Final Word: Drop the iPad and parenting is easy
Oct 10, 2013, 9:43 PM | Updated: 9:43 pm
Too many studies? Perhaps.
Too many studies about the proper way to parent? Definitely.
An article in Philly Magazine this week asserts that American parents read too many studies about parenting, and thus do their kids more harm than good.
If you’ve had children, you’ve probably bought the “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” books series. But, if you’re like most parents, you might have had the best intentions to read the whole thing and then fell behind.
Instead, you read the daily news and see an average of five articles a day about the new “best practices.” So, trying to do the right thing, you change tactics.
You let the baby “cry it out” instead of going in to check every time they need you.
You use formula instead of breastfeeding.
You hold off on immunizations, fearing autism.
But the real damage we do, according to this study, is the lack of physical and eye-to-eye contact. The study finds that moms check their Facebook status more than any other group of people.
That baby in the stroller? He needs to see mom’s face. That’s how he learns to process emotion. If you’re looking at a screen, what is your child seeing?
And who hasn’t seen the mom at the park on their cell phone. The kid is trying to get their attention to show them the cartwheel or the sand castle. Mom is too busy texting to look up.
We are raising a nation of screen-hungry kids who aren’t sure how they feel about things. It’s no wonder.
There’s a new parenting study out. I wrote it.
It’s pretty simple: Put down your device and pick up your kids.
