Like the article, I read entitled Parents Glued to Their Devices During Storytime? How to Encourage Active Participation in Library Programs really helped me realize all the different things out there to do with my little one. Within the article, they too have witnessed a ton of parents on their phones and not truly being present with their children. Social scientists have called this technoference. The article states that children learn the best through face-to-face interaction and reciprocal conversations with trusted caregivers. "In a 2017 study, researchers found that cell phone interruptions led to infants and toddlers learning fewer words" (Rachel G. Paines). This is definitely something that I do not want to happen to my little one. The article goes on to discuss why taking your children to the library for storytime is a great thing. It helps social interaction and gives the parents an event to spend time with their children.
Reading this article gave me the idea to do the same thing over the summer months. I can't wait until the school year is over so I can take my daughter to the public library for storytime. I know she will love that and it will be memories for me to hold onto down the road. But until that time, I know I will continue to be mindful of how much screentime I have while my daughter is up and awake. I want to make sure she has a wide vocabulary and is great with social interactions.
I love the term "technoference"! I am going to use it with my high school students when I want them to put their phones away! Your comments of putting your phone away to spend time with your daughter really hit home with me. I am guilty of this and I really want to provide my children with the best learning experiences and bonding moments that I can.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great question. I feel technology is definitely getting in the way of parenting and communicating. Kids do not know how to go outside and play or organize a game outside. Also, many parents take the easy road and just say here is your Ipad. I have a friend who is a teacher and parent and she notices her daughter always getting disrespectful when she has technology in her hands.
ReplyDeleteThis is question that many generations of parents have faced. Whether it was too much television time, too much atari time, and now too much smartphone time. Like you mentioned, I have noticed many parents would rather be staring at a screen while their children are simultaneously staring at a screen. Whether it be waiting for a movie to start or at McDonalds. We are dissociating ourselves with family structure what little we have in the 21st century to more of a cohabitation structure. I deal with large diverse parent population and many of them would rather email or message me than have a phone conversation, some would rather not deal with their student at all. And I get it, we all have our careers and households, but where do you draw the line. I like how you have taken the initiative to bring your daughter to the library, my grandparents instilled the importance of institutions like libraries in me at a very young age. Now may have a jaded view being raised by my grandparents but I can see society slipping into a whole new direction. And I do not know if it is for the best.
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