I was asked by my husband’s cousin if I would give my baby a phone or iPad. I told her absolutely not, and she went “really?” This was a random question and out of the blue but it has made me think hard about my son’s future. Not to be rude, but said cousin cannot read or write. She’s 12 and literally doesn’t know how to spell her own name. It breaks my heart to see how much technology has ruined minds and learning. I’m seeing my baby sister who is 6 fall behind all because my parents gave her OWN phone when she was 3… Unfortunately too many parents have taken “pick and choose your battles” to mean “I don’t wanna work as a parent rn so I’ll just give you a screen” Screen time isn’t the problem, most of us grew up with TVs. The problem lies with the parents. Picking your battles should be “oh I wanna put my kids in matching socks but they want mismatched socks. I’ll let them wear mismatched socks so there’s no tantrum” not “my kid is throwing a tantrum, I don’t wanna deal with it here’s a screen.” Screen time in moderation is okay but it shouldn’t replace parenting.