The internet is fighting over Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher’s “lazy” parenting
Ashton Kutcher just revealed that he and Mila Kunis use a sort of robot bed to soothe their toddler Dimitri to sleep and this was the cue for the internet to explode in a flurry of judgement and “not in my day!” criticisms.
Robot cot to the rescue!
Dad-of-two Ashton was a guest on Dax Shepard’s new podcast Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard and when the conversation turned to parenting, the former Punk’d star admitted technology was a sanity saver at his house. In particular the couple used a Snoo Smart Sleeper cot, explaining it was a godsend when their son was very small.
“For kid number two we got one of those Snoos,” Ashton told Dax. “It’s an oscillating bed … it has a sensor in it so the louder the kid cries, the faster it goes and puts the kid back to sleep, it’s incredible.”
Ashton said that the “robot cot” got baby Dimitri to sleep for a full six hours when he was three days old. “I’m eternally grateful to the Snoo for that,” Ashton said.
Cots 2.0
We’ve discussed this kind of technology on Babyology before:
We covered Ford’s clever Max Motor Dreams Cot, which simulates the motion, engine noise, and even the street lighting of night time drives.
We also told you about Ashton and Mila’s favourite, the AI powered $1000+ Snoo Smart Sleeper, which was developed by design team Fuseproject and paediatrician and baby sleep expert, Dr. Harvey Karp.
The Snoo Smart Sleeper’s AI and robotics technology detects when a baby is beginning to fuss or cry and responds with ‘gentle’ movement and white noise to lull the baby back to sleep.
We’re guessing there will be even more products like this on the market as companies respond to the needs of exhausted — and sometimes isolated — mums and dads.
Genius or lazy?
We’ve previously expressed some misgivings about these type cots, because they take the place of important parent-child contact, but as one mum pointed out on Facebook sometimes what you very much need is an extra set of hands. These devices might prove to be a sanity saver for some overwhelmed parents.
“Maybe some people here have no idea what it’s like to have a baby that constantly cries with no let up. Just 10 minutes to get a bath would have been a godsend. You guys have no idea,” one parent pointed out.
Of course, many others were quick to take a more disapproving stance.
“If you’re this lazy you can’t pick your child up to soothe him or her, should you even have children?,” pretty much sums that stance up.
While Ashton and Mila are getting slammed for promoting a product that may take the place of time spent bonding, their admission has sparked discussion on what constitutes progress in the parenting space — and what so-called futuristic developments might really be a step backwards.
A sneak peek
Ashton and Mila met on the set of That 70s Show, and went on to marry and have two children together, one-year-old Dimitri and three-year-old Wyatt.
The pair try to keep their kids out of the limelight, so it was interesting to find out a little bit more about their approach to mum and dad life.
“My wife and I have chosen a career where we’re in the public eye, but my kids have not,” Ashton said last year. “I think they should have the right to choose that and I actually don’t think that they should have images of them as children that are out there.”
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