Mac Daddy and I limit our sons’ screen time, probably more than most parents do. We call all screen time “media time,” and the boys know to ration it and cherish it. They have ample media opportunities but don’t abuse them. That’s not to say that they don’t whine with “Just one more minute” or groan when we call time. Their DSs, the Wii, and the television are all in the family room (not under lock and key by any stretch). Both boys never open the cabinet and grab their DS without asking permission, and boy do they know not to click the TV remote on their own. They never wake up and come downstairs to stare at a screen of any kind. They are more likely to wake up and read or wrestle (the noise level of the activity they choose is always converse to how much sleep we got the night before). When it comes to media, these boys are obedient and know the house rules and they don’t abuse their media time privileges. (The same does not hold true for anything else, mind you.) Bird and Deal will both tell you that they would rather play outside or play with LEGO bricks than have media time. Bird has even been known to shoot hoops in the pouring rain, and Deal will run around making potions of berries and mud on the briskest of days.
Just because we have gadgets, doesn’t mean we use them all the time.
My sons are hardly couch potatoes with glazed over eyes and no social skills. Gadgets are absolutely forbidden at the dinner table, even in restaurants. Most importantly, this holds true for me and Mac Daddy too. We model the behavior we want to see (actively or not, we do this as parents, and what our children learn is a byproduct of our own behavior). I shudder when I see families with their heads down staring at and clicking on various devices at the dinner table. I see kids walking head first into pillars and shopping carts at Target because they are unable to make it through a shopping trip without their nose in a video game.Gadgets have their time and place, Lord knows they have their benefits. But the ubiquitous nature of gadgets, gadgets everywhere makes me put on my Luddite brakes.
Social skills and manners evolve but they don’t vanish.
Santa brought Bird and Deal an iPad for Christmas. Save your comments about spoiled kids. They played their fair share of Angry Birds and Vegetable Samurai over winter break. They also used it to read books and look up information about various critters that tickle little boys’ minds, like leeches and badgers. We haven’t had to monitor their screen time at all. Even with a cool new gadget, they prefer to play outside and have broken in the new bat and baseball mitts they got from some lovely friends of ours. Last night the boys romped around in the backyard playing flashlight tag with friends who joined us to cheer on the Badgers in the Rose Bowl 🙁 . We heard fits of happy screams and laughter and the clunking of little feet pattering across the patio. The boys and their friends gasped in delight and enjoyed the thrill of playing outside after dark. Their cheeks were flush with cold and pure childhood giddiness. No gadget can stir up that kind joy.