A Controversial Topic: Television, Gaming, and Other Tech Use

 Television, games, and tech usage is such a controversial topic when it comes to children. Some parents let their children watch TV and play games with no limits and some say no TV or games at all. There are also those who set time limits for their children. Television and most games require no movement or interaction and can be a large time consumer. Which seems scary because some automatically assume that if they let their children watch TV or play games whenever they want, they will turn into sedentary zombies.

Consider this.. When limiting someone, you are interrupting whatever it is that they are doing which makes them think about it that much more. By not allowing something at all (Within reason of course.. like games and TV) you are depriving the child of that experience. If it's something that they are interested in, or want to explore or play with you are better off letting it run it's course. Otherwise when they feel they are free to do as they please, they go crazy. For example.. a child who is told that he can have no cookies at all, ends up just wanting cookies. It becomes almost an obsession. The child goes to Grandma's house and gobbles them down until he gets a belly ache. While a child that is told they can have as many as they like are more likely to control themselves and make a good decision about how many they have. They know that they can come back later, or tomorrow and have another.

  I am not ashamed to admit that we let our children watch television. We set no time limits and we do not choose what our children watch (within reason, of course). In letting our children choose what they want to watch, when, and for how long, they get to feel a sense of control. Not surprisingly to me, they are very naturally responsible about this. They often choose educational material. They love national geographic, Disney nature, and just about anything on PBS. Of course there are times when they just want to watch a cartoon because it looks fun and colorful, and that's fine with me.

 When someone asks me "Why are you letting them watch this? It's not educational..." I don't see any reason to restrict their TV watching to educational only. While educational shows and movies are very helpful, there should also be time for them to just be a kid and watch television for recreational purposes.

 My children do not watch TV all day long. By no means, but if one day that's all they wanted to do, I would be okay with that.. and if one day they choose not to watch it at all, then of course I am okay with that too. I would however encourage other activity if they were being couch potatoes all day. My children never choose that though, so it hasn't been a problem.

Visiting The Old Town

We began our day at Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen.

Then we went on an adventure in a new park.. and there was much to learn.

After running and playing, we winded down by visiting another park and looking at a rainbow. 

We then visited the River Walk along the Mississippi.

As we were walking along we were pleasantly surprised to see a train, up close. Noah was so excited.

Finally, we ended the night getting ice cream and watching a barge come into port. The children were sure that there were pirates aboard. Aubrie said they were probably sleeping.

Summertime At The Lake

First Trip To The Library

On our first trip to the Library the children were very excited. They loved everything about it! They talked about it the whole day! Unfortunately Bri is not old enough to get a card but Noah got all signed up for his.

Analog Time Telling

Noah is most interested in telling time right now. He's so eager to learn anything and everything that has to do with it. He has known how to tell time digitally for quite a while.. and has recently 'finished' learning analog time. High five, boyo!

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Science At Midnight

So Far This Summer...

We've learned about Tent Caterpillars..

We've explored our interests in painting..

We got to explore Elephant Rocks with family... 

..and we went to the Water Park.