OT: Pausing the Internet

[cookderosa]

Ditto, videogamesrock!

Is it true that groups like AA recommend that you not enter into relationships until you can keep a plant alive for one year? If so, I've never passed that test. Just think of the lucky children that I didn't birth!

ok, THAT's funny. I know plenty of people who couldn't pass the plant test lol.

[SweetSecret]

I was actually responding to Jennifer.

Whoops - sorry about that! I missed that she had a 21yr old.

[videogamesrock]

When I think back, my parents used to leave me home alone from ages 5-8 for about 12-14 hours a day. At the time where we live this was socially acceptable. It taught me how to be independent from an early age, eliminated the fear of being an entrepreneur as an adult, and taught me the joy of peace and quiet. However, the times have changed, and I think parents have to be so much more involved with their children today. Not to mention a more violent society.

[dfrecore]

Ditto, videogamesrock!

Is it true that groups like AA recommend that you not enter into relationships until you can keep a plant alive for one year? If so, I've never passed that test. Just think of the lucky children that I didn't birth!

Haha! I can't keep a plant alive for a few months, let alone for a year! It's a joke in my family, that I have the black thumb of death.
Luckily, children (and pets) let you know when they are hungry, so it's a little easier to keep them alive! I have dogs and kids, and no one has died from starvation yet. hilarious

[dfrecore]

When I think back, my parents used to leave me home alone from ages 5-8 for about 12-14 hours a day. At the time where we live this was socially acceptable. It taught me how to be independent from an early age, eliminated the fear of being an entrepreneur as an adult, and taught me the joy of peace and quiet. However, the times have changed, and I think parents have to be so much more involved with their children today. Not to mention a more violent society.

I don't think times have changed that much - I'm older than you I think - 45 - and my parents did NOT leave me alone for more than 2 hours a day until I was in high school. They were extremely involved in my childhood, my dad went on every field trip I ever took all the way until I graduated high school, including overnight trips in 4th-6th grade where he was with a group of boys even though his daughter was in another cabin. He was my baseball coach. My parents came to every softball game, every track meet, every back-to-school night of my whole life. I just think families are different, some are more involved with their kids, some less. We are on the more side, but mostly because we enjoy it. I honestly LOVE watching my daughter out on the soccer field. My husband LOVES watching our son on the wrestling mat. He loves coaching them both.

And, I don't think it's a more violent society, at least I don't feel like my kids are at risk for violence that I wasn't. Our society is different now, I will grant you that. But, when I was a kid, it was different than when my parents were kids too, so I'm ok with change (some is good, some is bad).

Just a different perspective.

[NAP]

Also, be aware that your neighbors' wifi access may not be locked.

[cookderosa]

Also, be aware that your neighbors' wifi access may not be locked.

My neighbors are both very old and they do have locked wifi. It's fine, I'm not trying to put everyone on lockdown, just get back to actual bedtime when it's bedtime lol.

[Bibby]

It's important for parents to understand what's going on in the world of technology. A lot of people would be surprised if they knew what their kids are looking at on the Internet. I'm not just talking about sexual content (both images and writing, by the way), but there's a lot of other off-color things on social media that aren't particularly edifying. And yeah, a lot of people (of all ages) spend way too much time doing unimportant things online. It's a paradox: You need computers to be productive, yet a lot of the things people do on the computer aren't terribly productive. Computer time is a good example of something that yields diminishing marginal returns - the more you're online, the less likely you are to be using your time effectively and efficiently. And if you're losing sleep because of late-night Web surfing, that can have a lot of other negative consequences - especially when you're learning how to drive!

While I understand some of the concerns, it's dangerous for parents to try to use technology as replacement for parenting. $250 is a lot of money for a home router, and many of the more basic features (like disabling the router after a certain time) are available on far less expensive units. As for the other features, today's kids have grown up with modern digital technology - they can't remember a time when they weren't immersed in computers and video games (and, depending on their age, smart phones). They know a lot more about this stuff than their elders do. I can assure you that if kids don't want their activities tracked, they'll find a way to cover their tracks. Moreover, I believe everyone needs a healthy degree of privacy to develop properly. Too much helicopter parenting isn't healthy for any of the parties concerned.

I wasn't familiar with the "don't have kids/start a romantic relationship until you can keep a plant alive for a year" idea before, but that's definitely a good thing to try if you're one of those people who's tempted to rush into commitments.

[cookderosa]

It's important for parents to understand what's going on in the world of technology. A lot of people would be surprised if they knew what their kids are looking at on the Internet. I'm not just talking about sexual content (both images and writing, by the way), but there's a lot of other off-color things on social media that aren't particularly edifying. And yeah, a lot of people (of all ages) spend way too much time doing unimportant things online. It's a paradox: You need computers to be productive, yet a lot of the things people do on the computer aren't terribly productive. Computer time is a good example of something that yields diminishing marginal returns - the more you're online, the less likely you are to be using your time effectively and efficiently. And if you're losing sleep because of late-night Web surfing, that can have a lot of other negative consequences - especially when you're learning how to drive!

While I understand some of the concerns, it's dangerous for parents to try to use technology as replacement for parenting. $250 is a lot of money for a home router, and many of the more basic features (like disabling the router after a certain time) are available on far less expensive units. As for the other features, today's kids have grown up with modern digital technology - they can't remember a time when they weren't immersed in computers and video games (and, depending on their age, smart phones). They know a lot more about this stuff than their elders do. I can assure you that if kids don't want their activities tracked, they'll find a way to cover their tracks. Moreover, I believe everyone needs a healthy degree of privacy to develop properly. Too much helicopter parenting isn't healthy for any of the parties concerned.

I wasn't familiar with the "don't have kids/start a romantic relationship until you can keep a plant alive for a year" idea before, but that's definitely a good thing to try if you're one of those people who's tempted to rush into commitments.

I don't disagree. I don't think "lights out- it's bedtime so you need to put away your ipod" is helicopter parenting lol. I didn't miss your points though.

[dfrecore]

I don't disagree. I don't think "lights out- it's bedtime so you need to put away your ipod" is helicopter parenting lol. I didn't miss your points though.

I agree. While I homeschool my kids, I'm pretty far removed from helicopter parenting - I am all about natural consequences (my kid just got back from camp and spent all his money and didn't have but $2 left to eat lunch that last day. Oh well, I guess next time he'll try to be better about budgeting, or else he'll go hungry! - I gave him PLENTY of money for meals, but he decided to buy a t-shirt with some of it). I want them to feel the pain of bad decisions, and some kids need to feel more pain than others. But when their pain (being sleepy and grumpy the next day) becomes MY pain, then we need to make some changes!