She Couldn't Hurt a Fly...

We all know the expression, but did you know it was about me? It is true...I have a fly swatter, but I am too afraid to use it. I instead take them as pets, and allow them to keep me up at 2 am. ARGH! They are nasty, annoying little pests, but I can't bring myself to kill them. What is wrong with me? Ella has a book called Hi Fly Guy! Cute book, but I think it is my biography. Just my randomness for the evening. I get a little delirious about midnight.

What kind of techie monsters are we creating???

Addie was having an absolute meltdown while we were trying to zoom through Kroger tonight on a quick shopping trip. This meltdown was merited by the fact that we had been in church for a total of 5 hrs today, she had no nap, and it was 8:30 at night. I found myself giving her my iPhone to console her. There is an app on there called Moo Box (designed for toddlers...shows pics of animals and you touch it to hear the animal sound) that she loves. Well she got tired of that quick so we moved on to the "Dress Chicka" app.

(Side-note: I am quiet impressed with how well a two-year old can navigate this iPhone. Got to hand it to Apple, they really did make this user-friendly enough that a toddler could use it :)

Well Chicka made her happy for about a minute so then we switch to Caillou on YouTube...until she starts screaming, "No mommy! Tay Swift mommy! I want Taylor Swift!" So in the middle of checkout I find myself having a conversation with my two (going on 10 year-old) that goes something like this, "Okay honey. If you will sit down in the cart I will find you some Taylor Swift on the iPhone. Just sit down & I will look it up on YouTube. YouTube isn't loading right now for some reason. I'm sorry. Mommy will keep trying.........(screams continue.]"

I have to imagine that anyone within earshot was looking at me like I was crazy. She is a toddler for goodness sakes...she shouldn't even know who Taylor Swift is for one, but the fact that she already knows the iPhone is capable of producing Taylor Swift anytime she wants is crazy as well. And, equally as crazy to many folks is the fact that I would actually let a two-year old play with an iPhone/listen to Taylor Swift obsessively in the middle of a grocery store. I have to admit that even I think I am crazy.

It amazes me how our kids (and when I say our I mean my own) are now programmed to think everything should be available to them at the drop of a hat. They are definitely products of the 21st century. Technology has done this to them, but in all actuality I have done this to them. I have to take full responsibility for letting the technology seep into every ounce of our being. We seem to exist for this stuff, and that is horrible to admit.

A familiar preschool TV jingle pops into my head as I type this, "On Demand. Or on TV. Day or night, and online too. Sprout is always here...for you." Wow, that is a little sad don't you think? Should toddler TV really be available 24/7? I remember growing up if you didn't catch your kiddie TV before eight or nine in the morning you were darn near out of luck. Wow, what ever did we do without 24/7 access? We played outside or used our imagination, of course. Well, either that or we got in a few extra TV minutes by watching Price is Right.

You know, I actually tried to get my kids to watch Price is Right with me the other day in memory of the good-ole days....we got through one pricing game before it was, "Mommy this is boring. I want to watch Dora." Wow, it made me really sad. I could watch it straight through to the showcase showdown and still be begging for more when the hour was up. But, long gone are the days of finding satisfaction in a show like that. Not with the vast choices of today. With the push of your remote, click of the mouse, or touch of the iPhone you are now plugged in to kiddie entertainment mega land.

I'm not saying these technologies are a bad thing. Quite the opposite. But, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. And, the overuse that I am seeing in my own family is weighing heavy on my mind as I type this at midnight. I am scared that the, 'I want it, and I want it now!' attitude will shift from technology into a larger more worrisome scale in the future. If my children use that philosophy in every aspect of their lives we will surely have issues...large obnoxious issues...and even larger credit card bills at that. Furthermore, these are issues that will surely corrode their minds, hearts, and souls.

I want to make change, and what better time than now? I want to get TV, computer, and iPhone time down to 1 hr a day max. You think I can do it? Well, I am sure it won't be easy, but I am willing to try for the sake of my kids. I want to replace all that freed up time with more books, imagination, fresh air, and sunshine. I hope I can do it. I want to! Oh and by the way when I say I, I really mean we. No way could I do all this alone. But, since I am typing these thoughts as my hubby snoozes I haven't had time to go over this new revelation with him. So until that point I don't feel right changing the I's to We's :)

BTW...Sorry for the long, long rant. This is how I get things off my mind.

Product Plug

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