Kids Think Texting at Dinner Table NOT Dandy
Buried in this Time Magazine “Time for Kids” survey is an interesting little tidbit about the texting habits of kids, age 9 to 13. Girls, it appears, text more than boys – a lot more. But almost all kids agree texting is not fine in class or at the dinner table.
Well A-freaking-men.
Now if only their parents would heed the same advice. I can’t tell you how many times I see parents out to eat with their kids, holding up a cell phone between them so they can, what? Check the latest emergency email about a potential nuclear attack? No, of course not. Most emails are boring, insipid memos that can surely wait until after a meal. No wonder kids don’t think it’s ok — they’re probably sick to death of their parents ignoring them.
But wow, what a tangent. I meant to dig into the survey, because it provides a fascinating little snapshot of what kids think about everything from texting to President Obama’s first year in office. The prez gets largely Bs and Cs from the kids, and most kids want a lot of money out of life — though other survey answers seem to dwell on the idea that this isn’t fueled by some materialistic greed but rather the idea that if they had more money, mom wouldn’t have to work so much Cute. It’s an interesting survey of what our kids think of the world today.
Mike @ Cry It Out!
Many times my choice is between staying at the office or keeping one eye pinned to my blackberry. I choose to hang out with the blackberry even when it means emailing during dinner, so I can at least see my family between emails. You can argue that nothing is that important, and while I might agree with you, my bosses don’t appear to and I kind of need my job, being the sole breadwinner in my family right now. So, not so much ignoring my kids as trying to juggle everything to the best of my ability. Judgy, judgy.
I get it, I do. But I don’t think a boss is going to freak out if that email comes back to her in the next 5 minutes or the next 15. Family dinners aren’t 90 minute affairs — can you honestly not check your blackberry for 10 or 15 minutes? If not, I feel for you. That sucks. But I’d wager that 99.9 percent of people who text at dinner don’t *really* need to.
I’m always after my husband to stop checking email during dinner. He can wait 15 or 20 minutes, but it is a habit, unfortunately…
It Helps Me Do Better In School