Just let the wolves raise them, it’ll be cheaper.

So I haven’t written in a while. Sorry. We took to the road and my grandmother passed away which changed me somehow. Although I couldn’t tell you how exactly. I think she took a piece of me with her, unfortunately not my heart, but my brain. Well, maybe she took both!?

Writing about the’ tech-free’ thing kinda bores me, although with all these kids its necessary, unless I decide suddenly that I’m not interested in raising healthy, well-adjusted, socialized individuals I guess I’ll keep at it. My youngest is having a birthday soon and in addition to the Wii, the PS2, the xbox360, the PSP, the iPod touch (3rd gen), a laptop and her cell phone she now wants a PS3…So I asked her, “Can you try to think of a gift that doesn’t force you to sit on your ass for hours at a time just using up all the good oxygen in the house?”  Okay, to be honest, I didn’t say it exactly like that but I wanted to. Seriously, someone needs re-market the Hula-hoop, or the jump rope or something! (I know adults everywhere are doing it, but I mean get kids to like it again. Why doesn’t Donald Trump make that a challenge on “The Apprentice?” – Is that show still on?) Not to be the kind of parent who ‘walked to school up hill both ways in the snow,’  but shit we used our effin hands as toys… remember that? ‘Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack?’ 

Call me crazy but I don’t want to spend $300 just so I can be Super-Mom while you sit there endlessly with that blue glow reflecting off your face. I find it annoying to cook for you, do your laundry, and clean up after you while you sit on your ass all day moving only your thumbs; and to think that I thought ESPN was a horrible invention when I first got married! I seriously wonder what the difference would be between the unsocialized child raised by wolves and the unsocialized child who is a ‘gamer’ 18 hours a day. I mean they’d spend the same amount of time interacting with other human beings, they’d learn to communicate through a series of grunts, and let’s face it, their table manners would be; yes I’ll say it, NON-EXISTENT! Too bad Jane Goodall isn’t still around this might be right up her alley.

So let me weigh the options again, the end results being the same: I spend hundreds of dollars on another game console or I let the wolves raise you for free? Someone please pass me the ‘Easy Button.’

TFS# 9; Tech Free Teens take to the road.

We got the call Friday afternoon. Seeing my uncle’s number appear on my cell phone immediately brought a sense of dread. I looked at the name and the number on my cell phone and was tempted not to answer. My grandmother was placed in hospice care about 3 weeks ago and so I thought I might rather hear the news my uncle was calling to deliver via the voice mail, but I tentatively answered the phone anyway. “Hello”? My uncle asked if I was sleeping. I said, “No I just saw your name and number and I am prepared for the worst, what is it”? He told me that she was bad, and getting worse and didn’t have much time left. So if there can be anything fortunate about the death of a loved one, my kids being on Spring Break this week made traveling North immediately not only possible, but not the least bit inconvenient. I waited for the kids to get home from school on Friday, we packed the ‘big rig’ (my moose killing Suburban) and left NC at almost 10 pm. I prefer to take this nine hour drive at night when there is less traffic and the kids are more likely to sleep in the car rather than purposefully annoy each other the entire ride.

They packed their pillows and a blanket, wearing comfy clothes and got all their gadgets charged up for the ride. At midnight I said that all devices needed to be turned off and it was time to sleep. My youngest of course fought this tooth and nail, meanwhile waking anyone who had been sleeping in the process. We arrived at Grammy’s at 7 am Saturday morning, I took a nap and then we all went to see my grandmother. When we got back I had to lay down for a few minutes and when I got up  all 5 kids AND my mother were on their own tech devices, either a laptop, a cell phone or an iPod. I marveled at the sight. -Visiting Grandma and face-timing each other wile sitting beside each other on the sofa. If there had been any doubt as to whether or not we would be going tech-free on Sunday, the answer was clear: ABSOLUTELY! My youngest sister brought two of her kids of to spend the night with their cousins and her significant other walked into the room and said, “wow, everyone has their own gadget going on and is in their own world”. Yes! Uncle W, thank you for your astute observation…. There is no bedtime at Grammy’s house, and so at midnight I asked one of the boys to go around to all the other kids and collect the gadgets in a cat food box my mother had been getting ready to recycle.

