The Wretched Stone

My second oldest child is an up-and-coming author (guess where he gets that from?). At age ten, he already knows the importance of networking and has established an email relationship with a published author/illustrator. Awesome! I can tell what a thrill it is for him, and I'd like to thank Adam Rex for remembering the little people!

An author that I'd like to meet someday is Chris Van Allsburg. I hope my son grows up to write books like his... a little mysterious, a lot meaningful!

The one I'm going to highlight today is called The Wretched Stone. It illustrates so well why I'm uneasy with the techonological invasion... it's taking an entire generation of lovely people and threatening to turn them into monkeys!

As a Clueless Mama, I'm not really sure how to handle it. Yes, generally speaking, I feel empowered to make rules in our household, like "No food outside of the kitchen" or "No playing with doors" but for some reason, when it comes to technology, I don't feel like I've found the right balance yet.

I happen to be typing this blog post on the laptop that the forementioned son owns -- he saved up his own money to buy it. Luckily, he is willing to let me be the sole password holder so he can't get on without my knowing. That gives me a little power -- but honestly, what I really want is for him to simply learn how to weild his own power.

In the past, "Screen Time" as we call it -- so it encompasses television watching, playing on the iPod, as well as computer/video gaming -- was a privilege the child had to earn. However, I struggle with this system because I feel like I'm rewarding them with something that has (in my estimation) little-to-no value. So I'm sending the message that it *has* value by making them earn it and calling it a reward.

Right now, our family is trying out a different system. We have assigned the hour before dinner to be the only time they are allowed to use the various wretched stones. Oh, they still have to have their homework done and be done "blessing our home" (that's what we call chores -- see this post for more insight). So, in that sense, we're teaching them prioritization. However, we no longer consider Screen Time a privilege -- we call it Techno-Mush-Brain Hour and simply allow it to be a form of relaxation.

© Werg | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

So far, I think it's working pretty well. It helps them hurry to finish their homework and get the house blessed so that doesn't drag out all evening. It also means that the rest of the evening after dinner, they know to just find something else to do -- and it's a beautiful thing to see how they get creative with their free time -- like writing novels! The very title of the screen time is a reminder to them that they must learn to set limits and guard against letting their brains turn into oatmeal...

What do you do in your home to control screen time, fellow mamas? This Clueless Mama needs more ideas for when this system needs tweaking...