I came across this article from USA Today and it really made me analyze my use of technology. Even back in 2001 when I first started teaching in a special education classroom which I was not trained to do. Right out of college and thrown in to writing IEPs and attending those meetings to tell parents what I thought was in the best interest of their child was a scary endeavor for me. There was a ton of paper work and I made it a goal of mine (at the nudging of my wife) to not bring the work home with me. That does not mean that I was burning the midnight oil at school every night, but I did have to change the way I planned things out. I was just starting a family at that time and it was important to me to get home so I could spend time with my wife and daughter.
Now that I have a job that surrounds me with technology, I am having a hard time with the blurred line between work and family time. The portability of the technology out there has increased the amount of time spent on these devices. Now we can surf the internet and send and receive emails while going on a walk or pushing a child on a swing, but is that truly spending time with them?
I will be the first to say that technology is great and I love getting my hands on new devices, but when I am choosing to look at a cell phone while having a conversation with my children I am making the wrong choice! This article even mentions those of you who think you are wonderful multi-taskers. "And even though an always-on Blackberry mom may think she's a master of multitasking, children know better...Kids are totally attuned. They know...their parents are in la-la land."
It seems like I heard many times growing up that I needed to get my priorities straight. My parents wanted me to focus on more important things in life (God, school, family) instead of watching sporting events or playing video games. Those were my technology devices I used at that time to help me zone out and now I am zoning out in front of my Blackberry!
Technology can let parents work at home but distract from family time http://usat.me?38213924
Great read. Thanks for sharing. My wife had to hide my iPod from me because I was on it way too much.
ReplyDeleteYou forget that your kids are also surrounded by technology and need to be shown how to juggle its use and the "real world"! You have to model for them how to use it and also have time for the family. =) Thanks for sharing!!
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