My mother took 7 children to church Sunday morning, so while the house was empty, and before I went to spend time with my grandmother I had to hide 5 laptops, 5 cellphones, 5 iPod’s and one PSP. Before we left the oldest asked if Grammy had ‘veto power’ on the Tech-Free Sunday concept and I said, “NO”! -knowing full well that of course she did, she could feed them pure sugar cane all day long if she wanted to, but instead my mother and all the kids went for a hike after church, and spent the rest of the day playing outside on a five story playground they call ‘the castle’. I was sure it was going to be difficult for my mother who proudly proclaims to anyone who will listen, that she is a ‘web master’. When I had gotten up from my rest on Saturday evening and she and my daughter were ‘face timing’ on their iPod Touches, while sitting next to each other on the sofa I thought we would meet some resistance, there really wasn’t any. When I got home Sunday night from my grandmother’s house they were playing the boys against the girls in a game of “Catch Phrase” and proudly announced that they had found all the laptops. My mother defiantly told me she knew where the cell phones were as if I had been hiding them from her too. I wondered how long they searched before they found everything. They told me they had baked ziti for dinner and made brownies for desert and oddly to me it appeared that they embraced Tech-Free Sunday and I think were proud of themselves for it. They had a great day and didn’t complain about not having access to their worlds.

Another successful TFS, I think, even though I wasn’t there to monitor; but no one died and so we will do it again next Sunday.

If you’re gonna do Tech-Free Sunday -Do it your way!

While I was at my daughter’s soccer game a mom came up to me and told me that their family was going to try Tech-Free Sunday tomorrow too, and she asked if we watch TV and I said, no WE don’t, but it doesn’t mean you can’t. We do listen to radio, and while cooking we have listened to iPod’s thru an iHome; where each kid got to share their personal genre with the family, that way my “Hollywood Undead” lovin’ daughter didn’t kill my “Cat Stevens” lovin’ son and vice versa. My thought is no personal devices requiring ear buds taking you away from interacting with your family. I think if your family is going to try it, you should try it in a way that makes you comfortable.  The first time you try it you might feel miserably Amish, (I’m not worried about offending the Amish since they shouldn’t be reading this blog) but remember they don’t have electricity or running water and that should help keep things perspective. We still use our electricity and of course running water as well as motorized vehicles, and it still isn’t easy. Another mom told me their family might try it too and she asked if I give up alcohol on this day too… I laughed, and won’t tell you exactly what I said, but I will say that there is always wine served with dinner…(The day I had to listen to Hollywood Undead for a half hour  -ummmm, no I don’t give up alcohol on this day of all days.) I might be crazy, but I’m not THAT crazy! This mom said she wasn’t interested in doing all that cooking together stuff, which is absolutely fine. I just happen to have a son who loves to cook and I am learning to enjoy the company in the kitchen while I prepare dinner.  However, I must say that the first two times I had “help” in the kitchen I secretly wanted to pull my hair out because I had to think of things for them to do instead of just doing it myself like I usually do, which was just as hard for me as it was for them, but I have come to enjoy it and rely on their help. Remember before, everyone was off in their own worlds texting, or chatting, or what-evering and I was alone in the kitchen cooking, then I would call them for dinner, and it was like a bunch of strangers showed up at the table to scarf down their meals and hurry back off to their own worlds again.

Since I talked to two people about it today I thought I might do a quick “Saturday Evening Post” about it just in case your family is thinking of trying it. A fun way to start is by having everyone in the family make a list of 101 things  to do when your bored, and share it with each other, these lists can be pretty funny, but also something to refer to when you are feeling lost without your cell phone. If you are stuck indoors I suggest board games, cards, we played word games with the thesaurus, we tried a debate (EPIC FAIL), we talk a lot, we have given facials and even tried ear coning. When I was growing up, we did a lot of puppet shows, plays, we had marionettes and would do performances, we made up commercials… you are only as limited as your imagination, make it up as you go. As the weather has gotten a bit warmer the kids are spending more time outside, where they can hula hoop, ride bicycles, play wiffle ball, play tag, blow bubbles, go fishing, give the dog a bath, do a treasure hunt or whatever.  A lot of our day seems to be spent planning, shopping for and preparing for our family meal, which I do like to get everyone involved in. It gives the family a sense of community, it makes me feel more a part of that community rather than just the laborer, and I think the kids really like being in charge of a particular part of the meal for example, put one in charge of dessert and another in charge of the salad and give them a stack of cook books, they have to do that in the morning so that there is time to shop for ingredients. I understand why the whole cooking thing might sound like too much, but if you’re feeling brave think of it as putting a book (a cookbook) in their hands first thing in the morning, it uses math skills (because with a family our size we have to double or triple recipes),  attention to detail is required to read the recipes and follow directions and teaches life skills at the same time, but if you are going to try it, do what feels right for you and your family.

