I love what Courtney from Women Living Well has to say about media and parenting.
But, the biggest thing I used to struggle with was just the distraction of media. It was a huge distraction for me when we used to have cable and internet. I spent more hours then I care to mention aimlessly perusing blogs and checking facebook.
But then we moved. We can't have cable at our house and we haven't gotten any internet yet and I'm kinda loving it. When I watch all my Amish neighbors I want what they have. Life is laid back and they actually work hard to reap great benefits. They take time to make amazing home cooked meals and baked items. They have huge garden so they grow their own healthy produce and even have some left to sell.
I know media is so helpful. I have learned tons and found many great recipes but it can serve as such a major distraction. Instead of taking time to back something yummy for our family we blog. Instead of making a meal for someone who had a baby we are busy on facebook. Instead of taking a nap when we desperately need some rest we are busy keeping up with our friends through e-mail. It's like we don't know when enough is enough. It's great to have internet on our phones. We can get directions, find the local gas station ,and check the weather. You name it we can do it! But what I find interesting is we as parents have time limits for children but none for ourselves. We check our facebook 10 times a day, our e-mail 6 or 7 times a day, and our blog another several times a day. It's almost like since we are adults we think we don't need limits. That we don't have to make a conscience effort to stop our media and maybe even God forbid take days off just to focus on our family. Let's not take this good thing we have and turn it into an obsession and distraction from our lives and family!
Take a serious look at your media use and ask yourself is this really taking away time from some of my priorities?
