re: #429 Killgore Trout

I’m a little concerned about today’s parenting. It seems every parent I see is glued to a cell phone or texting device and completely ignoring their children.

re: #430 Obdicut

It’s so sad to see a wonderful, energetic kid bouncing around, being adorable, and the parent frowning into their blackberry as they ignore them.

Above all, kids crave attention. If you don’t give it to them, they’re going to go nuts.

And helicopter parents don’t really give attention. They fuss and they worry, but they don’t take the time to just be into their kids and how awesome they are.

I think we’re all generally seeing the same thing. Planning all the activities for kids means they’re out of the way while parents think they’re enriching the kid. In fairness, there’s no way we can know what the relationship is like when they aren’t in our view though. I grew up with my parents telling us to get the heck outa the house and go entertain ourselves outside playing - the “scram!” approach to parenting. But then we always shared family meals in the evening before deciding on what we would watch on the ONE TV we had in the family room or what game we’d play sitting around the kitchen table. I think that entertainment electronics is probably more destructive to family relationships than anything.