“We are many people, but in Christ we are all one body."
~ Romans 12:5
The knock at their bedroom door
woke them both. A pair of tiny feet
approached the bed and pulled gently at the covers. Aaron opened his eyes to find three-year-old,
Benjamin standing at the bedside in his pajamas.
“Daddy,” he announced, with a sense of great urgency. “I need the iPad.”
Aaron checked his watch - 4:12am. He stumbled to his feet and ushered young
Benjamin back to his room. “You don't
need the iPad,” he said, tucking him back into bed. “You need to go back to sleep. It's the middle of the night.”
When the alarm clock rang at 7am, Katie noticed something
amiss: the family’s iPad, which she’d left charging on the nightstand overnight,
had disappeared. She went to the play
room.
There sat young Benjamin, cross-legged on the floor, with
the stolen device in his lap. He was
playing a noisy video game called Monkey’s
Lunchbox. The battery was already
half empty; he'd been playing for at least two hours.
When she took the iPad away, he screamed. His tantrum continued all the way to
Preschool. When she picked him up later
that day, the nursery teacher asked, “Is everything all right at home? He’s seemed a little lethargic recently.”
Katie had no idea how to respond. Their baby had become an iPad addict.
On the road home, Katie’s thoughts returned to her own
childhood days growing up in rural Indiana.
Family prayer, values, truths, and stories were shared at that round
piece of maple they called the dinner table.
No one called during dinnertime.
They all helped either get dinner ready or washed dishes
afterwards. After a busy day their
evening meal was a chance to reconnect with each other. It seemed like a fitting reward for the day’s
hard work.
Now their meals often took place in a crowded restaurant. They were socializing, but not with each
other: Everyone was nose deep in an
electronic gadget. Once they ordered
appetizers, they promptly returned to their own devices. They were alone . . . together.
Aaron arrived home from work and suggested they “do” Olive
Garden for dinner.
“No way!” announced Katie.
“Let’s get take-out and start a new tradition - dinner after prayer at
home . . . together . . . no cellphone or iPads allowed.”
Calling something that destroys conversation and interferes
with face-to-face human contact "Social" is a sign of the silly,
manipulative world we live in. It’s
never too early to set boundaries on the time a child may spend on a tablet. If you feel your child is obsessed with a
piece of technology, reduce its availability.
If you feel your child’s behavior is affected adversely, ban its use
altogether. You’re in charge!
Lord, technology has changed the way we
communicate, opened new doors, made Your Word more accessible, and deepened
relationships across physical boundaries.
Help us learn to use technology and all things media for Your good. Amen
