Why Does California Want My Kids Glued to Their Computers?
Agreat conflict is tearing this country apart, bitterly pitting generations against each other. It’s not immigration or “Medicare for all.” It’s the fight over how much time kids can spend staring at screens.
Call it the Great Screen Time War of 2019.
And I thought I was winning the war on behalf of my three sons—until California intervened in favor of the screens.
To be a parent in 21st century America is to be whiplashed by contradictory advice. Give your children space to explore, but don’t let them out of your sight for a second—or some bystander will call the police. Teach them to mind their manners, but also train them to be “disruptors” who will shake up the world for the better. Make sure your children follow current events and participate in civic life, but shelter them from the media-dominating bigotry and vulgarity of President Trump.
As the state moves testing and homework online, parents are losing the battle against screen time.
As the state moves testing and homework online, parents are losing the battle against screen time.
But of all the double-edged directives aimed at parents, the one that most rankles me involves the internet and screens. To wit, I must keep my children away from screens to protect their health and their future; the World Health Organization just issued a highly publicized report covering screen time’s dangers, and the state of California recommends no more than 60 minutes of screen time after school. Yet, I am supposed to keep them online and in front of screens, where—also at the behest of the state—more and more of their academic work must be performed.
My wife and I have tried to square that circle with the Three Stooges, our three young sons, now CONTINUE READING: Why Does California Want My Kids Glued to Their Computers? - LA Progressive
