I think the internet and my lack of attentiveness might be destroying my son...
Heavy statement I know, but seriously:
So I've been letting my 6 year-old use the iPad to watch Netflix - "Just for Kids," in the early morning hours for about 3 months now. I thought the whole arrangement was amazing -- I get to sleep, while he is entertained, I can see him from my bed because of the way our rooms are connected so I know he's safe, and I'm thinking that the "Just for Kids" feature is fantastic because he can't see anything potentially harmful or scary. Ha!
About three weeks ago, the account was changed so that when we logged in, we had to select a person who was watching. Just about a week ago, the smart little bastard selected another user and watched a Goosebumps episode when I was asleep. I had no idea this had happened, but that night he woke up around 3 am and did not go back to sleep until about 5 or 6, getting up every 5 minutes because he was scared of something. I had to have him sleep on the floor next to the bed. It was godawful. I had been wondering what had spooked him so much, and then, lo and behold! I logged on to the other user on the account last night and saw it in the "Recently Watched," section.
Needless to say, I feel super guilty. For some reason I didn't think of the possibility that he would watch something scary by himself on purpose. Just the intro to that show is kind of creepy for my son. He's pretty sensitive, and I can't imagine how scared that stupid show made him. If not for my laziness and desire to sleep in, he might not have come across the show alone and made that decision. He was obviously embarrassed about being scared, but what kid wouldn't be scared by that crap?! It's creepy. Anyway, like I said, I feel extremely guilty for letting that happen. I know how I've come to rely on internet-based entertainment for my kid, and I'm kind of ashamed. I'm the only one to be blamed.
So now I am insisting that I be present whenever he's watching Netflix, or playing games (however, the good thing about the XBOX is that I can set good parental controls). Welp. Back to being super vigilant crazy paranoid sleep-deprived mom (yay!).
I mean, the worst part about this is that when he gets up in the morning, he doesn't want to do anything. He doesn't want to eat or play games really, aside from Minecraft and such. So it's back to being stuck just sitting on the couch watching dumb shows instead of sleeping... SAD FACE.
/Something Completely Different
Heavy statement I know, but seriously:
So I've been letting my 6 year-old use the iPad to watch Netflix - "Just for Kids," in the early morning hours for about 3 months now. I thought the whole arrangement was amazing -- I get to sleep, while he is entertained, I can see him from my bed because of the way our rooms are connected so I know he's safe, and I'm thinking that the "Just for Kids" feature is fantastic because he can't see anything potentially harmful or scary. Ha!
About three weeks ago, the account was changed so that when we logged in, we had to select a person who was watching. Just about a week ago, the smart little bastard selected another user and watched a Goosebumps episode when I was asleep. I had no idea this had happened, but that night he woke up around 3 am and did not go back to sleep until about 5 or 6, getting up every 5 minutes because he was scared of something. I had to have him sleep on the floor next to the bed. It was godawful. I had been wondering what had spooked him so much, and then, lo and behold! I logged on to the other user on the account last night and saw it in the "Recently Watched," section.
Needless to say, I feel super guilty. For some reason I didn't think of the possibility that he would watch something scary by himself on purpose. Just the intro to that show is kind of creepy for my son. He's pretty sensitive, and I can't imagine how scared that stupid show made him. If not for my laziness and desire to sleep in, he might not have come across the show alone and made that decision. He was obviously embarrassed about being scared, but what kid wouldn't be scared by that crap?! It's creepy. Anyway, like I said, I feel extremely guilty for letting that happen. I know how I've come to rely on internet-based entertainment for my kid, and I'm kind of ashamed. I'm the only one to be blamed.
So now I am insisting that I be present whenever he's watching Netflix, or playing games (however, the good thing about the XBOX is that I can set good parental controls). Welp. Back to being super vigilant crazy paranoid sleep-deprived mom (yay!).
I mean, the worst part about this is that when he gets up in the morning, he doesn't want to do anything. He doesn't want to eat or play games really, aside from Minecraft and such. So it's back to being stuck just sitting on the couch watching dumb shows instead of sleeping... SAD FACE.
/Something Completely Different
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