>Technoparenting
>My children’s birthdays are a month apart, which meant we had back-to-back birthday parties at the rat lair, otherwise known as Chuck E. Cheese.
I have made my distaste for Chuck E. known, which is probably why both my kids love it so much. TO TORTURE ME.
However, I got through both birthday parties with relatively good grace and managed to keep track of both my kids and all of their friends. But that’s not what this story is about.
It’s about the dad I saw at Bruiser’s birthday party in March, iPod in hand, earbuds firmly lodged in his ears, following his two-year-old son around the game room.
And the three dads I saw during Punky’s birthday party in April, all on their laptops while their children ran around the room playing.
I’m not casting stones; there’s an indoor playcenter down the road from my house where I take the kids from time to time when I have a writing deadline. There, they happily make friends and play with hundreds of fantastic toys they don’t have at home, while I happily get my work done.
But where do we draw the line?
I realize that my children will grow up with a memory of me on my computer at home. I’m okay with that, because I work hard to spend lots of quality time with them, too, and my time spent on the computer means that they can stay home from daycare and my stepdaughters can go to college and on a good year, we can go on vacation in the summer time.
But again. Where do we draw the line?
Maybe those dads at Chuck E. Cheese had important work they needed to get done. Okay. But did that other dad really need to have his iPod in to get through a few hours with his son?
And what about the father of the birthday boy at party Bruiser and I attended a few months ago, who texted throughout the entire event?
When did this become okay? And why aren’t more people talking about the barrier technology is placing between parents and kids?
I have a feeling this is going to be a primary issue when our kids get old enough to blame us for their problems…
What do you think?
