Abby, hi! I had to comment on this one because I agree wholeheartedly with everything you've written. This whole topic (and your approach to it) resonates deep in my soul. It's one of the things I feel most passionate about in parenting. I was raised with similar screen time limitations, and I also now (as a parent of two young kids) harbor a similar deep gratitude for my parents' commitment to restricting our access in that way. I've found that this way of parenting becomes more and more "against the grain" as the kids get a little older, and I do admittedly sometimes give them more screen time than I'd like. In general, though, I keep it quite limited and try to decide thoughtfully about what I let them watch. Planet Earth is a current favorite, for instance, and we also love the younger-kid-appropriate Miyazaki movies (My Neighbor Totoro and Arietty are my faves). And I will die on the cross of no personal kid devices....maybe ever?? I also agree about the need to let kids be bored and let them figure out how to make their own fun. That part is hard...I sometimes give in to the "entertainment kidustrial complex" (lol) with too many audio stories, for instance. Solidarity! Keep fighting the good fight. ;)
Dear Tema! Thank you for the encouragement and the comment. Totoro! Oh man. I can't wait to introduce our little buddies to that one. Much love to you & yours.
Abby, hi! I had to comment on this one because I agree wholeheartedly with everything you've written. This whole topic (and your approach to it) resonates deep in my soul. It's one of the things I feel most passionate about in parenting. I was raised with similar screen time limitations, and I also now (as a parent of two young kids) harbor a similar deep gratitude for my parents' commitment to restricting our access in that way. I've found that this way of parenting becomes more and more "against the grain" as the kids get a little older, and I do admittedly sometimes give them more screen time than I'd like. In general, though, I keep it quite limited and try to decide thoughtfully about what I let them watch. Planet Earth is a current favorite, for instance, and we also love the younger-kid-appropriate Miyazaki movies (My Neighbor Totoro and Arietty are my faves). And I will die on the cross of no personal kid devices....maybe ever?? I also agree about the need to let kids be bored and let them figure out how to make their own fun. That part is hard...I sometimes give in to the "entertainment kidustrial complex" (lol) with too many audio stories, for instance. Solidarity! Keep fighting the good fight. ;)
Dear Tema! Thank you for the encouragement and the comment. Totoro! Oh man. I can't wait to introduce our little buddies to that one. Much love to you & yours.