Side note: Today my youngest went to her friends house to play for the afternoon and I asked that she leave her cell phone and her iPod at home. I told her it was rude to text other friends while she was spending time with one friend, this is the first time I have done this, but I think it will be a another new standing rule. I told her that if she needed to call me that I know that their family has a home phone and they have cell phones and I have all those numbers, and guess what when I got there the two girls had been riding a tandem bicycle and were talking face to face, with nothing in their hands . My daughter’s face and hands and legs were dirty like an 11-year-old who spent all day outside should look, I am excited, a dirty kid means it was a good day in my book!

Thank you S. for having her and our next lesson will be making eye contact when thanking someone for having you, and sounding like you mean it!

Welcome to THE LAND OF ENTITLEMENT, may I see your Passport please?

“You forgot to bring your passport with you today? Oh your dog ate your passport? You just didn’t feel like looking for it? Oh that’s okay, come on in, you deserve it, the rules don’t apply to YOU silly.”

I had a friend (and a mother of a teen) stop over last night and I asked her what she thought I should blog about and her response was, “entitlement.” This appears to be a much larger topic than I first anticipated so this may have to be the first in an ‘entitlement series’ of posts. So let us begin our journey to the Land of Entitlement. It appears that there are some young people (and some not so young, as this is not a new thing; apparently there is an entire generation called the ‘Me Generation’) who feel strongly that they deserve laptops, iPods, cell phones, Uggs and straight A’s without having to work for them. Why do they feel they way and how do they get there? Whose fault is it? Is that what you want to know? Well I have a few theories, but let’s start with the old fashioned definition of the word:

According to Merriam-Webster the definition of entitlement is:1 a : the state or condition of being entitled : right b : a right to benefits specified especially by law or contract 2: a government program providing benefits to members of a specified group; also : funds supporting or distributed by such a program 3: belief that one is deserving of or entitled to certain privileges

I have heard myself say to my children, “having a cell phone is not a right, having an iPod is not a right, having a laptop is not a right, all of those things are luxuries and not necessity, therefore consider the use of those items a privilege, and when you do not follow the rules your privileges will be revoked as a consequence.” Remember me writing about the middle school art teacher blogging about the function of failure and it teaching far more than the success of an ‘A’? Have you noticed that school awards ceremonies now take days because everyone gets an award for something? Nobody wants to hurt anyone’s feelings; but an award is supposed to be just that – a symbol of excellence.

How about sports trophies? Are you a parent who believes that every child deserves one for participating in a recreational team sport or is the fact that you paid the registration fee, the kid got a jersey or uniform, he or she likely had fun and possibly learned something reward enough? Are you okay with watching your son or daughter see a peer from a rival team get the championship trophy while they clap and show good sportsmanship? Remember when a trophy used to mean something?  It meant for that one moment in time, you were the best. Don’t you think it loses its meaning, even just a little bit, when everyone gets one? What are we teaching our children? That everyone gets an award just for showing up?

I was talking to my kids about an article written by a Chinese mother about the differences between raising children in the Chinese culture vs the US culture. I asked my kids what they thought about Asian kids and they all said, “they’re really smart!” So I asked how do you think they got that way? They all thought it was genetics, but the real answer is they WORK really hard at it because it’s what is expected of them. In the Chinese culture (and most Asian cultures), honoring your family and your ancestors is of utmost importance, and if you are a slacker and don’t try to become a master of whatever you attempt then you dishonor your family, which is a huge ‘no-no’. Meanwhile back at the ranch, how are your  kids? Do you spend hours in the car driving them to every activity under the sun and providing them with love, support, and every and anything else their hearts desire and then give them a trophy at the end of the day? Do they honor you? Do they show you the gratitude and respect that you deserve? No? Why not? Do you demand it? Do you expect it? The Chinese mom admitted in her article that she has no problem calling her child every name in the book, even humiliating him publicly to get the desired result, which is ultimately respect and excellence all in the name of the child’s best interest.

