Greetings!! I am NOT keeping my resolution of writing more on my blog. I’m disappointed in myself, and my only excuse is time. Can I buy an extra hour or two a day anywhere on the internet to add to my day? 😉
Today I’m tired. I’m doing laundry like a mad woman and cooking for the first time in six days. Last night we arrived home from a much needed sunny vacation to Florida. We took our kids to the Commodity Classic and we also made time to take them to Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom was truly magical, beautiful, and exciting. My senses were on overload as I took in the happiest place on Earth. Derek and I took our oldest two sons and left the toddler at home with grandparents. I did feel guilty as we drove away from Max the first night, but as I walked around Disney and saw toddlers crying, being held, throwing fits, you know, all the good stuff? I was happy about our decision to keep Max home. Our family was able to wait in lines and run around Disney for 10 hours and no one needed to be carried!!
So, where am I going with this post? Well, I did view something rather disturbing…repeatably. If you skimmed my introduction, I will quickly recap here: We were at Disney, the HAPPIEST place on Earth. A place that makes you oooo and awww. So what disturbed me? Almost every time I turned around my eyes were greeted with yet another toddler or child on an iPad, phone, tablet, you name it. Parents were pushing around strollers with their arms full of snacks, stuffed animals, and drinks while their four year old sat comfortably watching a YouTube video or played a game. I didn’t know who I should frown at, the child or the parents? I wanted to yell, “LOOK UP!! There is Winne the Pooh! Look at that castle! Over there is landscaping that looks like Minnie Mouse!” Yet, these children remained glued to a screen.
As we drove away from the park that night I tried to calm my judgement. I tried to justify why so many kids had screens glued to their innocent little faces. Maybe it was almost nap time? Maybe the lines were too long? They were in between rides? But nothing made sense in my head.
The following day we went to Kennedy Space Center. It was a fascinating place. We made our kids sit in on a 20 minute address from an astronaut who completed two space missions. Yes, our kids squirmed. Yes, they whined about being hungry, cold, bored, tired…all of it. Finally the lecture showed some awesome videos and pictures of the mission. Then our children were interested. As I sat there and listened to this 70 year old former engineer and astronaut, I thought about his childhood. Did this child sit glued to a screen for 50-90% of his awake hours, even when his parents took him to a place like Disney? No. This guy probably played and used his imagination when he was bored. This guy is an intelligent, troubleshooting man. I started to think about the generation of children that I witnessed the day before at Disney who were glued to a screen. Those little minds are our future and they can’t even function at Disney without full time entertainment. Maybe I’m being too critical? Maybe I’m standing on my “perfect parenting pedestal” judging when I shouldn’t?
Now I’m not saying I never let my children play on an iPad or watch TV. I do. Some days my kids spend too much time in front of a screen because I need them quiet or want them to stop fighting. I’m not a perfect parent. I’m not judging other parents that allow their kids screen time. But I DO think it is pathetic to allow kids to spend time on a device at a place like Disney. When I see this kind of screen time, I wonder what these poor children are doing on their days NOT at the Happiest Place on Earth?
Last weekend I was over visiting my sister in law and we were talking about how easy it is to want to turn on a TV all day. Michelle, my sister in law was telling me about a book she is reading and how when we sit our kids in front of the TV because we want them quiet or to stop fighting we are actually doing them a dis-service. We are making our kids miss out on the skill of learning to get along or dealing with boredom.
I often think of all of the great inventors of the world men Benjamin Franklin or the Wright Brothers and I wonder what our future holds with this generation of children. Will they deal with boredom and become creative or will their parents give them a device or screen to look at every time they whimper so no one has to listen to it?
When I teach school I can pick out the kids who play outside or play toys and the kids who go home and play video games or play with iPads. Sadly, the students who are “plugged in” for most of their free time have a harder time focusing, staying focused and learning in general compared to their peers who play and use their imagination.
I will not shame anyone who chooses to plug their children in as much as possible, but I will warn you: you are not helping your children by never allowing them boredom.
Also, these little kiddos are learning by example and this is something I try to make myself aware of daily. If I’m plugged in all day and looking down at my phone instead of at my children, I’m teaching them that screens, devices, whatever you want to call them, are ruling their mama, too.
Allow yourself and your children to deal with boredom. Make it a challenge for everyone. Limit the time spent in front of a screen or how many times you are allowed to pick up a device and see how everyone feels after a week. If it goes well and you can see positive results, make the challenge even stricter the following week.
Good luck. Parenting is HARD. I pray every night to do a better job than I did that day. I’m constantly asking for forgiveness or begging God to give me more patience. No one is a perfect parent. No one has it all figured out. But PLEASE if you go to Disney, leave the tablets and iPads in the hotel. Or be a real rebel and leave them at HOME!!
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