Emily Blunt won’t buy baby Hazel gadgets: ‘You want things to be sensory’

Emily Blunt

I know no one will care about this Emily Blunt post, but I’m writing it anyway. She’s not a fameho — she just shows up and gets the job done without a whiff of controversy. She behaves like a pro, and you never hear anything say a bad word about her or John Krasinski. Anyway, Emily is promoting Into the Woods after Monday night’s premiere. She’s doing the rounds with People and touching upon new motherhood. Emily said, “You don’t know what to expect because it’s just completely, existentially out of anything that you’ve ever experienced before, and it’s quite indescribable … It’s heaven.” See? She’s lovely.

Emily also talked to E! and gave John a hard time by telling the world he cried during her new movie. Emily also says she won’t be buying baby Hazel a Kindle (or any other type of gadget) anytime soon:

Turns out John Krasinski has already seen Into The Woods on the big screen and he couldn’t help but fall in love.

“He cried. He absolutely loved it,” Blunt revealed to E! News before the film hits theatres Christmas Day. “I think he was so moved by it by what it’s saying to this generation and that idea of nobody being alone at the end. It’s such an amazing theme running through this film.”

She added, “Yes it’s a musical but it’s not just a spectacle. It says some really profound things like be careful what you say to children. Children will listen.”

Speaking of kids, the happily married couple is hard at work raising their nine-month-old daughter Hazel at home.

The Disney fairytale has definitely reminded the parents to focus on following traditions such as reading fairytale books to their daughter.

“She’s nine months old but she understands. She sits on me, this little thing, and she understands turning a page already and going on a journey,” Blunt shared. “I think that’s amazing.”

“I think everything is on a gadget nowadays and I just want her to have the satisfaction I had as a kid,” she continued. “You want things to be sensory for kids.”

You mean no technology? No fancy gadgets? Not any time soon! In fact, Blunt doesn’t even know how to use them.

“I think kids are just remarkable on these things,” the actress shared. “I’m a dinosaur with them. I barely know how to turn things on. She’s going to teach me more than any computer class.”

[From E! Online]

Emily’s got the right idea about books. I almost exclusively read on Kindle now because it’s so convenient. The books are usually cheaper that way, and it’s a space-saving device. But the tactile experience of learning to read with real books is valuable to kids. My daughter chewed up so many books when she was a baby, but she loved learning to turn those pages. Emily has the right idea, definitely.

Here’s a clip of Emily visiting David Letterman in late November. She talks about how she saved Meryl Streep from falling head first onto concrete. Emily said, “Rob Marshall and James Corden froze. Didn’t move. And the pregnant woman caught her.” Busted.

Emily Blunt

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN

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25 Responses to “Emily Blunt won’t buy baby Hazel gadgets: ‘You want things to be sensory’”

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  1. QQ says:

    Love that freaking dress!! man oh Man!

  2. Falula says:

    I love her!

    I am somewhere in between with tech for kids, because I tried to keep my son from having too much exposure too early but now that I have two it’s game over. My daughter has so much more screen time than he did as a baby. But it’s not like as a result she doesn’t understand or enjoy other toys.

    I always tell myself that if these are the “worries” I have as a parent that I’m in a damn good position.

  3. Delta Juliet says:

    I don’t really have much of an opinion on her but I have to say she looks divine in that white and black dress. Gorgeous.

  4. Mira says:

    This reminds me of an interesting article I read a few months ago about how many Silicon Valley execs expressly limit their children’s use of tech: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html?_r=0

  5. Cupcake says:

    Yeah she’s 9 months old so of course she’s not using “gadgets” yet. Emily can keep electronics away from her as long as she likes but her child will need to learn to use tech devices eventually. Everything in moderation, Emily.

    • notsoanonymous says:

      I actually live by (as a person, including as a parent) the idea of everything in moderation – but it’s really interesting how other people approach gadgets, electronics, etc when it comes to gift giving. I recently had my daughter’s first birthday – and we were asked by a LOT of people what sort of things she was into. I gave three replies – books, blocks, music.

      Books? A handful.
      Blocks? Nope.
      Music? One person got her an instrument set.

      The remainder bought her an electronic toy of some sort. Teapots that sing, play laptops that speak English/Spanish, talking dogs and pull toys with batteries and you name it. I don’t point this out from a greedy perspective in any way, no one *needs* to buy us/her gifts and we appreciated the sentiment behind them all. It was more that I wasn’t aware of how prevalent electronic toys were by comparison to old school toys like I grew up with.

