and navigate around the screen. Elmo asks her to pick up a feather and “tickle” him or to give him a cupcake. He asks her to find the letter “Z”, and if she has trouble, he gives her help and keeps things constructive.

When I watch her playing this game it is such a different experience from watching TV. It is interactive. Elmo tells her: “Elmo thinks you’re smart.”

Yesterday morning, she asked to play “Elmo” again and I told her she could play while I took a shower. A few minutes later she came bursting into the bathroom saying “Daddy – I have to go poddy but don’t turn off Elmo, ok!!??”

Like I’m going to jump out of the shower and turn off her game. Well, I guess she just wanted to be SURE.