For those with little ones.

[hurley842002]

I guess my point of this post was: put down the phone/tablet if your doing stupid shit like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. which is what a huge % of people use them for. Not researching nuclear physics or quantum theory. If you are looking into quantum theory every waking moment and you are on your couch while your 5 yo kid is asking to play with you, you should reevaluate your priorities.

Overthinking...jeez.

Jeez, lighten up Francis.

[GilpinGuy]

I cant relate to any of your situations.

We have no video games. No smart phones. My wife and I have prepaid cell phones that only get used in an emergency. (my phone bill is less than $2.50 a month ) no paid television shows (cable), no free television shows, well sometimes pbs comes in. We have movies on disc and we have occasionally watched movies on free amazon prime. (they usually all suck) Im actually afraid my kids wouldnt be able to figure out how to dial 911 if they had to. I have shown them, but they never use a phone. If a family member calls them, my kids just sit there....dead air... they dont talk.

Our kids only use the computer during school. After they do their written portion. We almost never let them watch tv during the day. If we watch tv, we watch a movie together at night. It will probably be a black and white movie made before 1950 though. We only allow them to watch clean shows and clean cartoons. Seems most shows now are ultra violent and skanky. Our kids dont care about technology like ipads, phones, internet. They have microscopes, telescopes, globes, guns and bows (used under direct adult supervision), animals etc to keep them entertained.

You say you "can't relate to any of your situations". Not to be abrasive or condescending, but you are putting your kids at a disadvantage in today's reality if you are doing all of the thing you say. Again, I'm not condemning you - do what you feel is right for your kids.

If your kids don't care about things like the internet...it's like saying '70's kids like me don't care about fuel injection, power brakes, or air bags. Man, the world is changing (has changed to a large part) in a data oriented direction whether you like it or not. Kids need to be familiar with technology, just not be a slave to it.

My 11yo boy is a shooter, camper, fisherman, plays baseball, etc. He also has a YouTube channel of his own that he manages (I supervise). This is good stuff. He shows ME how to do some stuff on my channel. I do have to pry him away from the monitor sometimes and say "Hey, let's do some catching practice". He usually say's "Awesome!"

Bottom line is, kids these days need to be skilled in the electronic world for sure, but it is up to us parents to ensure that they are skilled in the real world as well.

And this has nothing to do with the OP.

[GilpinGuy]

Jeez, lighten up Francis.

Nah.

[brutal]

An evening at HBAR's house:

Then making straw hats afterwards?

lolz, j/k hbar.

[clodhopper]

we're being out-bred.

I would rather be out-bred than in-bred.

[Great-Kazoo]

I guess gilpin missed the part about them using computers during school. They know how to use computers just fine. They use the internet for research, they use the internet to do their web based school. Im saying my kids arent using the computer all day everyday. My kids know plenty about computers. Way more than I do and they are young. No, I dont think little kids need a constant internet connection in their pocket. I 100% believe parents make their kids ADD/ADHD because they themselves either dont like their kids or are too lazy to parent them. "Hey the digitial babysitter will raise them, and when I send them to public re-education they can learn to be liberals too."

I think anyone who allows small children unsupervised access to the internet is a fool. Im sorry if that pisses a bunch of you off. The internet can be a great place to learn and have fun. BUT.. there are things on here that cant be unseen or unlearned. Things that can damage you and especially your children.

After reading , then re-reading this thread. AND Knowing HBar for way too long (or is that the other way around?) I'll say this. The one thing lacking is the word NO!.

Something neither one of us hesitated to use.

No you cannot watch TV

NO you cannot sit inside

NO you cannot surf the web

NO!

Our daughter is 33. She was raised with a few guidelines

One of them being there were repercussions for getting a bad grade (That never happened) Failure to complete a school project on time, if not before it was due.

Failure for not doing assigned task. OOPS forgot to do the yard / tootsie roll patrol and your mother had to clean up. No TV, No Phone etc. Some form of being grounded. Take a 11 yr olds (then land line) way. That got their attention

WE DON'T CARE... how your friends get away with this and that.. How their Mother or father let X friend stay up, out, doing what ever.
You want to have the same "freedom" some of your friends do, Great. Pack a bag we'll drop you off at their house. Their home life consisting of a single parent, who for what ever reason paid minimal attention to their child.

Her elementary and middle school teachers always asked us, Are you Her natural parents.. Of course we are what a stupid question. Well Mr. Kazoo we've found approximately 50% of our students are in single parent or divorced, now remarried homes. And that makes a difference how we ask?

When we were told our daughter had a tendency to wander / daydream in class. That we might consider putting her on some form of ADD drug. That went over well.
There is no way our daughter will be put on any medication Ever, unless she gets sick..

You do realize all elementary aged kids minds wander. It's called being a Child!
But sir.... Most kids today need something to keep their minds focused.. The Fuck they do.. What they need are parents who are involved . Not some union hack who looks for an easy way out.

Which was sad as some parents (single or not) EVER attended any school function, even the meet the teachers night. That attitude / lack of interest we noticed more & more in H.S.
InH.S there where teachers who wanted to hug us for actually showing up for parent / teachers night. It was one of the few places we never had a difficult time finding an up close parking spot

H.S the teachers knew very well we took a serious interest in our daughters education AND... gave her carte blanch IF she were to be harassed, or physically assaulted by any student OR teacher. That issue only happened 1x. and was resolved by next days school time. The other kids parents, ZERO interest in knowing what transpired, Zero interest with anything their kid was doing.


I worked nights and had minimal time for her after school activities, sometimes. WE tried as much as possible to stay involved while she lived at home. Was it tough, hell yeah.. Did it always work, of course not.


(I've mentioned this before and is worth repeating)
2 years in to her .mil service. We received a touching letter from her.

Thanking us for actually taking the time to be involved with her education, making sure she accepted responsibility and there were repercussions for failure to do so. She wrote it after seeing how many of her fellow .mil co-workers ALWAYS had an excuse for everything, failing to report for duty prepared. Looking for someone else to carry their weight etc.


One can hover over their kids from birth to the day they leave the nest. Nothing will or can guarantee they fly the straight & narrow. Some fall off the cliff, becoming serial killers, drug addicts, burdens on society. Others don't.. we can only hope (and pray) they choose the right path
No matter how much or little you pay attention / get involved with them

[hollohas]

I couldn't agree with the OP more. Too many parents ignore their kids while they have their face planted in a phone. I found myself doing this and it was affecting my kids. Now, I put my phone away when I get home from work and try not to touch it again until my kids go to bed. They are far more important than anything I think I need to do on my phone.

[brutal]

we tried, but the Guatamalans kept beating us on price. Damn. Maybe we should be making furniture?

Aren't you already half Amish?

[Great-Kazoo]

Aren't you already half Amish?

Oh he's an Ish alright

[hghclsswhitetrsh]

First it was tv, then rock and roll, then video games now cell phones. Errrrmahgerd.