IRAQ: Bringing up baby — online

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Everyone knows about Internet chatting and shopping. But have you heard about Web-based-parenting?

Not long ago, you could find me every week in the baby supplies sections of our local Baghdad supermarket, stocking up on milk and diapers for my 3-year-old son, Omar, and 1-year-old daughter, Miriam.

But things have gotten so dangerous here that I decided to send my family out of the country for their safety.

Now, when I go to the supermarket, I still instinctively stop in that section and have to remind myself that my kids are no longer here with me. Every two months, I go to visit them for a week. The day I leave is always the happiest day for me; the day I get back is always the worst.

The only way I have to see my family on a regular basis is through a webcam I set up on my office computer. The first time we did this, Omar kept staring at my image on the screen saying, ‘Papa? What are you doing in Mom’s computer?’ Then he would look behind the monitor to see if I was hiding there.

Another day, my wife called over the Internet and said in an exasperated tone, ‘Papa! Talk to Omar. He won’t stop punching Miriam.’ Then Omar came online saying, ‘Papa, she punched me first.’ I told him, ‘She is your younger sister. You should take care of her, not beat her.’ So he apologized and kissed her, and I went back to work.

A couple of days ago, Omar asked me on one of these calls, ‘Papa, why don’t you come here?’ I told him that I have to work in order to buy him lots of toys. So he said, ‘Why don’t you come here, and I will work instead?’ That gave me a shock. I realized that Omar and Miriam are growing up fast, and I am missing their childhood.

— Mohammed Rasheed in Baghdad