Digital Smarts - Parenting, Guilt and Smartphones

Parenting in the era of the smartphone poses a wide spread series of debates. Arguing that having a smartphone can actually help you spend more time with your children, an article in The New York Times Bits blog entitled You Don’t Have to Feel Very Guilty About Using Your Smartphone While Parenting looks at a week in which a parent was able to balance working and being there for a preschooler off from a week of school. The comments on the blog post reflect a large range of opinions about smart phones and parenting – from those who feel devices should be completely turned off when kids are around, to those who feel they still have the ability to be there for their children while not focusing exclusively on them. What is clear is that every parent, child and individual situation is different. Like so much of parenting, making a conscious effort to model the right behavior is key, but especially so as we go deeper into the age of constant communication and connection. Bottom line: some kind of consistent restraint when it comes to technology in the part of all family members seems to be the best solution.