We see it every day. We go out as a family, whether it’s to have dinner somewhere local, or go to the park, or the local pool, or maybe to the beach. And there are the children with gadgets, their phones or tablets, their eyes fixated on the device in front of them. The world around them an unreality, more of a nuisance than what is real. The games they’re playing, their online friends on social media. They’re the only things they seem to care about.
But is this what they really need? Is this what’s best for them? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say “No”, that’s not what’s best for them.
It’s so easy though, just to give them a device and then we don’t have to worry about them. They’re not bothering us, and we can enjoy what we’re doing without having to worry about where they are or what they’re doing. After all, they’re sitting right in front of us, motionlessly staring at the screen in front of them.
At the very least, I think we should be getting them to look around, to see the world, to experience what’s right there surrounding them. Sure they’re going to complain, they don’t want to disconnect. But let’s face it, we didn’t bring our kids into this world so that they can merely exist. We want the best or them, and that means we sometimes have to work to give it to them. And I’m not talking about buying them these gadgets, or the latest toys, or even the nicest clothes we can afford.
What I’m talking about, is giving them experiences, seeing and interacting with nature. Meeting new people and making friends. We live in a diverse and exciting world, isn’t it a shame if we deny our children the experience of living in that world?
I’m putting out the word, let’s disconnect our children. Maybe not a total disconnect, these devices can have a time and place, and serve a useful function. But we need to moderate it, and help our children experience the world as we did when we were young, because this is what they really need. They don’t need that electronic entertainment, they only want it.