Children & Technology

Technology is one thing in our world that cannot be stopped or controlled in many ways. Whether we like it or not, the children of today are growing up in a world that is surrounded by different technological devices. I have been to restaurants, nice restaurants with table side service, not your typical fast food joint, and seen a nice family sitting together at a table. As I approach the table I almost immediately take note to how well behaved the two children are acting. When I pass the table, I turn and glance to see that the children are both playing handheld video games. Maybe my family is “old fashioned” in that there is no technology allowed at the dinner table. The television goes off and no cell phones are answered, unless there are extenuating circumstances of course. I am calling out the parents today; have a true family dinner with your children every once in a while. Make it something that is family centered. I have heard a statistic on some television commercials that states families who eat dinner together are more likely to stay together. This meaning the children are more likely to become happy, healthy adults who lead drug free lives. By the term "family dinner" I do not mean that the mother goes into the kitchen and spends most of the afternoon and into the evening preparing an immaculate spread on the dinner table. Let's be realistic. This type of setting may be nice to imagine, but does not happen in most families today. A family dinner can be a bucket of chicken or a carton of take-out. It's a family who sits around the table and converses with each other. Growing up, these were some of the best memories I have of my family. Create the same for your children. Take away the video games, turn off the television, and let the voice mail pick up the calls. Take forty-five minutes to hear what your children have to say. I guarantee you will not forget those times and neither will they.

Sarah Peeples