[ High School and Self-Education Board ]
Posted by StaceyL in Canada on 8:00 Sep 16
In Reply to: I'm going to post under you, Anna, because posted by Carrie in NC
When we first got a computer many years ago, I saw it primarily as an opportunity to use "educational games" for my children--and we did initially use many such programs as part of their official or unofficial "schoolwork" , programs such as Thinking Things or Music Ace. As my children got older, however, I saw them turning to the computer for internet time and somehow, that got my back up. Why? Were they blowing off school time for computer time? Were they refusing to do their household chores when ensconcing themselves in front of the screen? Were they avoiding the "real world" by chatting with their friends via MSN? No....
What I finally came to recognise was that I associated their computer time with the way their father had spent the bulk of his free time (after work, on weekends) at the computer or the TV surfing pointlessly when he could have actually engaged with his family. For him, the world of the internet became addictive, and I did not want this happening to my children. Also, I had read material indicating that growing brains can be adversely affectd by excessive screen time, so I've wanted to minimise that time when the children were very young. I *still* find myself experiencing a frisson of anoyance when I glance into the study to find two bodies slouched near-motionless at the screens (aside from the flying fingers) but ya know--this computer time occurs *after* schoolwork, *after* chores, and is not replacing their real-world interests and relationships--in fact, this time seems, for my children, to be a combination of socialising and furtherance of their real-world interests--pretty much what I use the internet for : )
Because I'm aware that the internet/ computer use *can* become addictive, though, I feel I need to remain "always vigilant" re the time spent there, just as I need to remain vigilant, as my children remain under my care and authority, re the real world relationships and interests they develop, until it is time to release them fully into adulthood and independence.