I just read an article this morning about a growing movement to keep children 'unplugged' and it got me thinking about how addicted we (Jake and I) are to everything plugged... I would really like to raise Owen to think for himself and to have a vivid imagination like kids should. It seems almost impossible to raise him completely unplugged from everything electronic considering how big a part technology is in our everyday lives. I suppose that technology, as with everything addictive, has it's extremes; you can be attached to your ipod/ipad/iphone/laptop 24/7 or be completely without internet/t.v./social networks and videos... but I suppose the best is being somewhere in-between. I definitely want to limit his 'plugged in' time when he gets older but I think for now until he is at least 2 or 3 years old I'd like to see if we can go without technology for him. It seems that the early years are an important time to learn how to be creative and use your imagination and if you never have to, if everything is given to you in games and movies, then that part of you may never grow.
I think the hardest part of this challenge will be limiting mommy and daddy's plugged in time, 'cause we have to teach by example and if we are always on facebook or watching movies that is what we'll be teaching Owen. Maybe in doing this we'll find our creative and imaginative sides again.
I so respect all of your thoughts and I know that when I was raising my second child (for most of the early years of my first child's life we had no TV) I was very committed to no television ---computers hadn't yet become so forefront. But when it came right down to it, my husband wrote music for film and television and when the Waldorf school asked us not to allow our child to watch TV I realized I couldn't make that promise ---after all we made our living from TV ---and so what that has grown into is really, following the middle road. And the middle road is not mediocrity, but rather, more along the lines of what Buddha spoke of, looking, thinking and taking all things into consideration before making a decision. Sometimes TV is okay, sometimes computers are all right, and sometimes all of them are not. For me and my family its always been about sustainability ---no one way or the highway!!
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to find that balance. I am pretty picky about what we let Tyler watch. He does like Mickey Mouse and he has his favorite movies, but we make sure to encourage him to play and be outside. This kid has a wild imagination and I think that he gets some of this from the things he watches. If it's used wisely, it can be a good tool or resource. Sometimes I feel like he's behind if he's the only 2 year old around who isn't proficient playing angry birds or video games, but actually I'm proud of that. My kid isn't stuck on technology as a babysitter.
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