Is Tech Dominating Your Home Life?

Like many, I live in a teched-up household of iPhones, iPads, tablets, kindles. But while my kids are only allowed to be online for 30 minutes a day, I am guilty of always having a device to hand. If I’m not checking emails, I’m sending texts or checking the news.

I never really thought my kids noticed until we went on holiday last week and had no signal, which meant for 4 days I didn’t bother with any tech whatsoever. On the second day both my kids commented on how much they loved it that I wasn’t continuously distracted by the phone and on the third, one of them asked if we could have tech free days when we got back home. Aside from being a great idea (hands up if you’re guilty of always talking to your kids whilst texting/emailing?) it made me realise just how much I have allowed technology to invade my home life. I’ve been working for myself for over 15 years but it’s only in the last 5 years that I have felt the need to continually check my email/twitter/facebook and texts via my iPhone, which means my phone is always in my hand vying for attention with my kids. It’s made me realise that it’s about time I started modelling good tech behaviour especially as studies have shown kids ape how we behave with tech. If you’re constantly gaming eventually they will too. If you never make eye contact with them when you speak (because you’re too busy multi-tasking with your phone) they will not make eye contact when they speak and the list of how they will copy you goes on. Don’t get me wrong I am not anti tech in any way. In fact I’m all for the many ways it makes parenting easier, but like anything it’s only a good thing if it doesn’t dominate your life. But what do you think? Has tech taken over your household too? Do you limit the time you spend on smartphones and tablets when your kids are about? Let us know.