Daddy, put down the iPhone.
by Natalie Harris
Photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid - click for link
Oh, the iPhone. In my house, it made an appearance just a few months ago.
Boy. has it ever.
My husband really can justify having one (he runs his own business, has no assistant, and is out visiting sites all over the city throughout the day), but as his attachment to this lovely little device grows and grows, so does my level of frustration.
“But look at all that it helps me do!” he says. He can send e-mail while at a jobsite! He can get directions! He can check prices! He can take photos! He can miss conversations! He can forget to talk to our toddler! He can help our teenager tune out even more by handing it to him at family functions!
Harrumph.
So when I came across this New York Times article yesterday, The Risks of Parenting While Plugged In, did I ever get excited. Proof! Validation of my recent tirades in black and white! Sudden reason to examine my commitment to my laptop! Wait — uh-oh.
As I overheard a friend of mine saying last night, “It’s hard being married to a righteous man.” Ouch. Turns out I’m the righteous one in the family, and the problem with all that righteousness is that you start to become blind to your own flaws; I am just as guilty of distraction by way of e-mail, facebook, or, irony of ironies, The New York Times website.
I know that in this world where everyone –work, family and friends – expects us to be accessible all the time that it’s incredibly difficult to turn off all that distraction. But as the article above points out, this constant need to stay connected electronically gets in the way of the meaningful connections in our lives, especially with our children.
Young children, in particular, need that connection to us. They need it to develop language skills, to build their social skills, and to simply engage and learn about the world around them. When we’re tuned into the smartphone at the playground, or even at the grocery store, we’re missing critical opportunities for learning.
As part of our Success By 6 work, one of the major initiatives here at Metro United Way, we’ve connected to a nationwide program called Born Learning. Born Learning promotes using everyday life as a learning opportunity, and offers lots of guidance and suggestions on how to make it happen. For many of us, this may seem intuitive, but I know I could definitely use a refresher, and to remember to turn off the computer between the hours of 5:00pm-9:00pm ( AND to hide that iPhone).
