Technology and Children

I have a confession to make I am not a huge gadget guy, I do not yet have an ipod or a phone that has access to the Internet, I still have an old fashioned TV that is not paper thin, and yes I am the only 30 something year old that I know of that does not have a video game system.

I used to play games but I sold my last system, which was a Play Station years ago, and I do want a phone that has Internet access, I will get them at some point.

But what is bothering me is that I see kids all the time with their face buried in some kind of screen. The other day at work a kid not much older then my oldest (2.5 years) was sitting in the cart watching an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine on an IPOD.

It is not just that, I know kids and adults who are so hooked on video games that their marriages are in trouble and they are avoiding some of the real issues in their life, like paying off bills, marriage issues and their children, to go escape into some generally violent fantasy world.

My kids have never seen a video game, I am little proud of that, my kids may watch a little too much Disney channel or PBS kids once in awhile, but generally they playing something else as well.

I don't know maybe it is me, it is possible I am looking forward to getting out in my garden next year and making a little bigger and growing my own food. I will have my kids out there with me, helping, in their own unique way, but I hope to teach them something about sustainability self reliance.