I was in Target last week with my 3 1/2 year old and in front of me in the check out like a lady with her about 2 year old son. He was sitting in the shopping cart all calm and quiet. Then I saw it! His mommy's iphone was mounted to the shopping cart so he could watch t.v. instead of beg her for candy or throw a tantrum. Sorry I don't have a picture of it. I was tempted to ask her if I could take a picture, but I didn't want her think that I was condoning it or judging her. I found it just so … ridiculous. So now parents can buy a little thing to hook on the shopping cart so their kid will "behave" in the grocery store.
Is this what we’ve come to? So in addition to watching TV in the minivan on the way to and from, the grocery store, kids can also rot their brains while they’re in the store. As I stood there in line behind her I felt like I was looking at the downfall of society. Children's brains are being trained to have a low attention span. They are being denied the ability to learn how to behave in public, how to learn from their mistakes, how to start a conversation with a stranger.... They are missing life happening around them.
Now don't get me wrong, I believe this mom LOVES her child and deserves a little break and just wants to get through the check out line without a toddler melt down. And with all the devices and gadgets we have at our fingertips in this digital age it is so tempting and would be so easy to just shove one in a kids face to keep them quiet. But is it really the best thing for them? Sometimes the easiest thing isn't always the best thing. What is going to happen to all these young children who are glued to t.v.'s, ipads, and iphones at such a young age. I believe we will see yet a greater rise in ADD medication subscriptions, adults who don't look each other in the eye, and people who do not know how to shake hands to greet one another. It's sad really.
Instead of automatically handing them your iphone so quickly hand them some Playdough, toy truck, baby doll, coloring book, a snack such as goldfish, or a grocery list of 3 things they can help you find. What happened to the days of kids melting down in the aisle and mom having to leave a basket full of groceries? It's just part of the job description as a mom. It's embarrassing and frustrating and time consuming, but you leave the store, give your kid a consequence (not the item they wanted), and train them how to behave next time. That's how kids learn. If they are never given the opportunity to practice their social skills and behave in public because their heads are down and their eyes are glued to the iphone then guess what....they won't learn appropriate social skills and they will throw a tantrum until you give in and hand them the iphone.
"The purpose of your authority in the lives of your children is not to hold them under your power, but to empower them to be self-controlled people living freely under the authority of God." - Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp.
I'm concerned about what it's doing to little people, health-wise--we simply don't know what's going to happen in the years to come due to their exposure to all these electronics. :-( I didn't even talk on the phone when my infant was on my shoulder!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the ridiculousness of all of it. We have two (2? Seriously?) TVs in our Denali but we rarely allow the kids to watch movies. Never EVER when we are "in town" (i.e. going to school, to the store, etc). We encourage our kids ages 6, 5, 4 & almost 3, to look out the window or to play 'I Spy' or to TALK to one another.
And guess what?
Sometimes I have to take them all with me to Target. It's not fun. Sometimes it's downright painful. And if they're awful? I put my cart back and go home. But I guess I'm one of those mean mommies who insist my children behave and take responsibility for their actions.
I hate to think what will come when this generation grows up--they won't be able to get a job because they won't be able to get through the interview process; they'll be sick from all the radiowaves fed into their little bodies when they were toddlers; their mothers will wonder why their children won't speak to them--and it will be because Mommy chose not to speak to them when they are little! That's sad.