I personally believe that a baby or a toddler shouldn't get the CI until they fully understand what it is. Because If I had a child, I would want to know if he or she would want a CI. Because it is their body. i know parents wants what is best for their kid. But I kind of wish they would let their child do their own thing and see if the kid likes being themselves for who they are. I didn't get my own CI until i was 8 years old, My parents asked me if i wanted one. And i have thought about it for a long time and i decided yes i wanted one. I took good care of my CI's, etc and There was days that I wish i didn't get the CI's because the hearing thinks its a cure to deafness. I do know, as a CI recipient that the CI's do not cure deafness. It's a piece of technology. And no technology is perfect. People have told the hearing countless of times that CI's do not cure deafness at all, but they just simply do not want to listen. I even explained to people that i can't hear perfectly with my Ci's, and even though most people think that the CI's are taking away an identity, I'm still a part of my deaf culture, its who i am and its not going away, it will always be with me, forever. And I can say that I'm proud of my deaf culture. My parents exposed me to the deaf world when they know nothing about the deaf world when I became deaf and had me learning sign language when i turned 4 years old. I'm not embarrassed about it. Because i know my parents wants what is best for me. I'm proud of being deaf, with or without the CIs.
