Crippled by Technology

This indeed is the 21^st century, and society we live in is full of gadgets, toys, more toys, and gizmos. These are the things that induce style, fashion, status and class. Not to forget that these things are available to almost everyone, not just privileged few.

People from all walks of life are glued to it, and thanks to the advances in the world of technology the print and the electronic media are flooded with advertisements that appeal to one and all.

Open any newspaper, magazine you will find endless advertisements appealing, tempting and never ending, staring right on your face. You can’t miss it for sure!!!

The goods and services are just a click away, a click of a mouse and you can order things or service at your door step …

We are raising our children, today’s young generation, in the epoch of consumerism. We are the ones who have introduced them to techno savvy lifestyle at young age.Toys are now made too vivid, leaving not much room for children  for imagination and imaging. As we know, imagination is the fundamental of creation, and once we lose the ability to imagine and imaging , we lose the ability of creating..I remember the days, when a small toy, a doll, a piece of candy use to bring that smile on our face. Gone are those days, when life use to be simple and shopping for the kids use to be fun.

Placate, voyages, homes, lavishness, name it and it’s within the reach of the person who is ready to pay the price. The paraphernalia of a high-quality life are no longer just a dream or the exclusive realm of the wealthy. And this is just the beginning of the obvious, noticeable expenditure of the society. Behind the convenience, it’s not longer the matter of meeting the need, it’s the “want “. Each and every member of the family has his own want list, the list which gets longer and longer day by day.

Do not get me wrong, I am not against technology; it’s very much a part of our daily lives. Technology is wonderful, faster and more accurate. It has helped us to explore the space, the depths of oceans and the untraded parts of the earth. Mankind will be ever so grateful, for the advances it has made in science, communication and medical field.

But don’t you think, there are downsides to it as well, man wants more of convenience that comes with it. If fuels the imagination, stimulates the need to want more, is encourages the desire to pamper oneself when we have more then what we need, generally promotes a sense of good lifestyle. May it be an occasion or any season, market has endless ideas and goods, where in the quality is slipping down too fast. I

Have we ever thought that how did we manage before; when most of the chores were done manually and the time taken to finish them, it’s obvious that the convenience that technology offers is hard to ignore. Push a button and laundry and dishes are done, wouldn’t you be lost without a remote, a cell, phone which is now a mini computer!!!!

Communication is revolutionized; each and every member of the family has to be wired. The added paraphernalia that goes with it , some of the items are good to have but not a necessity  it does not matter , it becomes a must have ..

The quest for merchandise goods is at excessive proportions. It hits terribly the core of an individual. Some can or will solely measure triumph relative to their material chattels. Some determine their self-worth with material acquisitions. The words status and prestige are medals they wear proudly, and it makes them happy as well.

How much of these goods are available on credit? How many sleepless nights are spent doing endless calculations and adjustments? Is there room for a quiet time that comes at no cost? Or do they experience that feeling of emptiness amid snug surroundings?

The women who are involved in drug abuse, are not bad, neither are they evil, but they are sick and need treatment. The perception among women who succumb to drugs is that “No one is going to be affected, or nothing is going to happen, even if they die “, but they don’t realize that they are not abusing substance, but their own self.

My  article @womensweb

http://www.womensweb.in/2012/05/female-drug-addicts-stigma-india/

Teachable Moment ......

“My dad wears my mommy’s shoes “my 6 year old had told his friends, which I found out few days ago from another parent who now is a friend (guess a concerned parent friend).

When I asked my son about the whole story, he gave me minute to minute detail about the whole thing, that how he had removed from the shoe rack. wore it ,( exact number of times ), how he had cribbed about it during his  drive to the shopping mall , I must say It was a well thought and  carefully elaborated  stuff . Which actually made me think Had he? he had stuck the tale so confidently , that I sheepishly  asked my husband , had he ever even jokingly  tried such a thing ( just for fun sake in front of my son ). Obviously he hadn’t (I was sure of that too!!!!)

We laughed over the whole thing as well as what reputation my husband now had at school, but I was troubled!  Of course, not all kids’ lies are trifling incident you can just laugh at, and I am sure we all want to raise a child with values of honesty. ( I am no different !!! ).

When your child lies to you is something that every parent must face at some point of time, and dealing with it can be source of great stress and concern. I wondered for fear that he would develop into a pathological liar?  Or let it slide, to avoid crushing his creativity?

I am sure we all have said lies in our childhood , I distinctly remember when I was around 7 years, I was trying to fit my hand into a swirl , ( which  I thought it was the same size as my finger ) ,  which I did ,, but was unable to remove it . when my mother had walked by  me and asked “ what happened , your finger is stuck ? “ in an innocent effort to protect myself from being yelled at , I had replied .” naah “ No mamma “!!!!!. My mom did return with pliers in hand after a minute though!!! (Making me believe that large part of her, did not believe in me).

All kids tell lies, or make up stories .Believe it or not, it’s a natural and a healthy part of growing up. (Even pediatritions say that!!).They hear stories from other people all the time, so they make up their own, but often fade the line between reality and fantasy.

That is one thing; but sometimes kids lie because they know instinctively that if they do something wrong, they will see a certain kind of disapproving look on their parents face. So they simply lie to deny responsibility for their actions.

However, this is not something we want to encourage and we should address that we are not happy with the lie they told. We have to understand that they do not know the difference between truth and lie, I am not saying that we should excuse lying, think about it this is the age of invisible friends. , Lions and tigers, monsters, fairy tales and all sorts of imaginary scenarios. Before we take away his privileges for the day, try to find what drove him to lie.

It’s best to avoid punishing them for lying, rather encourage them for coming forward with the truth. 

Naturally it would be ridiculous to punish for bending the truth when they don’t even grasp that what they are doing is wrong.

Using strict parenting skills can’t keep kids from lying; if a kid is going to lie he/she is going to lie!!!. Best thing is ,  if children are caught lying, use it  as a  "Teachable Moment “, a moment to teach them importance of honesty and negativity of lying. 

Seems, its my time for such moments now !!!!