what is it with screens?

TV, computers, video games.

they drive me crazy. They do make life very useful at times......ie: internet shopping late at night beats taking 4 kids shopping for clothes ANY day!

But, why does it seem like they have TAKEN over society? Is this just a part of change that is inevitable?

This is especially hitting home lately because I have been out-voted in our house and have finally caved and allowed this family to own a Wii. It is fun, I admit.....for about 5 minutes. LOL. It seems as if my brood would rather be playing the thing (well, really it is mostly Andrew) than doing just about anything else. It drives me insane. I have come close to taking it out to the garage and running it over with the car several times!!!!!

Why on earth did I let them get it then, you might ask.

I do think that screens are an inevitable part of life these days. They give us news in an instant, allow us to communicate with friends and family that are far away, allow my husband to be able to do some work from home so he can BE home more often.

Unfortunately with those conveniences go a huge responsibility that is difficult to be vigilant about. Not permitting screens to take over and take PLACE of other things is quite a challenge. I wholeheartedly think that they can easily come in between REAL personal relationships and it is our responsibility to make sure that they don't. Most people that I know aren't very good at it, including myself.

I have m my own love for some things with a screen. It has connected me to a group of other moms that I have been friends with now for almost 8 years. It is an outlet for me at times that I could really use it.

I have succumbed to things like the Wii because I don't think it is my job to attempt to prohibit the inevitable changes in our culture, but to teach my children how to self-limit. Kind of like Fruit Loops.

WHAT?

Well, when I was a kid, I had a dad who gave me a heaping pile of wheat germ on my cereal each morning. Fruit loops were not even on the radar. I became obsessed and what do you think I did the minute I grew up and moved out of the house? I consumed my weight in Fruit Loops several times over.......I cannot tell a lie although it isn't something I am too proud of. ;)

Anyway, I think that if we completely FORBID some things, it becomes so enticing and so mysterious that they will do what I did. I don't want to hear that my kids are in the hospital from playing video games for 72 hrs with no sleep because I never would allow them 10 minutes when they were younger.

Of course, this is not the case with ALL things (ie: guns or weapons, drugs). I'm talking screen stuff only here, and also APPROPRIATE screen stuff. No grand theft auto type things (hey, I only know about that b/c I read an article in Time magazine a few years back, and it wasn't one I will ever forget......yikes!) or frankly even things like Sponge Bob. (But that's a whole other topic).

I am just struggling daily with the kids because I feel like ALL THEY DO somedays is try to figure out how to get me to let them have MORE tv time, MORE Wii time, etc.

I feel like shouting from the rooftops.......EEEEENNNNNNNNNOOOOOUUUUUGGGHHHHHH!

It doesn't help that I am married to a very wonderful and loving man who loves these things as much as the kids. He played and watched a lot as a child and says "well, I turned out pretty good". Some days I wonder how, but that is even ANOTHER whole story, and probably one best kept to myself. ;)

But why are all things screen so coveted? I allow the school aged kids no screen time on weeknights, and 1-2 hrs per day on weekends. I have been known to let 30 min be allowed during the week after chores and homework, but it kills me that THAT IS WHAT THEY WOULD CHOOSE TO DO ALL THE TIME IF THEY COULD.

Ok, I should stop screaming and step away from the screen. LOL