VersaMe has announced the launch of Starling, which is supposed to make your newborn to 5-year-old the next Leonardo da Vinci — or at least smarter than the average bear.
How? By counting the number of words your progeny hears each day and encouraging you to use more of them in the child’s earshot. Science Says 80% of your child’s brain development takes place in that age range. VersaMe wants to help you and your child make that the best 80% ever recorded, by selling you their device and the companion app (for Mommy’s or Daddy’s smartphone) for $199.
You think people are obsessive about taking 10,000 steps in a day? Wait until parents track the number of words they say to their kids every day. (It seems that 30,000 words is the magic number. Per day. Not different words, thankfully.) See Daddy. See Daddy read. See Daddy read “Goodnight Moon” 50 times at bedtime to satisfy the app.
Is this beginning to remind anyone other than us of those apps that remind you that you’ve left your child in the car? It’s amazing that earlier generations not only survived, but also produced children smart enough to create the Starling. Really folks, if you need technology to remind you to talk and read to your children as often as possible from the time they are born—not to mention not leaving them in locked cars—maybe you should skip procreation and just take up golf.
