we didn't have iPhones, and iPads. the children's shows on tv were only on for a couple hours, there weren't networks dedicated to just kid shows. we didn't have access to cartoons and movies like we do today.
and somehow we survived.
there's a lot of things you have to think ahead on when it comes to having a baby. ok, mostly everything has to be thought of ahead of time. from birth to how you'll raise your child, there are a lot of decisions to be made.
sonny and i have talked a lot about how we'll raise our kids. we talk about the big things like them growing up in the church, and going to private schools. what sports we'll force them to play because we love them so much (perks of being parents). and no soccer is not making the list. we talk about how we'll handle tantrums and the terrible twos. which i'm told is now really three. or basically until they move out and go to college.
and then the conversation about "screen time" always comes up. and i always have the same question:
why has it become a necessity for children to have iPhones and iPads?
i've done a lot of reading about the effects of technology on little human brains and it honestly blows my mind.
on average, american children spend up to four hours a day on television or technology sources. it's recommended that they only watch one to two.
it's also recommended that children under the age of two don't watch any tv...at all.
studies are showing that the amount of violence and sex children under the age of ten see is on average 40% of what they see. hello commercials. and have you watched a show on nickelodeon that isn't a cartoon? they. are. terrible. #bringbacklegendsofthehiddentemple
now don't get me wrong. i'm not writing this blog post in a naive sense thinking my perfect little child won't watch tv before they're two. i get that once in a while, mickey mouse will save the day. but. i'm also overly conscience right now of how much mickey will be on my tv. and which mickey episodes will play. just because it's on the disney channel doesn't mean i'm ok with them watching it.
studies are showing the disconnect in families because of too much tv and screen time in general.
think about when you go out to eat. how many tables do you look around at and see families all on cell phones. or babies with iPads almost attached to their heads? call me crazy...but i feel like people have been going to dinner with their kids for years and haven't needed to plop an iPad in front of them.
the fact is, that we're raising a generation that won't have a clue what "playing outside" means. they won't know how to catch bugs in jars, or ride bikes, or go fishing because we've allowed them to just sit in front of a tv instead of going outside.
and here's the thing.
it doesn't have to be this way.
like i said before, somehow we all grew up without these things. so i feel like we can start doing the same thing with our children.
i get that we live in a different world than what we did twenty years ago. there are terrible people out there doing terrible things making us have to worry about where our kids are and what they're doing a thousand times more. but.
we also can't let that dictate our children's lives. and we can't live in constant fear.
it makes me sad to live in a neighborhood full of kids and never see them outside playing with each other. because even if it was just my sister's and i, being outside is what we did. we made up weird games to play and ran around until the sun went down. in the winter we went sledding and built snowmen until our hands almost froze off. sitting inside in front of the tv wasn't an option.
which is how i want it to be with my kids.
maybe i'll act like the kid shows are only on from 9-12. maybe i'll never tell them what a dvr is until they're sixteen. maybe i'll just get them a simple flip phone that only makes calls to me and dad instead of an iPhone for safety. maybe i'll go outside with them. maybe...and just maybe...i'll have to do a bit more parenting then taking the easy way out.
i've lost some of you i'm sure with that one.
and some of you might be yelling that i have no idea what it's like because i don't have a baby yet. and you're right. which is why i'm so adamant about figuring these things out now.
kids don't need to constantly be watching something. what if we went back to the way it was when we were kids and watching tv was a privilege. not just a right because it's there?
if you haven't seen this video yet watch it. it's not full of scientific data. but it will make you think about how things used to be, and how they are today.
