I was chatting to a friend on msn the other night, as you do..... and we started discussing our computer and internet habits and how it affects our parenting.
One thing we both realised we have in common is that some days our children are virtual "cyber orphans". What were we talking about?
If you are a stay at home mum or really any mum or dad that spends alot of time on the computer or online for any reason i bet you can find something in common with our story.
You are engrossed in an idea, a work project or "important" chat conversation, when in the background you hear your kids talking to you. You answer them with a robotic, "yeah, sure, as soon as I am finished here"..... fast forward 15 minutes and this time you hear a louder insisting little voice..... "I said hang on, mummy won't be long!"
You get where I am going.... think about how often you've been in this situation with your own kids?
It's so easy to get swept away in our computers and the world wide web that sometimes we lose sight of what should really be important.
The goal for today and for every day from now is to look your children in the eye when they speak to you, if they have a need fulfill it immediately, take the time to read a book with them.
No, my children aren't neglected, nor will they EVER be neglected but i can guarantee you at times I am guilty of allowing my children to become "cyber orphans" even if just for a short while. I am mum enough to admit it, and woman enough to try and be conscious of it and change it.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Are your kids Cyber Orphans?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Like everything in life, there needs to be balance. I know some people who are online all the time and their houses are a mess, they do little homeschool with their kids, and yet write pages long replies to emails and such. What gives? Priorities. In the yearning for socialization, parents forget the real world at times while online. It is easy to do. i work from home and am online alot but have gotten to a place where i am balanced and for everyone that may be different. But it needs to be done.
I agree with sarah everything needs parents. Its not only the parents, its the children too, computers are probably the most popular way to spend your time at home, especially with children they can socialize with their friends online, and sign up to community sites such as myspace or face book in which they can upload and view and comment pictures of them and their friends etc. However, when it comes to parents, they HAVE to balance for their children's sake. I believe parents MUST somehow find the balance, limit themselves to a certain amount of time to be online, unless they do it after the children are in bed, or if it is for work purposes parents even then have to also limit themselves a certain amount of time out of the office, and then after the children are in bed resume what you have left. However i believe every parent finds their own schedule and times and maybe they just dont. ZI found it was better for every one when i had limited my self to two hours "rest time": when i came back from work after making lunch, then back to work two hours then make time for my kids and if i have more left i would continue after the angels were asleep.
Cheers,
Lanette Jamesonders
everything need balance, not parents!
sorry!
Cute blog!
I think if I had this laptop when my kids were little, I would've orphaned them to some extent. There's just so much we can accomplish on these powerful little machines. Fortunately, I didn't, and they weren't, but your question is relevant and thought-provoking. My problem now is trying not to make my husband a cyber widower!
You make a great point. I tend to lose track of time when I'm absorbed in doing something (especially if it needs a lot of focused concentration), that's why I try to do that sort of thing when I'm alone at home.
I think that the notion of cyber orphanage will soon be applied to science. Just imagine the scale of the problem!
Post a Comment