Ask anyone who knows me; I enjoy the modern conveniences of life. I am glued to my computer several hours a day, I use my TiVo daily, I own satellite radio and internet, and like most people, I have a cell phone.

However, there are times when I enjoy simplicity. Going to a book store and browsing for hours gives me great pleasure. Playing a board game with Ben (actually, with Karyl, too!) is quite entertaining. And riding a bicycle is very leisurely.

But where did parents begin to think that technology SHOULD be used as a babysitting method or as a distraction?

Twice in the last month, I have seen mothers sit down in a bona-fide restaurant, get their small child situated and proceed to pull out a DVD player and pop in a movie!!! This is taking things to the extreme, in my opinion. To make matters worse, one of those two children wasn�t even out of diapers yet! He couldn�t have been more than 6 or 8 months old. Last night, the child was a little older: he was 4 or 5.

It�s as if parents feel obligated to pop out babies but then when it comes time to spending time with the child and actually ENGAGING with him/her, they�d rather shove them in front of the tv or worse, take the "tv" with them!

Now, don�t get me wrong. I�m not here to say that parents shouldn�t allow their kids to watch television; there is a lot of educational programming available today. Hell, I was raised on Sesame Street, Mister Rogers, 3,2,1 Contact, Electric Company and Reading Rainbow just to name a few. But I also played with my little sister, I rode my bike, I made mud pies, swung on my swing-set, and so on. And, while Dad and Marty didn�t always ask me about school while gathered around the dinner table, we were expected to listen to the conversation between the two of them. And when we went out to eat (which wasn�t as often as parents take their kids out now) neither Karyl nor I were allowed to bring games, Barbies, or even coloring books. If the restaurant gave us a few Crayolas and a piece of paper, hey, that was cool. But, we were expected to behave by watching our parents modeling that behavior for us.

At the same time it sickens and saddens me that so many parents have decided to disengage. Kids are only under their parents� care for about 18 years and believe me, that time will fly faster than you think!

Like Dr. Phil says, "You�re raising adults, not little kids."

Amen, Brother!

Until next time�peace, love, & HEALTH!!!