A Dangerous Maze: Or Lesson Number #342 In Why the Internet Is Not Safe for Children

So I've mentioned Luke's interest in mazes before, right? His fascination started with Kumon's My First Book of Mazes. Each maze in that book has been solved at least five or six times, in various shades of marker. I've been trying to find him more suitably easy mazes but most of the books I've seen are for older children. We spent half an hour sifting through a pile of them at Chapters yesterday and came away with only one  -- another from Kumon -- and that one's probably still too advanced. ( I only bought it, really, because Luke persisted in looking through the Kumon rack after both Grampa and I had given up hope. "MAMA!" he shouted while I was looking at a display of new picture books. "It's AMAZING! I kept trying and trying and I found another MAZE book!" )

So today I got the bright idea to look for mazes online. This youtube video, featuring a hamster making his way through a maze in a 3d replica of an old video game called "Monty on the Run" was a big hit. Unfortunately, it was also the reason we had the sound turned up so loud when I happened upon this maze game. I was blithely showing Luke how it was done when suddenly the face of the girl in the Exorcist, looking her very worst, filled the screen. This apparition was accompanied by an excruciatingly loud and unpleasant noise. I can't remember exactly what it was -- a shriek maybe? Some agonizing mechanical sound? Alll I know is that I screamed LOUDLY and FOR A LONG TIME and then flailed madly about with the mouse, trying to close the window. You can imagine my three-year-old child's reaction. He wailed for a full fifteen minutes, I think. We retired to the living room, to recover. After I calmed down... I mean, he calmed down, he asked me to turn the computer off. And he hasn't gone anywhere near it again today. A few hours later he brought the incident up and we both giggled about it. But I wouldn't be surprised if there are nightmares tonight. And Luke might have one, too.

Note to Self: When looking for things to do with Luke on the computer, research them WITHOUT HIM PRESENT first.

Comments

[Sara O'Leary]

There's a wonderful maze in the Van Deusen Gardens in Vancouver that I'm sure Luke would love - maybe that's too long a drive, though?

My older son was fascinated with mazes at one point - would draw elaborate ones with a few scattered bones at the centre. And he was good enough to buy me a Victorian intaglio necklace with a figure of the Minotaur carved into it. He was probably seven or eight at the time, but he did have excellent taste.

[babelbabe]

oh my effing god! i at least turned the osund off first but sweet jesus above. *I* may have nightmares tonight (there's a good reason I've never seen the movie - I am a WIMP.)