https://www.city-journal.org/article/screen-time-is-stolen-time
Stolen moments are those lived in the moment, experienced in that very present moment and for me that feeling that life is so beautiful and full of unforeseen surprises. Stolen moments with small children. A picture of myself and my three very young children sitting on the couch in the Cassis house. Reading loud to them, each of them sits in a very different way, they listen in a different way, the concentrate in a different way, they enjoy the story in a different way, their gear is distracted as it seems in a dreamy way. There are ballet cloths, costumes , no shoes, bare feet. Stolen moments make you wonder if time stands still. There is this calm, only the words lingering in the air. A story shared. I know about conversations we had with the girls about television and what they might watch and why long hours of time watching tv was not allowed. Television was good in the right dosis and for special moments too, the arrival of Saint Nicolas in the Netherlands, Nordic children series e.g. Language, the learning of multiple languages from a young age asked for new adventures for me as a parent and the search of children books in French was one of them. But looking back parents being parent in that time was just giving us a bit more freedom away from screens and the new era of digital. Implementation of digital made its entree without a doubt and I think it starts with the youngest being the first getting the gadgets. You hold of longer with the eldest and then things change there’s an acceleration. Peer pressure, society, normalisation, digitalisation it all play a role and you can be vigilant and it’s time consuming to keep track of time spend at screens. It’s important and easier when as a parent you keep a close look in your own digital behaviour. Your children copy and pick up quickly the habits you display in front of them. Where did the time go. I recall good times with the endless out loud reading, and I’m happy the children remember it too. And in hindsight believe those were the best moments in their day. A present at the end of the day before going to sleep you’ve got a story to listen too. Stolen moments.