In Defense of the iPod: The Farm Kid/Technology Balance

I wanted to write a piece about why I let my almost 7 year old take his iPod everywhere. His 9 year old sister does too. It is very easy to find article after article about how bad screen time is and how kids are needing to be more active and so on and so on. I agree with many of these articles but have found my own voice on the subject on the fence post of the argument. Technology bad? Technology good?

Well my friends...technology here.

Like it or not.

We live in a world where one to one devices in schools is not a far off fantasy worthy of laughing at but instead already happening! Why wouldn't I let me kids carry the devices that power their future? 

Now, before you get all upset with me...you need to know some important things.

A) My kids are very healthy...they play outside and imagine and create and run and jump and act.

B) My kids read. They read everyday. They read in our living room, in our bathroom, in the yard, on the deck, while they are camping, to their cousins, and sometimes...when they don't think I can see them...they even read to each other. They do well in school.

C) My kids have friends! Good ones! They get into trouble, they bicker, they invent, they celebrate.

D) AND I know this is going to go against every recent article I have read about how to be a good parent....they have IPODS that they can take where ever they want! They take photos, they make movies, they (eeek!) Play MINECRAFT (Parent of the Year is WAY too hard for me to win)...they text their grandparents, they have even been known to send spelling words to friends that live a distance away. They dance and sing. They YouTube musicals coming to Winnipeg and Google the Goldeyes' schedule. They find their favorite authors' websites and listen to stories downloaded from itunes. These are resourceful kids. AND I can brag. Because they are mine. And parents love to brag about their kids. Including me.

I do not believe that Technology Bad (said in cavewoman voice). I think that with every new change in our lifestyles comes hesitation and skepticism. New things are not easy. And these new things are changing fast. It is exhausting to keep up. Texting is evil - beware of Minecraft addiction - your kid's brain is going to mush. Maybe our kids' brains are working in different ways. That doesn't necessarily make it bad. Or maybe it is! I don't know...but I do know Apple is here.

 

SO instead of getting all worried that my kids are doomed to an anxiety filled, deaf, and robotic existence, I plan on making these my priorities:

1) Teaching  iPod etiquette (it doesn't go into the bathroom, you may not take photos of people if they don't want their photo taken)

2)  Teaching how to find the information they need in a safe and responsible way. What sources are reliable? You cannot believe everything you read.

3) Self Regulation - Vitamin D comes from the sun. Get outside. 

It is all about balance. Find the balance that makes you happy. I promise I will not judge you for your choice in not allowing your child technology yet, if you promise not to judge mine making science videos about how the baler works. 

Love That Boy

I am reading a book to the grade 4s that was inspired by this poem. The book is called Love That Dog by Sharon Creech but I was drawn to the poem.

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

Love This Boy by Walter Dean Myers

Love that boy,

like a rabbit loves to run

I said I love that boy

like a rabbit loves to run

Love to call him in the morning

love to call him

"Hey there, son!"

He walk like his Grandpa,

Grins like his Uncle Ben.

I said he walk like his Grandpa,

And grins like his Uncle Ben.

Grins when he’s happy,

When he sad, he grins again.

His mama like to hold him,

Like to feed him cherry pie.

I said his mama like to hold him.

Like to feed him that cherry pie.

She can have him now,

I’ll get him by and by

He got long roads to walk down

Before the setting sun.

I said he got a long, long road to walk down

Before the setting sun.

He’ll be a long stride walker,

And a good man before he done.

Rory is the scientist of the day tomorrow...we debated all weekend what to do. Then I re-read the newsletter (I hadn't lost it yet) and realized that all of our really cool ideas did not fit the criteria. We debated learning the science behind the hockey stick and then we were going to be paleontologists. The project had to be related to water. Behold...we made it rain! He was a bit nervous to be on video (unlike Ms. Dee) but ran and put on a dress shirt and the more we talked, the more excited he became, and the video turned out better than he ever imagined. He is all giggles about our slow motion rain drop. ALSO IMPORTANT: He is finally getting the hockey hair-do he is after and wants everyone to notice that he has a slight flip behind his ear now. My favorite part of this was Rory taking ownership. He so often has to listen to Ms. Science Experimenter boss him around when we do stuff like this and he thoroughly enjoyed telling her she had to stay out of this one. The satisfied look he gives me through the kettle handle when we catch the rain drop is the look that made this night so special. Love This Boy. Like May clouds like to rain.