An Old-Fashioned Girl

Let me just make a few things clear right from the start. We are not the Wilderness Family. We do not live on a farm. We don't even live in a farming area. We live in a very large town in New Jersey. We're surrounded by malls, highways and lots of traffic.

But somehow, despite all this, we've managed to raise a daughter who shuns modern technology. (Or at least thinks she does.) It's true that we don't have cable TV - but we do have VCRs and DVD players set up to two different televisions. The children very much enjoy watching Gilligan's Island on the computer. They enjoy the electronic keyboard, and CD players and iDogs and Mood Beams.

So, what is it about modern technology she doesn't like. She doesn't think much of what is on TV (can't say I blame her.) She doesn't like Video Games. (We don't have one - but she did like playing one at her Aunt and Uncle's house when she had the chance.)

She'll happily tell you she wishes she were born 100 or more years ago (though she does appreciate modern plumbing.) Her entertainment of choice is reading - or writing. She thinks more kids ought to read - as opposed to watching TV or playing video games. She saw a picture in a Weekly Reader of children using TV screens and remote controls to take a test. She thought that was ridiculous.

I'm glad she likes the old ways. I'm thrilled that she'd rather be reading or playing with her brother than watching TV. I'm glad my children are not glued to video games for hours at a time. I like that they use their imagination and find ways to entertain themselves without the use of electronics. I like to think that we planted the seeds for this when they were young, by trying not to buy too many electronic toys - but by sticking more to toys that they had to do something with (as opposed to watching the toy do something.)

I hope as we navigate our way through the tween years and into the teens, she doesn't do a turn-around on me. I like the fact that she's comfortable being a little out of the mainstream.

However, if she really had to live as people did over a hundred years ago I think she'd be in for a few surprises - modern technology definitely has made life easier over the years, and I, for one, don't feel like giving it up.