Mama don't raise no fool!

Albert Einstein once said,

"I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction.

The world will have a generation of idiots."

 

My son has an obsession with technology. Its as though he knows exactly what he is not supposed to touch and goes straight for it. I can't leave a cord on the floor, my laptop on the coffee table, my cell phone on the nightstand, or a clock on the shelf without him finding and doing his best to use and/or destroy the item. It seems to me that it is ingrained somewhere in his ten month old brain that technology is good, technology is fun, technology is something that I must have whenever it is available. 

 

The American Association of Pediatrics recommends that a child does not watch something on a screen until two years of age. I fully intended to comply with this recommendation until I realized how close to impossible it is to raise a child away from technology.  

Here are a few examples of times that I have failed:

1. When John was a newborn and would not sleep unless we were holding him and walking around, Eric and I watched about three different television series in the wee hours of the night while pacing back and forth to try to keep John asleep.
2. Skyping with his Gramma and Grandpa in BC. We want him to be able to see who he is talking to!
3. Every time I use my computer and he waddles around the coffee table to see what I'm doing or grabs the screen from behind and yanks it down so he can see it.
4. Using my cell phone (he now puts his mouth directly on the screen of the phone and makes noises so that the other people can hear him).
5. I'm sure there are tons of other ones. 

We actually built a room in our basement so that we could move the television down there and watch a movie or play games without worrying about how much John sees or hears.

 

But is it really that big of a deal? How much will it actually affect him later? I have no idea.

Here's what I do know: it drives me crazy when I am trying to have a face-to-face conversation with someone and they are on their cell phones texting, browsing, or otherwise occupying themselves.  

 

Some of the time, I think "What's the point in learning xy or z when I can just look it up online?" This mindset also drives me crazy. What happens if I move somewhere without constant access to Internet? If I begin to depend on technology for everything, I won't be able to do anything without it.

 

These are just a few of the things that are important for me to be able to do on my own, but more often than not, I end up depending on technology to help me out:

 

Communication. Cooking. Entertainment. Fixing things. Cleaning. Teaching. Creative Ideas. Lesson Planning. Exercise/fitness. Directions. Updates. Medical questions. Music.

 

I saw an advertisement for an iPad potty trainer. Basically, the little potty has a place connected to it that you can put an iPad right in. That way, your kid can go on the iPad every time he has to tinkle.

 

Technology has more benefits than I can even imagine, but I'm also a little afraid of how it might change the way my kid sees the world. When I was a kid, we made up games and used our imaginations to keep ourselves busy (we also didn't have a TV in our house). Kids that I teach tell me all about their video games and that"if I'm good at school today I can get a new app!" I think that Albert Einstein had a good point.

 

I'm going to do my best to make sure that at least for my kids, human interaction will always be more important than technology. If I succeed, at least I can say I will not be responsible for raising one of those "idiots" that good old Albert feared. Hopefully at the least, my kid won't be dependent on technology to do his bathroom business.