Children (and some adults) must learn that if you want to be excellent you have to work hard to become that way. And in most cases, people who want to own something have to buy it, and in order to purchase it, they must use the local currency, and in order to have that guess what???? Give up? They have to work for it! NO WAY!!! Really? You mean it isn’t delivered on a silver platter by the butler? You mean if I spend all my money on gummy bears at the store yesterday and I want to buy three iTunes songs today I can’t have my mom write a note and make it so?

Has YOUR child lied about their age to join a social networking site?

Were you aware that they lied? Did you help them set up the account? If so I recommend you read the article below and reconsider your decision.

 

Facebook Users Who Are Under Age Raise Concerns

 

When I read the article linked above I was startled by what I learned, which was quite a bit. According to this article, “Internet companies have set up the rules against under-age users because they must comply with the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, passed in 1998, which says Web sites that collect information from children younger than 13 must obtain parental consent.” I was also alarmed by the problems for the underage boy who was ‘friended’ by a poser classmate and had his photos linked to sexually explicit websites, but not until his name started showing up in Google searches did anyone notice. I don’t know about you, but this scares the bejesus out of me! Two out of my three children have Facebook accounts, but I made them wait until they were 13, which in my opinion is still a little young to be exposed to some of the content even on their own parent’s pages; for example photographs from the old fraternity days, do you really think it is okay for your child to see you stoned out of your gourd or drunk off your a$$? What messages are the youngest users getting from their parents, cousins, other family members or contacts who are shown in countless photographs of underage drinking?

Another problem is that today’s parents have a lot on their plates and it is very difficult to monitor all of the online access that our children have. I allowed my twins to sign up for Facebook accounts when they turned 13, but most of their friends already had accounts (my kids are the youngest in their class, but still there are teacher’s children who have been on Facebook for years, whom I happen to know were not 13 when they opened their accounts). I mentioned in a few earlier posts about banning my 11 year-old daughter from Sketchfu, which sounds like it should be relatively harmless site, but as I mentioned there was a chat feature, and she had people on her friends list that she did not know. Initially she was banned for her own inappropriate use of foul language, but it wasn’t until I did a little research that I found out that even Sketchfu has an age limit of 13. So when I confronted my  11 year-old about this, and asked her how old she said she was on her account, she told me that she lied and said she was 14.   I was disturbed by her having access to and/or being in an online environment posing as a 14 year old. I wish I could find some medical or scientific statistics on the extremes between the maturity levels of an 11 year-old and a 14 year-old, but since I have an 11 year-old and a 13 year-old I can tell you that at times it seems as though they are 10 years apart.

Once I found out there was an age limit for that site I told her that just as she does not have a Facebook account, she is not allowed to have a Sketchfu account until she is 13, but I know for a fact that she has been back to the Sketchfu site since I banned her, I just haven’t caught her. It is horrifying that it is so difficult to be vigilant when a child’s ease of access to these sites can even be had from their iPod Touch. Out of fear for my daughter, I want to post a warning statement on these websites that say, ‘please beware that there may be under age users on this site who have lied about their age, so keep your content on a 6th grade level’, but that interferes with an adult’s First Amendment rights, while trying to protect my child.

What is the answer? How many people use the parental controls on their computers? I have to tell you that on my last laptop I tried to activate them just under my kids log-in ID and I couldn’t even check my email when I logged in as me (and I am the administrator), it was a nightmare, so I finally had to turn it off. I am no computer genius obviously, but there are parents out there who know far less than I do that have no idea what there kids are up to, and if they did they would have no way of knowing how to manage it, because I too am at a loss. I have asked many parents and kids what the tech-rules are in their homes just to get an idea of what others are doing to battle this epidemic. I have borrowed some other parent’s rules and made them my own, but how do we protect children whose parent’s don’t even know they need to be protected? I guess we start with trying to manage it in our own homes and hope that blogs like this one and articles like the one linked to the New York Times above will help make people more aware.

What does it take to push me to my emotional limit?

A LOT!

What does it take you?

Could you make a list if you were asked to? Would you want to make that list if someone asked you to?

Probably not, so let’s start where we left off:

This blog is about balancing human interaction with technology-overload and parenting teens while standing on a beach ball, spinning plates and juggling Waterford Crystal. Simple Right?!

