Last night as we wandered Target (a favorite past time)
we found ourselves in the electronic section. Brandon and I had a good laugh
when Payton (4) and Derek (2) ran to the TV displays and started poking the
screens as if they were touchscreens. The world they live in is amazing.
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I remember in my elementary school when we received the
most beautiful colored MAC computers in our library. I thought my school was so
cool!
I remember not too many years ago when Microsoft
announced it was making a touchscreen table. I was blown away.
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Now, suddenly my children think everything is touchscreen
because this is the new “norm”. And, quite frankly, I have no problem with an
influx of technology in their lives. While there are pitfalls and there can be
downright Evil when it comes to technology, this is our world. Technology is
our world. If I don’t let my children participate (in appropriate ways) they will
resent me and go behind my back.
Instead of hiding them from the evils of our day (which
try as someone might, is not possible), Brandon and I choose to rear them to be
aware of the bad and to cling to the good. We set limits. No phones at the
dinner table. They only typically play Angry Birds when I’m making dinner or we’re at a
doctor’s appointment. And if I really need them to be quiet (sounds terrible,
but you moms know what I mean) and they need to be distracted for longer
periods of time, I have downloaded educational apps on my tablet. We do not
have smart phones yet. I try to avoid Facebook and Instagram except when
sitting down to feed my baby (which at this point in my life happens a lot!). But,
GASP!, we let our 4 and 2 year old hold an X-Box controller while Daddy plays
non-shooting games. This is one way my boys bond together.
These are some of our “rules” but everyone, every family is
different. And that is okay. Throughout my journey as a woman, and especially as
a mother, I’ve learned that we can’t judge. I used to be that person who would
cringe in the grocery store if I saw a kiddo playing on a Nintendo DS. And,
now, I get it:
To Each Their Own.
Sometimes I am at a breaking point. Baby is screaming,
groceries are melting, cart’s wheels are crap, 4 year old is whining, and my
monkey of a 2 year old keeps escaping the confines of the shopping cart. I dangle
my tablet in front of them and say, “Who wants to play Angry Birds?”.
Immediately two of my three kids are pacified.
You do what you got to do. Set boundaries. Set limits. Set
standards. Set an example. But be flexible and embrace technology!
I am amazed at the difference of technology from my first down to my last. There's a big age gap yes but it truly is astounding the leaps and bounds we have made in a relatively short amount of time. My older ones well they didn't have much with technology when they were as little it was reading books and playing board games and lots of mommy time..or dare I say Disney time!! The change came when we could actually afford a computer for our home and then it just took off. Not me, not Jeff the technology era in our home with the kids. They were teaching us how to do things and by the way they still do. Rick just the other day was showing me how to do something. He was going to do it and I said NO tell me and let me DO it. He made me feel better when he said he actually learned how to do it in school. I don't think that's the only reason, their brains are wired differently. Frank is 4 like Payton and that boy can do things on tablets, I-phones(not ours, sisters) and computer that I could only dream of and a lot of times not ever be shown how or be shown only once!! How can we keep them from technology when this is what era they were saved for and let me tell you in a few months when Rick leaves on his mission, who else is going to fix my computer if I don't let Frank learn how to do things!! ;)lol I agree, we aren't here to judge and we all have children who learn and communicate differently so lets just embrace technology for me the best I can and let my children flourish in what era they were sent here to be in of course always being safe as safe as we can and in communication with our children so they know we trust them the older ones and enjoy the freedoms technology gives!!
ReplyDeleteOh, how I can relate to the "dangling" of the iPhone or tablet in front of a trying toddler. lol. (:
ReplyDeleteJesse too will go up to a TV screen and poke his finger to it and swipe it. It makes me LOL! If there's a TV screen within reach at the doctors office, he will try to poke it. So funny.
LOVE THIS! I remember those colored macs too! Did we both go to Holland Elementary? I commented on Bianca's before I read yours- but graham thinks everything is a touch screen too. (He's at least figured out books. Haha) I love seeing kids interact with their new world. I like what you said about to each their own. For real- technology IS a double-edged sword! There are benefits to less/more technology just like there are detraments. We need to embrace the world around us but do so with caution. Love your post.
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