The digital age
Part if it is his age. He’s past playing with plastic animals and trains, but I know there must be more out there for 9-year-old boy to entertain himself with that doesn’t involve a screen and charging cord.
I know I am to blame for this predicament. For his birthday, we gave him a Kindle Fire and for Christmas he got a 2DS. The Kindle, we rationalized, could be used for reading as well as games, but there was no rationalizing the 2DS. It’s all he really wanted, so we caved.
There are plenty of times when he is unplugged. There are neighborhood football games, laser tag and Nerf gun wars. But when the other kids go inside, and it’s just Jonah in the house, there’s “nothing to do” but plug in.
As a mom who works from home, I admit that I’ve let this get out of hand. It’s easier when the kids are quietly content playing their digital devices. I even feel like it’s a win if they are playing on the Wii because at least they are playing together and there is interaction. It’s a stretch. I know.
Lately, however, we’ve had to set limits on Jonah’s digital time. Even he seems to realize there’s got to be more to life than electronic games. He told me the other day he needed a new hobby. I’m feeling hopeful.
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FranklyStein is a blog by Chesapeake Family Magazine editor Betsy Stein who lives in Catonsville with her husband, Chris, and four children, Maggie, 14, Lilly, 13, Adam, 13, and Jonah, 9.
