You are not a terrible mother! You’ve done the only thing you could do — you have trusted your child and your years of mothering & guidance. And perhaps the parents who push back on your desire for a less digitally connected childhood are a bit panicked because they’ve already opened Pandora’s Box and don’t think they can reverse the effects. But you’re not alone!
"We talked about the way his buddies - who live their lives through their screens - don’t know how to notice if a calf is sick, or how to fix the lawnmower, or how to grow or harvest food or walk in the woods quietly. How to have a conversation with strangers or shake a man’s hand with confidence and warmth." This. My partner and I are planning to start a family soon and I've been thinking a lot about the type of parent I want to be. This is it. If you wrote a book on Slow Parenting, Stacey - I'll be on that pre-order list.
'Because mine doesn’t have a tiny blue box of dopamine and illusion to disappear into.'
I think before a certain age, children shouldn't be given such smart gadgets....otherwise from an early age, they'll get addicted and it'll take up most of their time.
It's good that you had that important discussion with your son, Stacey. The young generation needs to be aware of such important issues in our society.
You are so right. Sadly, one of our biggest challenges hasn’t been other parents - it’s been school. This unfounded belief that our kids ‘need’ exposure to technology young is not supported by science / health research, and yet we fill our primary school classrooms with iPads. It’s insanity.
If you are a terrible mother I am too. I was the “crazy widow mom” who dropped her pre-teen sons at a golf course almost every summer day until they could drive there. And then they both worked there. Why? So they would spend 4 hours without a phone, in nature, having to focus and have conversations with strangers. Now in their early 20’s I see it. They don’t need a dopamine rush like their friends. I see it. Their phones are for communicating not for entertaining. You’re aware. You’re an amazing mom. He will be okay. You’ve got this.
What a great solution. That must have created some space for you and the demands of motherhood while also gifting your kids such a positive foundational ‘baseline’.
Love this. And you did an awesome job in helping your kid to see things differently. Through the lens of real life and love. Oxo
Thanks Cheryl. He’s a good kid.
You are not a terrible mother! You’ve done the only thing you could do — you have trusted your child and your years of mothering & guidance. And perhaps the parents who push back on your desire for a less digitally connected childhood are a bit panicked because they’ve already opened Pandora’s Box and don’t think they can reverse the effects. But you’re not alone!
Yep, it’s always a push pull and you’re so right - once you start it is hard to go back!
"We talked about the way his buddies - who live their lives through their screens - don’t know how to notice if a calf is sick, or how to fix the lawnmower, or how to grow or harvest food or walk in the woods quietly. How to have a conversation with strangers or shake a man’s hand with confidence and warmth." This. My partner and I are planning to start a family soon and I've been thinking a lot about the type of parent I want to be. This is it. If you wrote a book on Slow Parenting, Stacey - I'll be on that pre-order list.
'Because mine doesn’t have a tiny blue box of dopamine and illusion to disappear into.'
I think before a certain age, children shouldn't be given such smart gadgets....otherwise from an early age, they'll get addicted and it'll take up most of their time.
It's good that you had that important discussion with your son, Stacey. The young generation needs to be aware of such important issues in our society.
You are so right. Sadly, one of our biggest challenges hasn’t been other parents - it’s been school. This unfounded belief that our kids ‘need’ exposure to technology young is not supported by science / health research, and yet we fill our primary school classrooms with iPads. It’s insanity.
If you are a terrible mother I am too. I was the “crazy widow mom” who dropped her pre-teen sons at a golf course almost every summer day until they could drive there. And then they both worked there. Why? So they would spend 4 hours without a phone, in nature, having to focus and have conversations with strangers. Now in their early 20’s I see it. They don’t need a dopamine rush like their friends. I see it. Their phones are for communicating not for entertaining. You’re aware. You’re an amazing mom. He will be okay. You’ve got this.
What a great solution. That must have created some space for you and the demands of motherhood while also gifting your kids such a positive foundational ‘baseline’.