In her New York Times Blog, "The Motherlode", Lisa Belkin posted an interesting entry yesterday: Parenting by Phone. As you read her post, you’ll see she takes you through kids using cell phones in the waiting room at the doctor’s office to the amazing functions cell phones can provide for expectant and new mothers.
She ends with this question: "What have you found out there that turns your phone into a "mother’s helper"? Or should we forget all this and go back to old-fashioned safety pins instead?"
All of this makes me think about the role of technology in our lives and how it affects parenting. Technology is truly amazing, and I for one, appreciate having a cell phone. However, it is important to keep in mind the full range of effects of technology. I found the stories in "Parenting by Phone" about the children in the doctor’s office interesting- a testament to the power of modeling. Children really do learn by watching us adults.
My concern is that too much screen time (phone, TV, computer…) takes away from face-to-face time. Children need lots of face-to-face time with adults as well as other children. Face-to-face time allows them to learn non-verbal communication, empathy, and essentially how to get along with others. Empathy in particular is critical to healthy relationships. Bonding with caring adults helps kids to develop into emotionally healthy adults. Children also need time to use their imaginations, time to be bored, and time to daydream.
I am not faulting technology. I just hope that we as parents can help our children maintain a healthy balance of activities which includes limiting screen time and includes plenty of human interaction. In order to do this, we have to create a healthy balance in our own lives as well since the kids are watching.
It takes intentional strengths-based parenting to help our children maintain a healthy balance, and intentional parenting to pay attention to what we are modeling with our own behavior.
What are your thoughts and stories?
