A few days ago, I was sitting in the waiting room of a tire store, trying to do some writing, minding my own business as they put my tires on, and then low and behold, something interesting happened. A family walked in —mother and father and I think about five kids or so.  I guess they must have ranged in age from four to 11, boys and girls.  They all sat in front of me on bar stools with a small desk in front of them, and then, I got back to business, knowing that in a few seconds, I would hear electronic computer games blasting, video with audio, and some other electronic noises, as per usual.

I was wrong.

I tried to concentrate on my work at hand, but it was difficult, I think, because the kids were too quiet.  I will admit, I did raise my eyes to see what was the cause of this deafening and unusual quiet, and not one of these kids had any electronic device at all.  No cell phones, no IPADs or tablets of any kind.  I thought, ok, maybe the devices were there, but my ears don’t hear very well, and my vision isn’t perfect, so that must explain it.

No.  It was not my senses failing me

Each child had either a coloring book that they were feverishly coloring, or using colored markers, showing beautiful colors and designs. Some were writing, it seemed, on paper, no less, but I have no idea what they were writing.  They also brought in books.  Some of them appeared to be library books.  Yes, it is archaic and ancient history, but yes, plastic-bound library books.   They did not cry, or scream or demand from their parents anything at all.  No tantrums.  They each went to the ice- cold bottled water cooler and got themselves water, then went back to work.  No crying about lack of soda or candy.

These appeared to be happy, well-adjusted kids, who did not seem to be lacking in any of the basic necessities— good clothes, nice grooming etc.  At least in that scene that I observed for a few minutes, they did not seem to feel deprived of anything, especially not cell phones and electronic video games.

I bring this up, my readers, because it surprised me because almost always, I see kids with their heads buried in phones or electronics, letting the pretty eye candy and visual gymnastics entertain their brains, rather than them creating from their malleable and unique brains.

Obviously, I don’t know the family from that brief scene, but I commend the parents for showing their children that although electronics and computers are extremely important in our lives, they should not be with us always, like another appendage that is sewn on to our bodies.  That way, we can free our mind to create, and accomplish.

I’m glad I am not a parent in this day and age, and if I was, I doubt I would be as good as these parents.  But yes, this does exist in some families.

Bravo you parents, whoever you are.

© SRCarson Publications, 2024