April Editor's Letter
I’ve written in this space before of my love/hate relationship with technology, my phone and social media. On one hand, it provides me with a lot of positives: keeps me in touch with a wide variety of people, frees me up from being tied to my laptop all day, informs me of social events, etc. But on the other hand, I see quite a few negatives: the feeling of being available 24/7, monitoring my girls’ screen time and social media behavior (which in and of itself sometimes feels like a full-time job), burning time perusing Facebook or Pinterest when I could be doing something productive and more.
For as long as we’ve had screens in the house, I’ve had limits. In fact, my girls still ask if they can watch TV before they turn it on. I frequently announce a “low screen” or “no screen” day in our home. These are not planned in advance, and the girls know on those days they either have screens for an hour or not at all. At first they grumbled but they’ve gotten used to it. I put my phone up around 8:00 each night and don’t check it until the morning, but I think I need to do more. I can see the benefits of going a day or two without. I typically make an excuse that I need it for work or to stay in touch with the kids, but if they can make do without, then so can I. Lee’s Summit mom Allison Gibeson looks at the benefits of a digital detox here.
Spring is officially here, and that means the calendar gets busier and fuller! For everything from Easter egg hunts to kite flying parks and more, we’ve got you covered at KCParent.com. Check it out today for great ways to get out and enjoy a spring day!
Happy Easter and happy spring, Kansas City!