Oh, no!

I read this article in horror. I don't like to discover that I joined a trend. We signed Iris up for her own gmail account because

1. It is just plain useful to have an email address for your kid
2. We needed a safe place to archive her photos and other electronic memorabilia
3. We wanted an email account that my husband and I could both use for all things Iris-related
4. We snatched up an easy to remember email address that is easily associated with her
   

In the beginning, I used to email cute things that she had done or said to that account. After two hard drive failures, I also started to email photos that I would not want to lose to her account. Later, we used it to exchange email with babysitters to confirm times. Nowadays, we also use it for arranging play dates with other parents and to communicate with her teachers.

My husband is also a big fan of the separate accounts. Otherwise, I might need to check his email account and see how many orders he has placed at Deep Discount DVD.

My sister said she was surprised that I used a gmail invite for an email address for a baby. But, Iris is actually sending email to her playmates using that account. She also likes looking at the mail archives to learn about her past. It serves as an electronic scrapbook for her.