tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post5662825138412571817..comments2024-03-28T17:53:43.541-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: The Kids Are All RightDarwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-64631786180011782472016-07-21T13:11:33.281-04:002016-07-21T13:11:33.281-04:00My teens both have cell phones, but we talk a lot ...My teens both have cell phones, but we talk a lot about the fact that many of their contemporaries are almost addicted to their phones, and why that's a problem. I've also noticed that many older kids' activities basically assume everyone has a phone - often we're given no firm ending time, with the assumption that the kids will text us when they're finishing up. <br /><br />I've been really pleased with my daughter's Catholic high school, that very strictly enforces a "no phones in the classroom" - the principal told me that they're very aware of how much social pressure and bullying can happen with the phones, and they want the girls at least to have their school hours removed from that. I know that one of my daughter's classmates had a boyfriend who used to text her repeatedly during the school day and complain that she didn't text him back! <br /><br />I've definitely seen phones interfere with kids' ability to handle waiting at situations like rehearsals. One thing that's good about taking kids to church from the time they're little is that they learn to deal with sitting in boredom for an hour :) I see more and more kids using phones/tablets in grocery carts, which I definitely understand the temptation, but feel like you're doing yourself a disservice in the end by giving little ones the expectation that electronic entertainment will be available at all times. However, I do love to have a tablet and a pair of headphones when I have to drag a little one along while I have a doctor's appointment or meet with an accountant or really need them to be able to stay quiet and still. So I find the phones to be a great tool, but very easy to fall into the temptation to use them at all times. Son Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11863309198903282129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-65184723700553546182016-07-21T10:08:22.496-04:002016-07-21T10:08:22.496-04:00When I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to bring a ...When I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to bring a book in any case where you were supposed to be paying attention-- like recitals*.<br /><br />My phone mostly gets used as a camera or an ebook reader; if it's a situation where I wouldn't be allowed to have a book out as a kid, I don't allow myself the phone out.<br /><br />But I <i>do</i> have to have it-- my parents are in a dangerous job, and I'm who they contact first when stuff hits the fan. So I have to check every dang beep or burble to see what it is. <br /><br /><br />* (The amount of time that was inevitably wasted there, and my resulting lack of interest, may NOT be related. I can take inactivity; I can't take being required to put more attention into a thing than the people I'm paying attention to are willing to offer.) Foxfierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10161683096247890834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-57865760356665413712016-07-21T09:58:14.301-04:002016-07-21T09:58:14.301-04:00Pokemon Go: where a significant part of the point ...Pokemon Go: where a significant part of the point is to walk around the city at night.<br />Yeah, <i>not</i> a kids' game. More like a family game, although it's open to singles. Foxfierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10161683096247890834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-46260916779631990032016-07-21T09:39:24.049-04:002016-07-21T09:39:24.049-04:00Brandon, your low-tech phone is probably a major f...Brandon, your low-tech phone is probably a major factor to the amount of quality time you can spend reading and thinking about what you've read, and don't let anyone tell you differently.mrsdarwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03446744635277205867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-16823911358299514152016-07-21T09:37:39.521-04:002016-07-21T09:37:39.521-04:00Jamie, I also, like you, believe that dance recita...Jamie, I also, like you, believe that dance recitals and shows should be glowing-screen-free, but people seem to think that they're entitled to video everything, regardless of the fact that video quality is generally subpar and never captures the real thing (which they're missing by videoing, argh).mrsdarwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03446744635277205867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-60723524476239151172016-07-20T11:32:44.719-04:002016-07-20T11:32:44.719-04:00My cell phone is still primarily for emergencies. ...My cell phone is still primarily for emergencies. (And a flip phone model from pre-smartphone eons!)<br /><br />I think a lot of times we forget that the primary way in which kids (and everyone else) actually learn is just by getting and doing things, and then thinking about it. Other things can help; but our most fundamental education starts with participating in things.Brandonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06698839146562734910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-15460541634259302762016-07-20T11:23:34.320-04:002016-07-20T11:23:34.320-04:00I agree 100% with your assertion that meetings sho...I agree 100% with your assertion that meetings should be phone-free. But we are in a dwindling minority on that one. Phone etiquette is shifting rapidly to accommodate the preferences of people who get twitchy in a hurry without their phones in view, and the preferences of their out-of-sight contacts who expect them to have their phones in view.<br /><br />It all makes me feel positively elderly. A defiant kind of elderly, but elderly nonetheless.Jamiehttp://mostgladly.netnoreply@blogger.com