Son: I'm bored
Me: What's the definition of bored?
Son: Not having fun
Me: That's not the definition. Where would you go to find the definition of bored?
Son: I don't know.
Me: Where would you look up how to spell a word?
Son: the computer...duh

What a generation we live in...

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A Day in the Life of a Musician's Wife
My Myspace

that's funny~ I've been thinking about that factor too, lately.

My sis lives in CA, and she has a 3yr-old son; when we call on the phone to chat, he says "No, Skype! Put it on the TV!" a mere phone call doesn't do it anymore, they want to video-conference (which their dad runs thru the widescreen TV.

It's going to be a high-tech generation for sure.
how did we ever survive our low-tech childhoods?!

We didn't know what we were missing.

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You've Got Questions. We've Got Ambergirl.
www.myspace.com/pajamasakapj

Let me chime in here...
It's really a double edged sword. For fully developed adults, the internet is really an excellent tool for communication, entertainment, the acquisition of knowledge, and many other factors. For children it can be a veritable fountain of knowledge and development. The big drawback for children is that when armed with certain types of knowledge which is prevalenton the internet they will grow up very quickly. I've often said that one opposite of knowledge is innocense, and the opposite of innocense is guilt. It might sound cynical, but I swear it is completely objective. I would never agree with Elton on the complete annihlation of the internet, nor would I suggest keeping children away from it. And therefore, it's a circular thought process with no real goal.

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Censor this, bitch.

lmao Ron... you are just a wealth of knowledge aren't you.

We've gone back and forth on the internet thing...with a mother who's addicted (as if you couldn't tell) and a father who does everything musical now by way of computer and somehow has reformed a band through email (lmao), we can't really tell them..."no...internet bad"... however, I would like them to be able to function, ya know, if say, the power went out...lol...

But their entire school is internet based. All lessons and even assessments are all online. So, they've become familiar with the computer and how it's used as a tool...they watch us order pizza, pay bills and communicate with most everyone we know online, so I guess that would be the most logical place he would think to look for information.

It's a scary place though, as a parent... honestly, one mispelled word and they're on a porn site or worse watching a POW get his head sliced off.

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A Day in the Life of a Musician's Wife
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I say use your parental locks on certain sites. Whats sad is when you have to tell your kids to go outside and play.

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You've Got Questions. We've Got Ambergirl.
www.myspace.com/pajamasakapj

Well, try to think back to elementary school. The things you and your friends discussed, your activities and beliefs, and other facets of your childhood. When I refer to exposure to knowledge on the internet I'm talking about perfectly acceptable things such as myspace or advertisements, message boards, corporate websites... etc.
These are all facilities of communication between civilians and corporate america. People, children included, face barrages of information with every click. They are told what to wear, what to think, what's cool, what's acceptable. Children are no longer content to be children. And though it may prove technologically beneficial in the long run, since we're grasping the fundamentals of technology at increasingly early ages, psychologically it's bound to take it's toll. Yes, children are becoming smarter all the time. But perhaps early in the human development cycle a little ignorance and informational isolation is required to keep what is learned in it's proper perspective. A child needs time to figure out who he or she is before being swamped with cultural demands.

For instance: if a child's most adored website insists that J-Lo is the creme de la creme of music, he or she might feel way too cool to be exposed to such socially unacceptable boredom as Beethoven or more appropriately, Yes.
What becomes of a race that slowly exchanges personal identity for a unified consciousness?

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Censor this, bitch.

Ah the easily molded mind of little children.... used to be too much tv would turn your mind to mush.

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You've Got Questions. We've Got Ambergirl.
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what makes the internet any different than television and magazines of our generation...the rate at which exposure is based. That's what I fear most. Children are infulenced in so many ways. It's OUR job as parents to mold that influence. We try to use it to our advantage. Like you said, Ron, there's SO many educational sites. Discovery.net is awesome. We subscribe to the Discovery channel's internet classroom that has videos and games for virtually every lesson, grade appropriate to the state that you live in...

there would not be bad, if there weren't good... and for all good, there will be bad...

Oh, Amber, I do use parental controls..OMG...that's a must. Mark or I have to enter a password just to get TO the site to check their email...lol...

the boys' most as to go to site? Madden or NFl.com... lol... that's my boys!

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A Day in the Life of a Musician's Wife
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hehe I figured you did. There is a child lock for almost anything.

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www.myspace.com/pajamasakapj