Weekend-Engagement #296: What are your thoughts on putting young children in front of a screen to entertain and keep them quiet? Do you feel there's better ways for young kids to spend their time and better ways to parent?

Almost every day I watch the other parents around me and I feel perplexed and resigned, at first disgusted but by now I have lost hope. And if before, when I was not yet a parent, I already noticed it, now it is even worse. At the restaurant, at the park, and of course at the supermarket: I see small children sitting motionless in front of tablets or phones like zombies. They do not speak, they do not interact, they stare at a screen and end up swallowed by that reality.

The parents do not even look at them, too focused on eating in peace, chatting or scrolling, happy and satisfied to be able to have dinner without disturbance or do the shopping without having to pay attention to the child. At the restaurant they put them in front of a screen so the child does not make noise and does not disturb, eating without even looking at what they are eating but staying quiet, right? At the supermarket in the cart or in the stroller with the phone so they do not ask for anything, do not throw tantrums and do not cry, right?

And then people are surprised when diagnoses of ADHD, attention disorders, hyperactivity, social problems increase, because of course it is a coincidence, the screen has no role. I do not understand it. When I am out with my child I bring some simple, small toys, a little car or a lego. Small objects, so that they are practical to carry, which allow interaction, to let them develop some imagination, to be a living and active entity and not passive. It is true, you have to be attentive, respond to them, interact and it becomes demanding, but you play together, exchanging words and looks, because this is family.

The screen? Before sleep, at most 5 minutes, every other day, a light cartoon, without flashes, without a frantic rhythm, not like the modern crap that can cause epileptic seizures. What I really notice is the difference: children who interact, and why not get a little bored too and learn to fill that time with imagination, grow curious, more centered.

Those in front of the screen for hours... become adolescents and then adults passive in life, often without self-awareness. It is not about demonizing technology. It is about respecting the growth and mind of children, giving them time, not raising them in distraction and zombification.

And remembering that raising a child is not always comfortable, and it should not be, it means sacrifices and if you are not willing to make them it is better not to have children.

Random photos taken this weekend
Post in response to @galenkp Weekend-Engagement topics: WEEK296