The Mommy Journal

Too Much Tech For Our Kids?

Today’s world boasts to be the technological superstar! Everywhere we go we see people on tablets, phones and other devices. There is an app for virtually everything. There are devices that talk to us, give us directions, provide daily reminders and basically help us run our lives.

But is technology making us better or worse? Is technology helping our kids or dumbing them down? When is it too much, especially for children?

According to recent studies, kids now spend more time playing games and watching videos on mobile devices than they do outside. There seems to be little or no balance in life anymore.

While some of their devices can educate them and even teach them to be better at their studies, reading and general academics, technology is not real life. Are we spoiling our kids by saturating them with too much technology and not enough real life and outdoor activities? When was the last time your kids were outside playing cricket or basketball? When was the last time that they came into the kitchen to help cook a meal or went to help wash the car?

Parents need to start letting kids have more balance. Even as they get older, while studying is the key to getting a good job, work experience is also an asset.

Kids need to become more self-reliant and use their common sense more.  As young as my sons are, I encourage them to do chores such as making their own beds, washing dishes, helping to clean the cars and vacuuming the house. No, it’s not child labour, it’s called instilling responsibility in them.

A child that grows up learning to have good work etiquette will appreciate what he has even more. A child that is not required to help out around the house will have no value for work, will not appreciate all that is done for him and will turn out to be lazy.

Playing outdoors is also important for a child to develop socially or physically. Parents are working so hard these days to make ends meet that kids are being left behind to play video games and watch YouTube all the time. Physical activity is minimal which will lead to health problems later on. Social skills will also suffer because as they get older they will know how to text a person, but they will be clumsy when it comes to real interaction. Actually talking and conversing with people requires a young person to have proper social skills, and LOL is not a real word.

Technology is great; it has put us light years ahead of where we were but it does have a downside and the generation that is coming up now is paying the price. More and more kids are lazy, socially inept, out of shape and awkward because they have spent their formative years in front of a screen rather than outdoors and around people. There are even studies that suggest that spending too much time using digital devices could hurt a child’s eyesight.

As parents, we need to bring back the balance in our kids’ lives and to start helping them become responsible, mature and socially developed individuals. So next weekend, instead of sleeping in late and letting the kids play video games, grab a cup of coffee and head to the playground! Your kids will appreciate it one day.