• My youngest has lost all electronic device privileges for two weeks and every time she is caught cheating the two week clock resets itself, she is on day two for the 4th time.
• All electronic devices must be turned in to my bedroom at bedtime or 10 pm which ever is earlier.
• Tech Free Sunday is the day where our family takes a break; no texting, no cell phones, no computers, no TV, no iPods, no PSP or DS’s and we prepare our Sunday meal together
• My Son and I are still on day 3 of the Couch to 5k Program
• No internet use unless you are in a common area, this means not in your bedroom with the door closed.

For those of you who are missing or have missed the past techfreeteen posts I will do my best over time to re-enter some of the useful information that I think might be helpful.

For those of you who are not parents of teens, not a friend of mine, easily offended, or just enjoy ruining someone’s day please don’t read my blog because it isn’t about you, or for you. It’s about my family and my time with them and how crazy that can be sometimes.

Use of the cellular device to keep us fit: training day 2 ‘couch to 5k’

My favorite Part: being done!

“Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.”

New Husband says that I should give you an update on our use of the tech device (known as the cellular telephone) to keep us fit via the  Couch to 25 k Application known by Droid users as the “C25K Pro”

Last night at dinner we discussed getting up and doing our training again this morning and one daughter said, “I’m not getting up”, the other one complained that she wanted to go too as did my 12 year old step son…. Well this morning sleeping beauty and her little step brother were ‘NO SHOWS’… they stayed in bed, lazy bums! (I wanted to stay in bed too…. but this was my bright idea!) So my little trouper, new hubby and I hit the road sans the rest of the ‘dwarves’.

My son and I (team: Piglet and Pooh) completed ‘day 2’ this morning and you can share in our success by viewing the Flickr photos if you wish. As you can see in the photos, my son is faster than his old mom, which I mentioned in an earlier post, but he does do a jog in place thing while he waits for me to catch up… sweet boy! After only 2 days of this ‘training’ I have come to love, and I mean LOVE the sound of the “diiiiiiing”, which can mean one of two things: 1. it’s time to start running or 2. it’s time to stop… I am in favor of the the latter, the stop running ‘ding’ is the one I soooooooo enjoy!

Team: Piglet & Pooh, the perfect pair.

My mom actually downloaded the app her iPod and is going to try it because I keep trying to sell it by saying ANYONE can run for 60 seconds in a row… well for some reason day 1 was a bit easier than day 2, but shhhhhh, because I do believe the couch potatoes would rather believe that there is no progression that happens to get you trained to run for the full 30 minutes in 9 weeks. It is my assumption that a real Couch Tater would rather believe that the entire thing happens by magical transformation or something, however if I’m being honest I believe it is designed to get a bit more challenging as the days progress. I also talked to a friend in  PA, one in AZ, and one in FL…. I am trying to get them all to do it with their families so we can GO GLOBAL!!! Wouldn’t that be fun?!

“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.”~Jamie Paolinetti

Not everything electronic is bad for you!

I’d like to expound a bit on my previous post which was really just a slightly edited version of my comment on Pogue’s Post regarding his 6 year olds addiction to the iPad, and the highly ambiguous question of the impact of electronic/tech devices in our lives and the lives of our children.

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it”

~Albert Einstein

I definitely beleive that there are great digital, electronic and tech-devices on the market today that teach children and adults amazing things in formats that are often innovative. Last night for example after dinner my kids played “Just Dance 2” on the wii. It is hilarious to watch, multi-user, great family fun, entertaining AND it is a great workout! ( I particularly love to watch the boys get their ‘groove on’ -always good for a belly laugh, which is great for one’s health) Then of course there is the wii fit (my fav is yoga). So there are the brain-drain games, then there are a few that teach strategy, there are a few educational and the ones that are calorie burning. You choose which to purchase and which to allow your children to play and for how long.

This morning we used our cell phone (an electronic device) for Day 2 of “Couch to 5k”, certainly can’t argue the value of using your cell phone to train for a running race.

Let’s not forget the Xbox Kinect “Dance Central”,  for this you do not have to hold the remote as you do with the wii and it takes action shot photos of you while you play, which can pretty funny. We don’t have one of these, but our neighbor does and I think it is amazing!

