Book Review

I haven't done a book review in a long time, however, one of my most recent reads is definitely deserving of a little Smoller Family blog love.

The Winter of Our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept with Her iPhone)Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale by Susan Maushart. 

LOVED this book.  You can pretty much tell what the book is about by the title.  Mom gets this idea to get rid of "screen" time in the house--no TVs, no computers, no iphones, no blackberries, no video games, etc.  The kids can access the internet at school or at a friend's house, but not within the 4 walls of their own home.   

I think I like the book so much because it's something I'd really like to do in my own house.  Our jobs wouldn't allow for it, but a girl can always dream, right?  I do like to think we unplug more than the average Joe, but maybe that's my own distorted view.  The TV in our house doesn't come on most nights (nights involving K-state sports are a different story!) until after Brady goes to bed, if at all, in the evenings.  And as you can tell by my growing book list, I read a lot as opposed to watching TV.  And when we do watch TV, it's all about the DVR so we can fast forward through those commercials and at least minimize the screen time (or so I tell myself). 
The book also struck a chord because I see kids that are the same age as Brady or maybe a little older that are very, very adept at using electronic devices.  They can operate an iphone, they know how to click and drag with a mouse, they can turn on the Wii and play games, etc.  On one hand that's cute and all, but on the other hand, does a 3-year-old really need to know how to slide and unlock an iphone?  What kind of social skills will these kids have when they're teenagers and then adults?  I won't stay on my soapbox for long, but that's a real concern I have, in part based on what I already witness in a generation of people who have no knowledge of a life without the internet.

So, in short, great book to read.  And if you text me and you don't receive a reply for a long time, now you know why.  I'm just getting away from screen time.