Plugging in with the Family

Much has been made of technology.  Without doubt, today’s society is driven through the advancement of technology.  Everywhere you look we are surrounded by these advancements, and it would be hard to argue that these innovations have not made our lives better.  The technological advancements have substantially changed the landscape of science, medicine and educational systems.  Technology has also changed the family as well, and not all of this change is good.  Seemingly today, parents and children alike cannot function without their cell phones, iPads, and other perceived must have devices.  I myself am no different than any others and have often fallen victim to the, have to know and be connected bug that has hit our society.   The constant and never ending need to be connected has dramatically change today’s family makeup, however it does not have to change our core values of family.

We are constantly connected via email, text messages and social media feeds such as facebook and twitter.  Throw in various twenty-four hour news channels, and we are constantly as Gretchen calls it, “plugged in”.   The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than two hours of entertainment time per day for school-age kids, and no more than one hour per day before school-age. This encompasses basically any electronic device that has a screen on it, including TVs, computers, video games, iPhones, iPads, iPods or any other yet-to-be-invented entertainment device.  Still with these recommendations, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids between the ages of 8 and 18 consume more than 7 hours of entertainment media during a typical day. Factor in “media multitasking” (using more than one medium at a time) and that time ticks up to 10 hours and 45 minutes of daily consumption.  I often think back and wonder, how did I survive as a kid with one rotary telephone and thirteen channels? Thanks to the recent storm season, that left many without power, this question was about to be answered.  Just like then, I survived because we were “unplugged” from devices and “plugged” into each other.  

Being unplugged allowed me, as a father, to revisit my own childhood with my girls, while hopefully instilling the importance of uninterrupted quality time that my parents had with me.  One of my favorite ways of spending time growing up was playing board and card games.  As was often the case, likely due to the low cost and high amount of family time, this was the norm rather than the exception in my childhood. So with the storm looming and the thunder and lightning playing havoc with our power, there would be no better way to pass time, share laughter, and learn lessons of competition and sportsmanship than through games such as Trouble, Sorry, and Kendall and Reese’s all-time favorite Pretty Pretty Princess.  

The quality time being unplugged and plugged into your family is unmatched.  We played game after game, much to everyone’s enjoyment they all seemed to enjoy beating dad! Amazingly as the hours turned into days, nobody was concerned with lacking technology as we were having way too much fun laughing and playing. They especially laughed when I donned the necessary winning jewelry:  necklace, bracelet, earrings, ring and crown when I became the princess.  Without power, it was uninterrupted family time, something that shamefully is missing as a core value in today’s society.  In her book, "The Winter of Our Disconnect"  author Susan Maushart,  overwhelmed by the tireless presence of electronic media in both her own life and the lives of her three teenagers, made the unpopular decision to cut the cord from the digital world. What started as simply a challenging experiment ended up completely changing the way she and her kids related to each other.  

I urge you to find a way to unplug.  I promise you, with the media access we have you can always catch up on social happenings.  Listen as Trace Adkins’ hit song alludes to, You’re Gonna Miss This, and allow it to remind you that you can never get back the moments and lessons while being “unplugged” with your family.

Monthly Quote: “Technology is nothing. What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them.” ~ Steve Jobs

Monthly Challenge: You may not have to go to the extreme of 6 months as Susan Maushart put her family through, but make it an emphasis to limit screen time for yourself and children.  Chart the hours your family spends being plugged in versus being unplugged.  Remember our children often  watch more closely than we may think, we must model being “unplugged”.

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