I saw a post on one of my mom group pages the other day about how weird it was to be in another country where none of the kids were on electronics at the dinner tables in restaurants. Apparently it’s all the rage in the States. I responded that I didn’t really notice this. That when I go out I tend to see parents and children interacting at the table. I was then asked if I was Amish….. In case you are not aware… not Amish.
I was then berated by mom after mom about how much they hate how all the kids are on their phones and tablets at the table. How kids today are like little zombies with no ability to communicate with anyone in person. How disrespectful all the children walking the street are just little hooligans.
I then proceeded to say that my child doesn’t use electronics at the table. That the one time he was given permission to use his tablet while I was out with a friend because he had been disappointed that his friend couldn’t come, he actually only stayed on it during the short time that we waited for the food to come and then immediately put it away once the food arrived.
This seemed to anger the other moms. Basically saying things like, “Oh, good for you,” and “,aren’t you just special”. These moms went on to say that it’s not that easy with their kids and that not everyone has the same… I don’t know… opportunity to not have their kids do this. One went on to say that it’s not like the old days when people brought crayons and books for their kids.
I don’t know who these moms think are raising these kids. Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe no one is. I responded that I don’t bring books and crayons either. I just include my kid in the conversation. I assumed that everyone else did this as well. That is LITERALLY how you teach kids communication skills and how to be respectful. I’m not sure what these moms were expecting.
I know that in the 90s there was a big push that “it takes a village” to raise a child, but I didn’t think that would lead to parents thinking that they were off the hook. I mean, honestly, where do these parents think that their children will learn good habits and responsibility? They act like kids just come out as is and it’s their bad luck that they got ones that do these things they don’t like and there’s nothing that can be done about it.
I can’t imagine the world that my son is going to live in in the future, but I can tell you that he’ll be one of the few with the skills to compete and thrive. So he’ll probably be one of the first shipped off to the Gulag.
Katrina Michelle Russell 