We were at a restaurant the other day when a family of the information age walked in. The mother and her three teenage children sat down at a table not too far from ours. As soon as they sat down, her son whipped out his Ipad, her 2 daughters, their Iphones. The mother looked at her three kids, their faces buried in their gadgets, and took out her blackberry. We had a good laugh (at their expense). Hey, if you can't beat them join them, right? I wonder if kids these days know how to communicate with their parents the traditional way - by moving their mouths and actually talking. It's sad to think that although technology has helped us in so many ways, it has also crippled us in some. As much as I don't like my kids to get their brains fried on computer games and such, I don't think it's fair to deprive them of it either - they are, after all the 'Ipad/Iphone' generation. But, I believe in moderation, and if we set limits right from the start, hopefully they won't become the 'I-don't-know-how-to-talk-anymore' generation. Here's how I'm setting those limits
- My son's allowed to play computer games only on weekends and not more than an hour each time. And he's only allowed to play educational games from Playhouse Disney's website. He doesn't ask to play on the computer often, which is a good thing.
- He just got a wii from his Grandpa as a birthday present but I said it stays with Grandpa in Ipoh. Besides, he gets to play the wii at a friend's place just down the road.
- My hubby wants to get me an Ipad but I said "for what?"
- I keep my son occupied with activities like colouring/doodling, jigsaw puzzles and activity books instead of handphone games, when we're out. He will also ask to take some of his toys along to play with, if he ever gets bored.
- I don't think I'll ever get him a PS or DS or whatever BS you call it.
Half an hour later, that mom and her kids were still at - hmmm, could they be sms-ing each other?!
