Nine lives? Our iPad has gone thru two already

Let the kids play with the iPad, but be aware that at 3 yrs old, they may find alternative games that put the very existence of the iPad at risk. Matan brought death upon the iPad twice in one week, but like the proverbial cat with 9 lives, the iPad abides.

First, Matan still enjoys throwing things. These days he usually manages to throw things in the house, rather than out the window which is where we were last year. He still throws the occasional dishtowel out the window just to watch it flutter in the breeze, but it has been a long time since we had to deal with wooden blocks hurled from our fifth floor living room.

But the iPad must have been too much of a temptation. Either that, or Matan just got annoyed with what he was playing, and tossed the offending machine from the nearest window. We searched and searched, and after a day or two, discovered that the Force must have been with the iPad. Matan threw it out the window where we hang laundry. There is a wide ledge under the window to catch any falling laundry, and we discovered the iPad sitting, unharmed, a few feet below the window.

Fast forward 2 days later. Matan is again playing with the iPad, after a harsh admonishment that it is never to be thrown anywhere again. This time the application was a game that involved fish swimming across the screen. Matan loves watching fish and really wanted to release them from their iPad prison. Out of pure compassion, Matan gently placed the iPad in the bathtub then turned on the water and began to create a fishpond in the tub. I caught him before the iPad was completely submerged, but clearly it had reached clinical death. Although fully charged, the monitor had gone black.

DH was upset as was K, who spends a lot of time playing math puzzles and other games on the iPad. We began looking into buying a new one. Meanwhile, we shelved the dead one, hoping against hope that it might dry out and still work. An Internet search turned up stories of wet iPads resurrected after a drying out period.

And lo! Two weeks later I plugged it into the charger and turned it on. First only the apple appeared on a black screen, but moments later it lurched back to life and our home was once again filled with joy and the sound of two children fighting over who’s turn it is to use the iPad.