For his 10th birthday, my son received his first “electronic” gadget. Grandpa gifted him a Kindle!
Watching my son learn how to operate this e-reader, I immediately saw that this device is a natural stepping-stone to a phone, which will certainly lead to a tablet, and then transition into a laptop that he will take to college – EKKKKK!!! (Sorry. Every day that my babies get older, I panic at the thought they’ll someday leave me. Of course, occasionally, I panic that they won’t.)
With this birthday gift, came money from my sister to purchase a Kindle cover. At first, I thought we’d just head to the nearest tech store to buy a cover. However, my son and I soon learned that local stores only carry the covers made for the latest-and-greatest Kindle Fire. That meant we had to turn to cyberspace for a bit of on-line shopping.
I thought perhaps we could log-in to Amazon and make a one-click-purchase, but that idea didn’t work as well as I had planned. There are a zillion options on Amazon!
So... I took this opportunity to teach my son how to navigate through the Amazon "product reviews." It wasn't long before he was flexing his skills as a mindful consumer.
During the process, we had many-a-conversation about:
1) Free shipping (with purchase of $25 or more).
2) Reviews that offer only glowing reviews about every aspect of the product. (“Mom, do you think the seller posted this review themself?”)
3) Nasty reviews that can’t find a single redeeming quality with an item. (“Five people loved this cover, but this person absolutely hated it! Which is correct? Or are they all?”)
4) Confused reviews that go on and on about a product – although not the actual one detailed in the listing.
5) Seller ratings.
6) Return policies.
7) Price comparisons (considering individual delivery and included accessories).
Whew!
Overall, the online shopping experience was a great lesson for my son. He used critical thinking and decision making skills AND in the end, purchased a durable, reasonably priced cover.
Hooray!
Of course, never one to miss additional opportunity for reading and writing – I then asked my son to post his own review. You can read it here (under SillyMom)!
Of course, never one to miss additional opportunity for reading and writing – I then asked my son to post his own review. You can read it here (under SillyMom)!