iPads are nuisance at dining table- a mum’s comment
Posted: July 11, 2011When was it that dining table for family turning to a entertainment place for the young toddlers and children ?
In Singapore, I am seeing an increasing number of instances where parents ” dish ” out the iPads so that the little one will be quiet at the dining table. However, it is a noise and nuisance to the nearby neighbors eating around them. Imagine, you are trying to enjoy a nice meals in a relax ambiance and suddenly the sound of the ” angry birds” phew, phew noise came out from your left and your right side of the table !
This is the situation in Singapore. Inconsiderate parents. Parenting in the wrong way.
Keeping children well -mannered and trained at dinning table is no longer the default things that some of the modern parents want to do. They just want to keep their children away by distracting them with either a game or a video playing on the iPads. Is this the best way to train a kid ? It is the same manner as allowing children to have their meals infront of the televisions. Except in this case, the device is portable and touch screen. And worst of all, the grand parents who are so strict and proper about all the manners are also encouraging the same behavior.
There are many ways to train a child at the dinning table. Setting an example, communicating and set expectation what a dinning table and meals with family is supposed to be- a place to interact with family members and not with machines.
How about in the public dinning area ? It is even more inconsiderate when the iPad is playing and disturbing the diners around them. No wonder, one of the short cuts that some restaurants taken was to ” NO CHILDREN ALLOWED.”
I am not against technology. In fact, I have worked in the IT industry marketing consumer and enterprise solutions since my working life started some 1.5 decades ago. But I am dead against having Technology gadgets to replace human relationships. Technology gadgets should be used to help us increase productivity, shorten the lead time to reach out to the others and provide information and data analysis and entertainment at the right time.
Imagine, when these children grown up later as teenagers on that 2020 family dinning day. Instead to eating and talking and enjoying the company of their parents. They will be staring, playing, running their fingers onto the LED screen speaking to machines and their wrist watch or the future gadgets ( Intelligent Interactive Instant Device ) pulling information and multi - tasking without putting their heart to any conversation. Worst of you will be sitting together physically but never close. You will be texting and sending senses of messaging across to different parties around the dinning table without a voice articulate, without emotion expressed ( except on text) . Is this really enjoyable and light hearted to have a meal together with family ?
What will you as then the parent of these kids do now ?
You promoted this. You face the ” system” or machine.
