There's nothing parents love more than getting a lecture from someone without children.
Yet, here I am diving right in.
Really, it is a commentary on something that concerns me as a member of society.
As is often the way, it has to do with technology and how we are using it or losing ourselves to it.
I just couldn’t keep quiet after I saw a television piece on a new job trend called “parenting screen consultant."
Apparently, they are all the rage.
This is a person you hire to handle your children’s computer use and screen time, whether it is used for school, games, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or more recent incarnations. They come into your home and return control.
I believe I did scream at my TV set.
“Are you kidding me? Isn’t that what parents are for?”
I suppose I should not be shocked that parents are not controlling screen time in their own homes nor surprised that children are out of control when it comes to staring at screens.
To be brutally honest, we are all wildly out of control. Just look around. At restaurants, bus stops, in the home, in the car, at the beach, at the grocery store, while walking around — there we are staring at our gadgets and giving our thumbs a workout.
So, I understand why it must be incredibly hard to supervise, police and set limits on children and screen time.
Forgive me, but mom and dad, that’s your job. You set the rules.
As much as I hated hearing, “You will do what you are told while you live under this roof,” in my childhood that is how it worked.
I think the healthy fear I had of my parents was not necessarily a bad thing.
It would be very difficult, but you set the ground rules and then you stick to them.
If the child/teen refuses, I think the answer is to “unplug” the devices and remove them. Cancel wifi if you must, but set the example.
According to the material about these “screen consultants,” they come into homes to give refresher courses on what parents used to know with advice like “play with your child” and “get them involved in outdoor activities.”
This will cost you $80 to $250 an hour (in U.S.) and parents usually sign on for 12 sessions.
Research from the University of Georgia suggests time spent on smartphones is a serious but avoidable cause of mental-health issues.
We are hearing the name “zombie children” tossed around.
It basically means kids can’t engage socially, can’t make eye contact or communicate and they don’t even want to.
That should frighten us all.
Some companies already do anything possible to avoid having to deal with you person-to-person.
We’ve all been in voicemail hell.
“Please try Steps 1 through 6 yourself so we don’t have to actually talk with you.” OK, they may not say that but that’s what they mean.
Or my favourite: “For more information, please go to our website.” While I am here on the phone, clearly preferring to use the phone.
But, I digress.
I fear what will happen to the next generation if we are no longer talking to each other.
More to the point of this column, what happens when we are not talking to each other in the home?
What happens when parents refuse to take responsibility and set limitations?
We are starting to find out.
Zombie kids, zombie adults, people with no empathy and nobody speaking to each other or listening.
I have no doubt “screen consultants” are in huge demand.
That is a sad state of affairs.
