Parents waste time on their phones, so the kids learn to as well. I say this as a parent that struggles to regulate my screen time and my kids.
Putting it on the kids is a form of projection. It’s hard to hold our own shame and feel it. And easier to try and control others behavior.
The better conversation is why do we put so much shame into screentime given the power and ubiquity of computing? The, at best, the extremely marginal causal negative effects of screentime on children’s outcomes? Why don’t we focus on things that actually impact kids outcomes like Adverse Childhood Experiences (abuse, etc)?
The number of times I decline my kids' requests for screen time and then immediately return to my own laptop or phone is quite remarkable. We excuse it under the guise of work, research or organisation, but those things easily bleed into general browsing and social media.
Parents waste time on their phones, so the kids learn to as well. I say this as a parent that struggles to regulate my screen time and my kids.
Putting it on the kids is a form of projection. It’s hard to hold our own shame and feel it. And easier to try and control others behavior.
The better conversation is why do we put so much shame into screentime given the power and ubiquity of computing? The, at best, the extremely marginal causal negative effects of screentime on children’s outcomes? Why don’t we focus on things that actually impact kids outcomes like Adverse Childhood Experiences (abuse, etc)?