Quinn Staring Down and Fiddling with the Drop Cam

Who hasn’t heard the phrase, “Big brother’s watching” or has a mother, grandmother or aunt like mine who was “watching” too? My mom frequently told my sister and I as we entered pre-adolescence into teenage hood, “I’ve got eyes and ears everywhere, so don’t think you’re slick or that you’re getting away with anything!” Though my little girl is only two, she already is not keen on the idea of  big brother or “her mommy” watching when she’s being sneaky or simply wants to be left alone. When Quinn was about six months, I posted a blog entry entitled, “Baby Got the “Drop” on Me,”  about how wonderful Dropcam is because it captured moments I might otherwise miss, like the first time my daughter stood up in her crib, while allowing me to check in on my daughter while she was sleeping to make sure she was okay. A few months ago, when my daughter realized “something” or “someone” was watching her (Dropcam has an infrared setting, and little red lights display around the eye of the camera) she started watching back: trying to figure out what or who it was. The camera was affixed at the corner edge of her crib, so she was able to get so close on the camera and look directly at it. I chuckled to myself because it somewhat reminded me of the movie “The Truman Show” when Jim Carey’s character, Truman Burbank, discovered that he was being watched and filmed. For about a month, Quinn would just stare at the camera when she awakened from her sleep. Dropcam has a feature that allows you to communicate with the person on the other end of the camera through a smart phone or iPad, so I began to use it to keep her relaxed until I came into the room if she was jumping up and down or beginning to through her blanket or favorite friend Grover from her crib. Instead of relaxing her, it piqued her interest even more. Though she knew it was my voice, she would stand there with this pensive look on her face trying to figure out how I knew what she was doing. A few weeks ago, Quinn decided she was going to take action. She grabbed the camera and began to say, “Hi” more like an inquiry than a statement. When she did not get the response she wanted, the camera was quickly tossed aside in her crib, and she managed to disconnect the cable. Since then, I ordered a longer cable cord so that I could move the location of the camera to somewhere more inconspicuous so that she does not notice it “watching her.” Though I want to keep an eye on her and make sure she is safe, especially considering that she will soon be transitioning to a toddler bed, even toddlers want a little privacy, so the least I can do is give her the impression that she has it.

Quinn Showing the Dropcam What She Thinks of It

All the best,

Tanya