The iPad has interactive books for children that allows the child to enter the story by picking clothing etc, then there is the “Drawing Pad” App for kids and if you want to get educational check out this website: 40 Amazingly educational iPad apps for kids

I can’t possibly list all of the valuable and innovative apps and games for every device out there, but there are many and they are great when they are used in moderation. (Like a healthy diet) My concern is always the amount of time spent on these devices, not necessarily because it is doing our children damage, but because we are missing out on a personal relationship with our kids if they are spending 12 hours per day on one device or another, and when the internet is involved (content is a major concern of mine) how much monitoring are parents actually doing even if the child is sitting at the kitchen table? So to reiterate; I am pro-tech in moderation because life can be pretty interesting in the physical world and there are so many lessons to be learned besides human interaction, manners, and verbal communication skills.

One additional note: my pediatrician always emphasizes the importance of chores for kids no matter what age, because they teach life skills that an iPad can’t, it also teaches them that they are an important member of a team (their family). A 3 year old can take a duster and do window sills,  or sweep a floor, or vacuum (all with supervision of course) and you may have to do it again later, but the importance of their participation in family life is great, and as they get older they can empty/load  the dishwasher, clean bathrooms, do laundry etc. I don’t pay an allowance, which some people do because it helps kids learn to manage their money, but I feel that as part of a family they need to pitch in and not expect cash for cleaning up after themselves, but rewarding them with 2 hours per day on their favorite device after their homework and chores are done is not a bad way to operate. (In my opinion of course) – I will add that my kids are old enough to earn money in other ways to buy things that they really want, but are not necessities, which it is my job to provide (including their entertainment expenses).

And finally (for real this time) I will mention “the love tank” this is not my invention, I read it somewhere, but I can’t recall where; so forgive me for not giving credit where credit is due, but I often ask my kids, “how is your love tank?” Is it full, empty, half -full? Which means, do you need a hug, or a chat or some private time with mom… and that doesn’t happen while texting, video chatting or playing video games etc!

FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHILDREN…Is it automatically bad if it is electronic?

The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives. ~Albert Einstein

Tonight’s post is most definitely inspired by:

Pogue’s Posts: A Parent’s Struggle With a Child’s iPad Addiction

PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE. Those of you who have been following or reading my blog may acknowledge that I believe that within the realm technology and children lie the secrets of ‘The Force and The Dark Side‘ (I couldn’t resist the Star Wars reference tonight -Yo Yoda -so sorry!)

MY RESPONSE MIGHT SURPRISE SOME OF YOU WHO DON”T KNOW ME VERY WELL, but after reading the post I replied:

I don’t mean to minimize your concerns, but I thought I might offer another perspective; one that fosters the minds of creative thinkers, inventors, artists, composers. Ludwig van Beethoven and Albert Einstein, for example, both considered geniuses, and might have been labeled with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, made undeniable contributions to society, which might never have happened if their parents forced them to ride their bicycles or throw a baseball instead of exploring their interests. (How could I forget to mention Michelangelo?!)  My suggestion is go with your gut!

I think that that your being cognizant of the potential for a problem is what is most relevant here. The struggle with the guilt of quashing a child’s natural affinity for their particular gift or talent by restricting certain activities or behaviors, that may or may not be harmful to them, (because they are electronic) is such a precarious balancing act for a caring parent. Let’s say (for the sake of argument) that your son is obsessed, but not addicted. If that were the case, and you knew he were going to be the next Steve Jobs would you still restrict his access to the iPad?

We grew up on television ( I say that like we grew up ON crack), which is electronic, and I don’t know about you, but I learned to count in Spanish from Sesame Street, so TV wasn’t as bad as our parents thought it was! Granted as I mentioned before we only had 3 channels, but after reading your blog I really had to think back to the days when our kids were 6. They definitely had their obsessions, one with dinosaurs, one with a pair of yellow rain boots. My sister forced us to call her Daniel-son after the first ‘Karate Kid’ film, my brother forced us to call him Ernie and would not take off a Bert and Ernie t-shirt; it had to be peeled from his body while he slept… or he threw tantrums of epic proportions!

The key, I believe, is exposure, and balance. Have your child try as many activities as possible and if he always goes back to the iPad then you know that you should guide him in those areas that peak his interest by encouraging those activities that will inevitably help him find his gifts and reach his maximum potential as an adult; after all that is the ultimate parenting goal right? … Grow a child into a productive, successful and happy adult.

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

~Helen Keller