My last two cents...

I have begun to realize that this monthly challenge to unplug (which has been going on for several months) is an on going thing for me and my family..not something that can be accomplished in a matter of a  month or two... or three.  Living in this day and age- it will be a continual thing and adjustment. So, don't freak out if you feel like you are not where you want to be. We are all in the same boat!

But here is one last official post (I am sure there will be more to come on this topic) but first I wanted to turn your attention over to my post at How Does She right here- if you haven't read it already. After unplugging in my home with my family I have learned so many things about myself and my son...that I had to share. And sadly, the photo below is a real photo- not staged of me holding my son, walking across a street and checking my phone.

 I do know that I feel strongly about this topic as a mother and as a counselor. I am really noticing an impact on children and teens that I have worked with and it is what got me worried to begin with.

But the most important thing I have learned is that IT STARTS WITH ME!! And it is not easy because like I said in the post- I am not willing to ask something of my child that I am not willing to do myself. I have to be the example. 

Today my son begged but I mean begged and pleaded with me to watch a TV show after dinner.  I have to admit that I considered it completely knowing the difficulty he would have around bedtime getting to sleep.

 But I had to ask myself- what is my motive here for having him watch TV? Was it because I would really love to finish this blog post that I started several days ago and finish some photos I need to edit on the computer...or because I really feel like it would be a great and healthy activity for him to engage in before bedtime. 

I knew I wanted to get my stuff done...

So, I said no.

He cried.

Then, I forced myself to be present and we painted a birdhouse and made bird nests together- thanks to our BabbaCo box! I loved the time and moment we had together and I won't ever forget it- way better than any task that had to get done. But I have to admit- the itch to get stuff done first is always there and it takes effort to ignore and wait for a better time to do it. 

He is now asleep as I finish this post and I am happy that I can go to bed with a full heart of the memories we made today. Plus we learned all about birds- how fun is that? What if I had said yes to TV? What memory would have I missed out on?

I am not saying get rid of technology all together- although there are moments that I wish we could go back to the simple times of life...but I think it is just something to be aware of. There are a lot of studies out there proving some serious effects particularly in young children and it is good to be informed.

So, if this is something you are interested in finding more about- you can go to www.mediatalk101.org  where they have a great amount of interesting info about statistics and effects on children  you can read right here. Check out this video of statistics:

Then, I think I have mentioned this before- but you have to see this documentary if you can with your family...this is what motivated my media detox and it was amazing to find out all the research and books written on the subject!

With that being said,  I think I am ready to move on to a new challenge which I will share with you in my next post.



besitos, xo

The ipad: a parent's best friend... but am I feeding my child's addiction?

Ahhh the beloved ipad. 

I have such a love-hate relationship with this lovely device. On one hand it has saved me from insanity as I desperately have handed it over to my toddler to avoid meltdown.  But on the other I have began to notice something... The more I was handing it over to keep him entertained- the more I noticed he needed it. He craved it. It was all he could think about. His friends would come over to play and he would ask, "Mom can we play with the ipad?" At first it was cute to see three little boys huddled around an ipad taking turns in playing their favorite games...but when the ipad became more exciting then the great big sandbox we have in our backyard...I began to doubt. I began purposefully leaving it on so the battery would drain..."oh shoot- no more battery." Somehow they always could accept that answer.

It wasn't until one day that I had a deadline that needed to accomplish... and I grabbed  old trusty and found out it was dead...blast- not when I need it! Well, maybe I could have him work on a  puzzle or read a book while I finished up. 

Me: "Hey buddy- mommy has to finish up a project real quick- would you like to read a book or do a puzzle by yourself for a moment."

Him: blank stare.

Me: "Um, wow this book looks fun and it even has buttons you can press to listen to the noises."

Him: blank stare and puzzled expression. "I want you to read it to me."

Me: "Have you ever looked at a book by yourself before?"

Him: shook his head. "No."

At that moment, I realized oh my... my child has never looked through a book by himself before! I have always been there with him. I have never given him the opportunity to entertain himself because I am either doing it or relying on electronics or disney jr. to do it for him.

Something had to change...and I realized then that it had to start with me. 

So... I was brave... I unplugged. 

Our family detoxed for a week without any TV or electronic gaming device. Oh the tears and sadness that occurred when I informed Little Man about missing his favorite tv program despite the fact that I had been talking about it days prior. But a few days later and spending the days outside at the park in the warm weather, going to the zoo and painting, I noticed something... he stopped asking. He was so cheerful... he was creating stories in his head and even entertaining himself without me intervening. I could not believe it. I noticed less meltdowns and irritability. He literally transformed over night. Was it the decrease in screen time or was it that we had even more opportunities to be connected?

I have loved it so much that the TV is still "out of order."

I know there are a few studies like this one on the effects occurring in toddlers and children who spend several hours a day on the ipad. The children are showing signs of addiction and increased behavioral problems... which I think I began to see in my child.

I am not saying ipads and technology are bad. It has provided so much learning and knowledge just at our fingertips...but could there also be problems that we won't know until later. Will this generation of kids be called "the Ipad generation" and have funny little quarks that we didn't realize was correlated to an early introduction to screens. 

As a person who believes strongly that play is so important and a child's way of expressing and learning- I worry. I love to see healthy creative play... but creativity and imagination have to be worked out like a muscle- will those muscles weaken? Will children stop wanting to go outside... interact with one another... pretend?

I don't know yet...but what I do know is that if we use these devices constantly to calm our children or entertain them- they will never learn how to soothe and entertain themselves. 

How did our parents do it? 

I think we will be seeing more studies being done as we understand more the effects of our children's development. For now- I have set some guidelines and boundaries while he is little to make sure those creative and imagination muscles aren't weakened. I will let you know what I have decided to do soon. I am still refining. 

Here is another ABC news article done titled: Toddler obsessed with ipads: Could it hurt their development? 

What are your thoughts? What are your limits with ipads and electronic games?

xo