Kids & Technology!

I'd like to start this blog by saying, "What happened after my generation?" I remember growing up with NO cable, no cell phone, dial up internet, no tablets, Xbox, PlayStation, etc & I survived!!! I had the outdoors on most days, actually every day! I had a VCR and cassette player. I don't even think I had a DVD player until high school, & even then, I hardly used it. I was allowed maybe an hour with ALL my cousins to play Nintendo (the old one) once a week at my grandparents' house & when that gaming system broke, we didn't get another one!!! We had a movie night once a week at my grandparents' as well & usually it was an old Western on VHS!!!

With this generation, I'm not even sure where to start!!! Let me begin by saying, "Why do they feel like there's so much importance in technology?" The other day, I overheard a little girl—she couldn't have been more than 9 or 10 but she was on a cellphone with a friend & she said, "I saw your Instagram post, did you have fun?" I then thought to myself, "I had to beg my mom to have Myspace & that was in high school, & even then, my mom had to know my password & what was going on 24/7!" I see 8-year-olds, sometimes even younger kids than that, that have cell phones & I'm thinking, "why do you need a phone?" I had a house phone growing up & if we weren't home, we didn't worry about who was calling or gonna call!

My fiance's family has been wanting to get our daughter, who's not even 2 yet, a tablet because they bought our nephew one when he was a little younger than her, & I keep telling them that if they buy her one, she's not using it because she is too young & doesn't need one! My children's dad is always on his gaming system. He's literally addicted & because of that our daughter is constantly turning his Xbox on and trying to use his computer, controller, etc. Because she's shown interest in what he does, he agrees with his family that she needs her OWN electronics! They're constantly telling me he's smart because all he does is play on his tablet & watches TV, when in fact, he's 4-years-old and can barely say a sentence! They complain all the time because he tunes them out when he has his headphones on & I tell them all the time that they're the ones who bought it for him & they allow him to constantly be on it, so they can't get mad because they don't put limits on it—not to mention, our nephew is hardly ever outside because his parents NEVER want to do anything with him!

My daughter has just recently started using my phone to watch videos & that's only because I've found that when I'm dealing with the baby, it calms her and keeps her satisfied & when she's exhausted, it puts her to sleep! However, I limit her amount & there have been a couple times I've had to take my phone away due to needing it & she's thrown a tantrum, so I told her no more for a while & she's survived!!! I do keep the TV on all day but that's because my fiance likes it on and when I'm doing housework, it keeps the babies busy but usually, they're not even paying attention to it—that is unless it's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Muppet Babies!

I find that nowadays, it's as if everything is controlled by technology. Kids don't enjoy the beauty of things around them anymore because they're not forced to! Parents find it easier to just give them a phone or tablet to shut them up & then they wonder why their kids have no respect! If kids aren't gaming or talking on the phone, they're sleeping.

I'm gonna end this blog by saying, "Can we bring the old days back?" I wish that kids nowadays could just enjoy the beauty of everything, spending time with their family & friends, and realize that moments don't last forever! Take pictures of not just themselves but others as well & then cherish it!