A weekly list of things I love and what’s going on with me.
The latest thing I love: acai bowls. (That’s pronounced ah-sigh-ee by the way.) I read this recipe and was intrigued, but I wanted to try one first, to see if I liked it before I made my own. So Z and I spent a sunshiney afternoon at the wading pool at Volunteer Park, and then went to Healeo, where we shared this:
It was delicious! Pretty much like eating ice cream, but with sort of a thick smoothie base instead of the ice cream, and lots of healthy topping options. I want to try to make up my own recipe, based on a mashup between Kristen’s and this bowl. I’ll probably follow Kristen’s recipe except for the nut butter and I might use a different protein powder. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
This is one of the better explanations I have read about what it’s like to decide to be a parent. At least for me. I have always wanted to have a child, but it’s impossible for me to know what I don’t know about my “sister lives”–and I find that haunting and excruciating and beautiful all at once. If you’re trying to decide whether to have children, or if you’re just a human being alive in your own messy glory…it’s a beautiful read.
I’m fascinated by this blog–the story of someone who felt that her child’s media consumption had become harmful to him, and how she decides to heal him. It’s inspiring to see someone so honest and open to making changes.
This is such a big and fuzzy issue for me, since like anything with parenting it touches on my own habits and values. In general, I think I would like to put off Zane’s exposure to any kind of screen time as long as possible. But it’s another thing to do that on a practical level.
Right now, Z watches zero TV since I am the only tv-watcher in the family, and I only do it after he goes to bed. No video games, since dad is the only video-gamer in the house and he plays on the computer in his office (on the rare occasion he gets the chance.) So those are not really issues for us yet.
That leaves the area where we’re a little grey: iPhones and iPads. They’re pretty much ever-present in our home (and our hands!) We don’t let him play games of his own, but we will occasionally let him look at the iPad, and boy does it stick with him! He calls the iPad the “airplane” machine because dad will do a search for airplanes and let him see all the cool photos. I have to say it’s disturbing how insistent he is when he sees the iPad laying around. And the more frequently we do it, the more he wants it.
So I guess this has been a mini lesson for me in screen time. We’ve stopped showing him stuff on the iPad unless we’re in a particular place like a restaurant, where we need him to settle for a while. And that is so convenient, I’m not willing to give it up.
I am sure this issue will get much more complex as Z gets older. The longer I am a parent the less I feel like I have all the answers–for my own family, never mind anyone else’s. Although I have to say that is another reason I adore the Waldorf philosophy of education: limited (or no) screen time is a part of their core values. I can use all the help I can get!
What do you think or do about screen time and your little one? How did it change as they got older?
Related posts:
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I think my ideas about screen time have gone to hell in a handbasket since I had Penny, ha! We put off screen time until last fall when I was sick during early pregnancy and Archer was hardly napping. Then, we handed him an iPad on the plane to Hawaii (it’s 6 hours in case you didn’t know because I didn’t). At that point he wasn’t interested and I kind of wished he would be, you know for ‘those’ times. Now I feel like he is similar to Z where if it’s around he wants it especially with all the company we’ve had. At first I was firm about no screens until after nap where he watched a few minutes of sesame street songs (we loved Fiest and Will.i.am) on youtube. But, then as more people came I was worn down and I used the screen to have Archer sit with me while Penny nursed. I guess one of the advantages to waiting more than 2 years between kids is he would be more easily self entertained or in school while I nurse all day. I try to keep the big picture in mind and hope we can wean off it and go back to a few minutes a day after the company ends and Penny can go a little longer between sessions. Whew that’s a lot. Thanks for sharing and asking.
Girl, as you know I am in awe of the mamas with more than one baby! I can’t imagine how I might juggle needing to entertain one with nursing another…nothing but admiration from over here!
I always hesitate to tell anyone my view on Sylvie and screen time because for some reason it’s one of those areas of parenting where if you share what you do, sometimes people assume you judge them for doing differently. I haven’t even wanted to mention the fact that we raise her media free to anyone because of this. So, let me just say that this was a personal decision that was important to me, but I have no opinion on whether or not another parent allows media. So, we raise her with almost no screen time. The one exception is the iPhone. We try to use it out of her sight, and we just let her talk to people on it. We also use a computer for Skype since both of our families are far away. I once let her play with a farm game I downloaded on an airplane, but she didn’t really ever ask for it again after those 10 minutes. I just have to say that it’s really hard, and I get a lot of “feedback” about that choice. I definitely think it’s one of those things that parents have to figure out for themselves and do what works for them. Who knows. What works now might change for us at some point. Being a parent is always teaching me that flexibility and open-mindedness are very important to sanity.
So funny how people worry about being “judged” on either side, no matter what their choices are. I guess it just goes to show how nobody likes to be misunderstood. I hear you on the flexibility–so many of my “I never…”s have come true within months that I will *never* make any definitive pronouncements when it comes to parenting again! Thanks for being here Carrie Anne