Remote Control

Most remotes these days look like you need a higher education degree just to attempt to put on a movie.  And, for our language-challenged kiddos, the voice activation features don’t help much. That said, I wanted Mikey to be able to have a TV in his room as he got older and I felt it was important that he could turn it on himself and choose what he would like to watch.

We chose this very simple Roku remote because we felt it would be within Mikey’s capabilities (and mine for that matter). It has the on button, the central OK button surrounded by arrows and 12 other buttons. Since Mikey can read, he understands the buttons that correspond to his streaming services, but he has self-simplified and tends to only watch prime video while he is falling asleep at night.

Our expectation for Mikey is that he stay in his bedroom, except to use the bathroom, until his alarm goes off in the morning. His TV shuts off after about three hours, but I know this is customizable on different TVs. The skill of using his own remote allows him to watch TV while he winds down at night.

One Note

When Mikey was growing up, he did not have a TV in his room, but he’s 21 now and I feel like there should be privileges that come with adulthood, even if our young adult is not completely independent. I hope this flash forward brings you comfort. You can see my buddy surrounded by his childhood favorites, enjoying some benefits of reaching adulthood. Win, win.