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Limiting Technology and Encouraging Creativity

January 14, 2013 By 8 Comments

Being a homeschooling mom, I work hard to make sure that my children reach their full potential.  To me, that means giving them many opportunities to work hard, a wide selection of good books to read, and plenty of down time to be creative.

Goat Milk Soap

Most of you are aware of the childrens’ roles in Goat Milk Stuff (our family business).  You know that my children are very hard workers and opportunities to prove that abound.  I’ve also dedicated a lot of time and money to making sure that we have an entire library of great books.

To make sure the children have plenty of time to be creative, we limit the technology they have access to.  In our house, there are no video games.  The children don’t have personal game devices.  They also don’t have any toys with batteries.  If the toy requires a battery to make it operational or fun, it doesn’t earn a place in our house.

Instead, we have items which encourage creativity:

  • lots and lots (way too many) legos
  • playmobil
  • pattern blocks
  • art and drawing supplies
  • playdoh (despite the mess)
  • tools
  • a huge backyard

Do my children interact with technology?  Of course.  It’s a part of the world we live in.  They need to know how to use it.  But we treat it as a tool.  It is a piece of their lives, not a huge part.  We are teaching them (particularly Brett who is the oldest) to keep things in balance.  Sometimes she is tempted to spend too much time online with her blog or social media.  When she questions why I limit her use, I explain it’s because she needs to learn that while the internet may seem essential to modern living, it is not all positive.

In a recent Newsweek article titled “Is the Web Driving Us Mad?” it says:

Now, however, the proof is starting to pile up. The first good, peer-reviewed research is emerging, and the picture is much gloomier than the trumpet blasts of Web utopians have allowed. The current incarnation of the Internet—portable, social, accelerated, and all-pervasive—may be making us not just dumber or lonelier but more depressed and anxious, prone to obsessive-compulsive and attention-deficit disorders, even outright psychotic. Our digitized minds can scan like those of drug addicts, and normal people are breaking down in sad and seemingly new ways.

It’s a really good reminder that we need to control our use of technology so that it doesn’t control us.  Right now we do that by giving the children (and ourselves) plenty of things to do as a family, so we don’t become engrossed in technology.

What about you?  Is technology and the internet used properly in your home?  Or do you think it’s out of control?

PJ

 

 

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  • lisa_champlin

    I don’t have any children of my own, however, I have a fifteen year old stepson. I am so happy that someone broke his laptop! We only have him every other weekend, and when it was working, he would sit on the couch with his headphones on the entire time.  I tried the “hey, why don’t we do ______ “, to no avail. Now that it is broken, he actually has conversations with us.  What an archaic idea! When I have children of my own, although people tell me I will change my mind, I will drastically limit things with batteries, as you say, and cords. TV, computer, video games, etc.  It drives me crazy when my sister lets my nephew bring his Nintendo DS into restaurants.  How is he supposed to learn how to behave in social settings? Regarding the conversation you overheard, in my honest opinion, they are letting their children spend hours playing video games because they are too lazy to interact with them themselves and using it as a free babysitter.

    • goatmilkstuff

      Hey, Lisa!  I agree, I’d be happy it broke too!  It’s a lot more work to parent without the technology babysitters. But nobody ever said that parenting was easy. :)

      PJ

  • kg

    I never wanted the amount of video games and technology toys my son managed to acquire.  He is going to be 20 years old and he wants to be a computer scientist!  Today he is away in Vermont with his girlfriend of almost 8 years…..  They are with the girlfriend’s single dad and girlfriend and a brother that loves his technology toys too..  Although my husband wasn’t going to let him go I felt some skiing is a lot better for him than working more days in a dirty warehouse for his winter break from college or sitting in front of a movie screen or computer screen or technology toy screen.  I tried so hard to keep him busy as an only child enrolled in all the library programs and he also when to a Lutheran Elementary School and a Christian College Prepartory Middle School and High School.  He took Ceramics and Advanced Art Classes….we tried some violin in Lutheran school.  My son does love music, as do most teenagers today.  I wish I could go upstairs and sell all the stuff he had acquired.  It is very hard nowadays to keep our youth away from technology, but I do very much agree with you that they should be taught that the technology available are there for a useful tool and not for excessive play…I am praying all this stuff will get sold so he can concentrate on something more concrete in his life… Have a nice day! xoxo

    • goatmilkstuff

      That’s hard because he’s already grown.  He’s got to figure it out for himself.  Hopefully he will and he’ll keep things in perspective. :)  PJ

  • Beth

    PJ, I’ve said this before but I am praying you write a book about parenting by the time I have children! (I’m 30 so if my husband and I are lucky it will be soon! Get to it!)

    Your podcasts and blog posts are so refreshing in an age where it’s normal for teenagers and even younger children to have cell phones, laptops and unlimited access to video games and the internet. Technology is an important and necessary subject, but I like your approach of teaching the children to use it as a tool rather than purely as a source of entertainment.

    • goatmilkstuff

      We’re working on the book!  We’re writing the book proposal now.  I’m glad you’re enjoying everything.  Comments like yours keep me doing it. :)  PJ

  • Mblboardman

    PJ, I commend your continued dedication to the educations and wellbeing of your children while maintaining a successful and thriving business. Like you, my practice/business relies on technology and social media to a point. Add on the fact that Jason and I really on our smart phones for constant communication with the hospitals and our patients, we are constantly trying to balance our own usage in order to set a good example for the proper usage of technology. Instead of sitting in front of a video game screen, our children read, and practice their respective organized sports. Annabella has a phone and I have been adamant that texting not replace her ability to communicate with her friends and other family members. I feel so strongly that communication is the key to just about every profession. Texting hinders the development of good and strong communication skills.

    Another difference between my kiddos and my own upbringing is the reduction in the amount of television they watch. I am constantly annoyed by the behavior and actions taken by the main characters of many “children’s shows”. We limit tv to te history channel, discovery and science channels. Everything else seems like a waste.

    So far they are pretty happy kids despite the limitations we place on

    • goatmilkstuff

      I agree – children’s shows are ridiculous today.  My children don’t watch any of them.  

      I love the fact that you and Jason have given it thought.  That’s my main goal.  Other parents won’t make the same decisions that Jim and I do.  And that’s to be expected.  I just want them to think through the decisions they do make!

      PJ