Lil Buddy: The Happy Helping Hand
“Are you a parent? Do you work long hours at your job? Are you struggling to juggle your responsibilities? Handling a career and a kid simultaneously is hard, and childcare is expensive! Many of us can’t afford to have someone at home to watch our little ones while we’re gone. Our kids need someone there to help them develop, learn, and grow, but if you can’t, who will? Have no fear, Lil Buddy is here!
Lil Buddy is a soft yet dependable little companion that can fulfill all of your child’s needs in your absence. The boss needs you to work some overtime? No problem! Lil Buddy can pick your kids up from school on time and bring them home safely, and that’s not all. Lil Buddy can cook, clean, and even give homework help. No need to worry about if your kids know their ABCs and 123’s, Lil Buddy has it covered! With the ability to teach and perform thousands of tasks, Lil Buddy has your back for all your parenting needs! Act fast! For only $599.99 + shipping in handling, you can have Lil Buddy in your corner to pick up where you leave off!
Disclaimer: Lil Buddy should be used to supplement an individual’s parenting efforts. Lil Buddy should not be used to fully replace a parent. Care Tech Inc. is not liable for any adverse effects on child development stemming from misuse of the Lil Buddy system.”
“I think this is what I need!” Amy thought. It had been a year since the accident that claimed her husband’s life. In the time since his passing, she had struggled with keeping her life together. Her daughter Jill was only 2, and with her partner gone, she had to go back to work to support her family. The life insurance benefit helped cover expenses, but it wouldn’t last forever. In the first few months after the accident, in-laws and extended family helped her with healthcare and getting affairs in order, but that help had slowly dwindled over time. Amy didn’t want to rely on outside help too much either, “They have their own problems to worry about” she thought, so she enrolled her child in daycare instead.
The Lil Buddy ad was a midroll advertisement on her favorite home improvement show. The time slot seemed targeted, 6:30 pm. Late enough that people would be home from work, but early enough that they hadn’t gone to bed yet. In fact, everything about the ad seemed to be aimed at Amy. “This can give me the breathing room I need, and I’ll be saving money in the long run!” she said to herself. Her monthly daycare expenses were nearly double the price of the “robot nanny”, and she still had to take care of Jill after an 8-hour shift. Lil Buddy would be a lifesaver for her, so she dipped into her savings and ordered one. The disclaimer at the end of the ad spooked her a little, but she didn’t have to worry. “I’ll only use it when I need to! Once I get this promotion, I’ll be able to work from home and spend more time with Jill. I might even be able to resell the thing once I’m done.” She thought, and she set the delivery for the weekend.
When the device arrived, setup was a breeze. All Amy had to do was fill out a form with information about Jill. Her age, weight, blood type, where she went to school, food preferences, etc., much of which could be auto-filled from the daycare’s files. All the other stuff Lil Buddy didn’t know could be learned on the job through observation. Within the first hour after setup, the robot had already helped Jill with potty training, fed her lunch, and put her down for a nap. Amy was a bit disturbed at first, having a robot walking around her house and going through her things, but that feeling was overshadowed by the relief she felt. She was finally able to relax.
Monday was the real test, the beginning of the work week. Amy was a bit reluctant to leave for work, but she’d seen Lil Buddy in action for 2 days now and everything had been fine, so she went. During the day, she would check the robot’s audio and video feed on her phone. The embedded cameras and microphones let her check in at any time, from anywhere to see how her child was doing. “She’s doing fine. I guess there was nothing to worry about!” she thought. Eventually, she started checking her phone less and less. After all, the robot would send an alert if anything was wrong! Focusing on her work meant she could work towards that promotion and eventually get rid of it. By the end of the week, Amy was only checking the feed once a day, and by the end of the month, she stopped checking it altogether.
Eventually, Amy did get that promotion and was able to work from home. She was finally at a point where she could get rid of Lil Buddy. She could monitor Jill and get work done at the same time now that she was always home, but Amy didn’t want to. “Taking care of Jill during work hours will negatively impact my performance! I just got this promotion; I can’t jeopardize it now! I’ll get rid of the robot once I’m settled in, and work dies down.” Amy thought. She had Lil Buddy do the work from 9–5, and she took over afterward, for the most part. She was still using the robot as directed. It was only a helping hand; it wasn’t replacing her! Until it was.
Over time, Amy had relinquished more and more of her parental duties to Lil Buddy and she barely noticed. Meals, potty training, homework help, playtime — all were handled by the robot. At first, Amy rationalized it by thinking about how busy she was with work, but even when she moved to a new, less demanding position, she still relied on Lil Buddy. If she let the robot handle the parenting, she would have more free time to pursue her interests. She was able to work on her hobbies, hang out with friends, and go on trips. Lil Buddy was perfectly capable. The robot’s non-lethal defense mechanisms and connection to emergency services made her confident that her child would be safe while she was gone. The dynamic shifted, and Lil Buddy became more of a parent to Jill than Amy was. She never got rid of the robot. Amy had become the “helping hand”.
As more time passed, Amy missed more and more of Jill’s life. She started missing parent-teacher conferences, then field trips, and then prom. She missed graduations, birthdays, she missed Christmas. Every time Amy was absent, Lil Buddy took her place. It was just too convenient. She’d become reliant on the robot, and because of this, so did Jill. As Jill grew, she spoke to her mother less and less because there wasn’t a need to. Any question that she had, Lil Buddy could answer. If she was sad or nervous, Lil Buddy could comfort her. When she did well on a test, Lil Buddy told her “Good Job!”. She didn’t really have a connection with Amy, she felt more like a roommate than a mom.
Amy didn’t fully understand the damage that was done until the day Jill left for college. At some point, Jill had purchased an upgrade for the robot called Lil Buddy Plus. This was an extension of its abilities that allowed it to support children into adulthood. The robot could help with college applications, resume development, driving lessons, bank account setup, and more. Care Tech decided that the extension was a necessary development because there were many kids just like Jill — dependent on their Lil Buddies. The robot had helped Jill with the transition into adulthood, and now Jill was leaving.
Amy didn’t know what to do. For every minute of “free time” she gained, she lost one with her child. She wanted to tell Jill to stay, but did she have the right to? She didn’t even know what college Jill was going to or what her major was. Their conversations over the years were always short, but Amy always thought there’d be more time to get to know Jill. When Jill left, she didn’t say goodbye, and Amy didn’t know what to say. All she could do was watch the moving truck pull off. At that moment, she was reminded of what the disclaimer in the ad said, and she thought, “I focused on what the robot could do to her, I wish I thought about what it could do to me.”
