the way of the ipad

We’ve gone the way of the ipad. We held fast for about a week, giving strict instruction that the kids were not to touch the shiny new device.  But we caved pretty quickly. Oh, I have such mixed feelings about technology. It is truly amazing to see how my kids can learn and create on this device.  We have been working on letters with Kembe for the past year, and he has also been in preschool for a year.  But no matter how much repetition , he just could not grasp the concept of symbols – for both letters and numbers.  And then, five minutes on the ipad and he is enthusiastically identifying letters and their sounds.  I think there is something about the tactile experience that made it click for him. I love watching Jafta’s little brain work as he identifies sight words. There is an app that all of the kids loves that allows them to trace their letters.  Even Karis loves it. It really is a lot of fun. But then I get visions of the future, of all six of us sitting in our living room, ignoring each other as we interact with our own personal screens.  I know that this is not a foregone conclusion to letting our kids play with the ipad – but there is some part of me that fears the implications of technology on family life.  I will be speaking on a panel that will be grappling with these issues at the upcoming Mom 2.0 Summit, along with Cecily and Cyndy.  We had a short chat about the session yesterday and it really is profound the way that technology is shaping our lives, in good and bad ways.  I am so very grateful for many of the things that technology has given me.  It is amazing how connected it can make me feel, but it is also concerned how much disconnection it can create as well.  Technology is changing at a rapid pace and it’s hard because we don’t really have a generation of parents who’ve gone before us and can illuminate how to navigate the waters.  My hope is that our family can enjoy technology as an adjunct to a full life, and not as something that takes over our life.  But that balance is one that I think may be a constant struggle, as I watch my kids fighting and crawling over each other to get to the coveted ipad, like it’s Gollum’s precious ring. How do you negotiate technology and screen time with your kids?  Is the rapid pace of developing technology something you worry about?