The Electronic Babysitter

Case, Kenna and I all had dentist appointments yesterday.  All went well and there were no cavities which is always a good thing.  Kenna was in a different room and Case and I shared a room.  He went first and got a cleaning and then it was my turn.  When he was done, the hygenist told him that there were toys in the floor he could play with if he liked.   He didn't need any though because he had something better than any toy; he had Cade's iPad.

The hygenist was amazed at how proficient he was at using it and we started discussing how we would have never dreamed of something like that to "play" with, much less at 3 years old.  Case is always playing on either the iPad, the Wii, his PS3 or one of our iPhones when he is at the house.  We do make it a point to make him go outside and play when the weather is pretty though.  Which brings me to the point of this post:  Too many parents use electronic devises as babysitters these days and it's one of the main reasons that many kids don't know how to interact with others.

I'm not saying that we are the world's best parents or anything like that, but we try to make it a point for our kids to do stuff outside of our house.  We all go to church on Sundays and usually Wednesday.  Cade and Kenna have school for peer interaction and Granny takes Case to Story Hour every Thursday.  Kenna and Case both are in gymnastics and Cade plays football and basketball.  Then there are the neighborhood kids that they play with on a daily basis.

My point is this:  It'd be really easy for us to just let them all sit inside all day with a gadget of some kind in their hand but what good is that doing them?  Kids need to be around other kids.  If they're not, they never learn how to be kids.  Sure it would be a lot easier and we wouldn't have to worry about where they are what they're doing, but we would be creating a culture full of people who don't know how to have fun and just use their imagination and play.

To me, that's a scary thought.  Sure there were Nintendos and Segas on Peaceful Meadows Lane.  But there was also a Little League regulation size baseball field that doubled as a football field and a basketball goal at every house.  There were 4-wheeler trails and bike paths that were regularly ridden on.  There was an shed that we pretended was everything from a bicycle shop to our local hangout.  I bet your neighborhood was about the same way.  The only time we were every inside was when it was raining or when it was 100 degrees outside.  Electronics were a last resort for us (except for 1 time, but I won't mention that Quincy!  LOL). 

I've rambled more than I meant to....My point was this.  It would be really easy for Whit and I to just let our kids sit in front of a TV or an iPad or whatever.  But I want better than that for my kids.  I want for them everything and more than I had as a kid.  That includes imagination.