How did our parents get by back then without all of the kid-friendly technologies?
I was sitting having a peaceful and quiet lunch recently when a family came in and sat down at the table beside me. Their little son was probably about four years old, and that may be stretching it.
Not even a couple of minutes after sitting down, the dad had his cell phone out and was talking away on it; meanwhile, the mom stared off into never never land, and the little boy reached out to take the phone from his dad.
At that moment, the dad ended his conversation, and then fiddled with his cell phone. All of a sudden a loud noise started out of the cell phone, as the dad passed it to his young son. The noise created friction in the restaurant, yet somehow this was missed by them…
I thought surely the mom would turn it down, or off. It was lunchtime and there were many people in the restaurant, but no, the loud, obnoxious noise continued.
Why didn’t I speak out, you may ask?
Good question. I will say something next time.
So here I was sitting and thinking, “This can’t be the first time I have witnessed recently parents relying on cell phone games and handheld electronic games to entertain their kids, but what effects will these easy distractions have on kids’ socializing skills?”
For one, the little fellow in question now thinks loud noises are acceptable in a restaurant environment, and having to sit through a lunch and talk to his parents is second to his winning a video game.
What do you think? I think maybe I would have liked living in the old days when people didn’t have cell phones out all the time.
Personally, I find it frustrating when people are on their cell phones talking loudly on buses, restaurants, elevators, and the list of places goes on.
As for video games, whatever happened to having playtime with other kids and good old family time without cell phones and games?
Bottom line, I think parents have to be good role models and not pull their cell phones out at these family occasions to begin with, unless there is an emergency.
