Like a bunch of teenagers, some parents are routinely lying to their kids, sneaking around the house to covertly check their emails and disobeying house rules established to minimize compulsive typing.
Elsa has hidden the BlackBerry on occasion — Hohlt says she tried to flush it down the toilet last year. [...] But Elsa also seems to recognize that it brings her mom comfort, not unlike a pacifier or security blanket. Recently, seeing her mom slumped on the couch after work, Elsa fished the BlackBerry from her mother’s purse and brought it to her. “Mommy,” she asked, “will this make you feel better?”
Safety is another issue. Will Singletary, a 9-year-old in Atlanta, doesn’t approve of his dad’s proclivity for typing while driving. “It makes me worried he’s going to crash,” he says. “He only looks up a few times.” His dad, private banker Ross Singletary, calls it “a legit concern.” He adds: “Some emails are important enough to look at en route.”