Written by Nicole Fabian-Weber on CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
Technology has made our lives markedly more convenient. If we can't make it into the office, no problem -- just work on your computer at home. If you're running late, no worries -- just shoot someone a text. Being a tech-savvy parent has its perks, too. Things like NetClassroom and Google Alerts make it harder for older kids to pull one over on us. But, on the flip side of the coin, technology can actually hurts us as parents. Oh yes, I'm going there. Here are five ways technology makes us miss our children's childhoods.
We're obsessed with capturing everything. How many times have you run and gotten your camera -- or your iPhone -- in the hopes of capturing something totally adorable your child is doing? And how many times has your child stopped doing said adorable thing while you were off finding your phone? Mmm-hmm.
We look at our kids through video monitors (or audio ones) instead of checking on them in real life. I'll be the first to admit that video monitors are convenient as all hell. You don't have to disturb your sleeping babe, but can still make sure they don't have a limb hanging out of their crib. But there is nothing on this earth like seeing your child sleeping in the flesh and patting their small head as they dream.
We're constantly accessible to other people, which, in some ways, makes us inaccessible to our kids. I'm a big believer in leaving my cell phone alone when I'm with my baby. But sometimes, it isn't totally possible. A phone call I've been waiting for may come in, or hey, I might need to use my phone to text someone an adorable picture I just took.
We Google, Google, Google. Google really is a curse and a blessing. On one hand, it's great for getting quick (possibly accurate) answers. But on the other, it's turned lots of parents into crazy hypochondriacs. Remember, Google's a worst-case-scenario kind of place. We may not be missing our kids' childhoods with this one, but we definitely may be passing on our alarmist ways to them.
We order things online. Online shopping is great in that it's awesome to get a pile-o-diapers delivered to your doorstep, but there was something that seemed almost magical about our parents waking up at the crack of dawn in order to ensure we had a Cabbage Patch Kid for Christmas. We don't really get that, do we?
Do you use technology around your kids?
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