      Also… I can’t tell you how many kids know how to use iPhones/iPads as early as nine months.

  6. witingbit says:

    “I think everything is on a gadget nowadays and I just want her to have the satisfaction I had as a kid,” she continued. “You want things to be sensory for kids.”

    LOVE this idea and I’m gonna be the same way. I’m a solid 8 years away from having a child but my god, did I love to read starting at age 3 and I want my kids to love reading the same way and playing with crayons and little toys and puzzles but definitely reading which was a huge part of my life. I love Blunt for this thought 🙂

  7. Dena says:

    I love her, she’s always solid in everything I’ve seen her act in.

    And she totally has the right idea with her daughter and tech – I didn’t give my son any screen time until he was two and people are constantly surprised at how long of an attention span he has. I used to teach dance and I could tell the difference instantly between children who watched a lot of television and those who didn’t – attention span, focus, patience, you name it, the difference was obvious. And now that I’ve given him screen time it’s a constant battle over him wanting to watch TV or play games on my ipad. I honestly wish I hadn’t started it at all, the fights now are EPIC and he’s only three and a half…

  8. Bridget says:

    Her kid is 9 months old, what kind of gadgets would she even be using?

    • notsoanonymous says:

      I replied above, by I really think shes referring to the fact that so many toys are electronic now.

  9. j.eyre says:

    I do like Emily Blunt and her husband very much. Sensory is important, especially at that age, but gadgets open up worlds for some children too. Learning how everything benefits your child is a long but fascinating process.

    • Wilma says:

      Yeah, I try to give my kid a well-rounded experience. Bit of this, bit of that. Apparently you should strive for interaction as much as possible. So use technology, but talk about it while using it. When they’re very young they prefer ‘messy’ experiences anyway. Bit of sand and water makes the little ones very happy.

    • Sixer says:

      I agree, Miss Jane. Too late for Luddism, whatever you think of tech. I feel that the trick isn’t to remove anything from them; it’s to make the stuff you want to encourage attractive to them. The actual problem is being on top of it all the time in a busy world of making ends meet.

      Gadgets aren’t bad in and of themselves. TV isn’t bad in and of itself. And you know what? Books aren’t good in and of themselves. It depends how much time goes on what. It depends what books you read. It depends what TV you watch. It depends what apps you download.

      I’m always suspicious of pronouncements like Blunt’s. It just seems like a good parent boast more than actual good parenting, you know?

  10. Clumsyme says:

    I was just watching her on GMA this morning and she was so charming! Re the gadgets, for our family it’s a no. I know eventually we will have to teach our one year old to use electronics, but we decided that for a couple of years at least he will focus on playing with simple toys, reading actual books, playing outside, etc. And I honestly believe he has more fun with simple toys than with anything else.

  11. Kara says:

    Nine months … talk to me in about 3 years.

  12. Winterberry says:

    We have a few gadgets, but they are reserved for dire situations like our upcoming 8- hour drive home for the holidays.

  13. vauvert says:

    She looks amazing. She sounds great. Wish more actresses were like her. And yes, a nine month old does not need gadgets (although there was one musical alphabet table thing that my son adored and he learned the letters and numbers so fast! But that was one item amongst all the real books, puzzles, construction and pretend play toys, so it was fine.) but the truth is they all discover things with screens sooner than we think and then it’s a fight to keep them off.

  14. scout says:

    I LOVE Kindle and ipad, also have 6 book shelves full of books which my kids grew up reading, is now taking so much space in the room!

  15. Msmlnp says:

    I like her and respect her opinion.

    I remember saying all the things I wouldn’t do with my first child. All a downward slide towards what I did do with my 3rd child. I went from having a well stocked diaper bag full of Pampers with my 1st to fashioning diapers out of a paper towel and scotch tape with my 3rd. Some things I’m just too tired to care about anymore.

  16. Dawn says:

    Now that is how one wears a dress! She looks great to say the least. And her daughter is adorable and so nice to see her dressed is color!

  17. lucy2 says:

    I really like her, I hope she continues to get a lot of work. She’s very talented and I like how low key she seems to be when not promoting.
    I heard James tell the story about Meryl falling too, how everyone else stood there and the pregnant lady dove in and helped her, lol.