Is technology bringing your family closer together or driving you farther apart?
I’ve recently been talking about technology and how old is the appropriate age for a cell phone. I know kids are getting their own cell phones a lot younger these days. It is the world we are living in. I am amazed at how quickly my six year old picks up apps on the cell phone and tablet. She is a product of a high-tech society for sure. Don’t get me wrong. These are exciting times we are living in. Knowledge about anything is right at our fingertips, literally. But, amid this hi-tech, social media driven world, are kids losing out on something that we all experienced when we were young. How are our kids doing socially? When I say socially, I don’t mean social media, but one on one, in real life.
These questions about our children and parenting are exactly why I wanted to read the book Growing Up Social by Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane.
Have you noticed that children today are not playing hide-and-seek outside or curling up with a good book like we did when we were kids? Instead they’ve been introduced to a world of constant digital entertainment through television, video games, and mobile devices. Yes, technology has the potential to add value to our lives and families, but it can also erode a sense of togetherness and hinder a child’s emotional and social development.
In Growing Up Social, Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane will empower you with the necessary tools to make positive changes…starting today. Through stories, wit, and wisdom, you’ll discover how to take back your home from an over dependence on screens. Plus, you’ll learn to teach the five A+ skills that every healthy child needs to master: affection, appreciation, anger management, apology, and attention.
In Growing Up Social you will learn to:
- Equip your child to be relationally rich in a digital world
- Replace mindless screen time with meaningful family time
- Establish simple boundaries that make a huge difference
- Discover what’s working for families that have become screen savvy
- Learn healthy ways to occupy your child while you get things done
This really is a must have parenting book! I highly recommend it.
Now is the time to equip your child to live with screen time, not for screen time. No phone, tablet, or gaming device can teach your child how to have healthy relationships—only you can.
[Tweet “Is technology bring your family closer together or driving you farther apart? #growingupsocial”]
[Tweet “Your children need to know you are always there for them. #growingupsocial”]
So after reading this amazing book, I’ve limited my daughter’s screen time. She is now allowed to watch two shows per day on Netflix. (She usually chooses two My Little Pony episodes.) Instead of leaving the TV on for most of the morning, I’ve been turning it off to let my Little Man just play. We homeschool, so the TV was just left on all morning. But, now that I am turning it off, he is finding other things to keep him busy including his play kitchen, books, and cars.
Plus, I’ve been more mindful of my own interactions with my husband and my kids. Modeling healthy social behavior is important for kids. Stepping away from screens is important for adults to do as well. Kids learn what they live. We need to teach them those A+ skills {affection, appreciation, anger management, apology, and attention}. But they won’t learn it if we as parents aren’t living it.
Buy Growing Up Social
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine alone. This post contains affiliate links.
