Times, They are a Changing!

Growing Pains of Life

as you present now your old road will later be past: Bob Dylan

My children often remind me just how much and how fast things change around me, no matter how well-read I am. Life is constantly changing faster than I am used to and this brain of mine is trying to keep pace with it all...while adapting and evolving to that constant daily information bottleneck.

Then, I look deeper at my children as well as my friends and family's children and wonder if their live's are more stressful than most of were as children. Kids seem a bit more serious these days unless they are glued to mobile devices!

Having said that, It brings back those deep memories of helping mom and dad as well as the neighbors with chores ( cutting lawns, weeding, helping with house cleaning...etc). I smile about the gratitude I received. The extra gifts I received from those in my neighborhood, like dishes oh homemade cookies, candy , envelopes with money, etc. Yes, what great memories!

Then, I fondly remember (the very best part) after all my chores were done, I would run out to the neighborhood hangout block for our gang of friends. We'd always have something great to do. Heck, I felt like my life was like a Tom Sawyer adventure. From stick-ball, football and baseball, to basement made puppet shows and plays, to hikes in the woods, to borrowing dads tools and collecting scrap wood for tree houses and that's just scraping the surface! Life was great!

And that's where I think.."Why do many of our children seem to have little to do aside from Mobile devices and games?"

Families sitting next to one another in restaurants or in malls...Mobile devices in hands for games, YouTube, FaceBook and SMS. a world of DEVICE ZOMBIES!

Does this sound familiar or is it just me?

So, if times are changing, then we need to change as parents too. right? We need to set good examples and do what is right. True? After all, we should be equally successful and effective in our personal lives as we as at the workplace and / or our companies. Correct?

Time for Changes!

So, I see my children don't want to go outside...in short I have to help them think. Ouch! What should I do? Well, be it right or wrong ( to my wife it was a crime! ) ...on one particularly lovely day, I told my children to go out in the neighborhood to play and to find friends. Of course all 3 of my daughters just froze and stared at me. LOL Oops! They needed direction and in my opinion...how does one teach their kids just to be kids? I don't know! But here's what I did: I said " Listen it is very natural to make friends and use a little imagination to create fun things to do...so go give it a try!" So, off I went to help the wife with house chores. Only problem was that the kids were coming in and out of the house every 5 minutes for water and snacks! LOL So, I said " Girls! I am claiming any part of the house or yard off limits for the next half hour!!!! OK?..But, if you have any issues or need me..then it is ok to come home immediately. Other than this..please try to last 1 half hour" OK DAD! ( all 3 looking quite baffled!) On the first day they were waiting at the door when I came to check...same the second day, 10 minutes later than they expect time on the 3rd day!

IN THE MEANTIME: So, my wife panicked at my choice and condemned me to silence as the CRAZY DAD!

However, there was a rainbow and a sunny sky as well as a happy family come the 4th day! Yippie!

They were nowhere near the house come the time they were allowed back home! Oh oh! Mamas made at dad! So out we go to the next block! We were meant with screaming kids, 3 of our own and 2 new ones! They were playing kick ball! Score one for dad! The kids and mom were elated with dad's approach to life! That lasted for a few months!

So what happened?

Well being the very hip and cool parent we were. We noted that other parents were buying their kids IPADs and Galaxy Note-Pads. So, off we went to keep up with the neighbors and to claim our coolness! WRONG!!! Our parental brain should come with warning labels! You know what I mean. right? I thought so!

Ignorant and foolish me!

Slowly yet quite suddenly...we notice things were changing. There was more work for mom and dad. Kid more quiet and non-responsive when we yelled for them. Hemm? Must be some kind of disease! something called Mobile Device Syndrome ( by me at least ).

So, first the warning and soft friendly adult friend to friend talk. FAILURE!

Second warning lasted a few days and so on. Get the picture? Been there and done that? Uh hum!

What did I do?

I bravely ventured toward their rooms and took away all mobile devices, lock them all away and instantly made enemies with all my daughters and wife! OUCH! ( I can hear my parents laughing as they sit on a cloud up above). No one talked to me for about a week. Then one evening my daughter knocked on my office door and asked to talk with me. She said something briefly , like: "Dad, I am sorry for acting angry at you. I know you love me and I understand what you mean by getting out of the mobile zone and back into the real world" and the other two daughters followed one at a time behind her. So. I gave them back their phones...right? NO NO! I told them that I will have to see a pattern and then habit of living life as young kids should do and then after that, I will make a schedule of the times they can use...when not using they must be brought back to me. So far so good. All kids and mom are happy and so am I.

Moral for me?

Some changes must be balanced with yesterday's way of thinking