With smartphones and Wifi, parenting has really come into the information age.
Or, the information overload age.
Any time there is a question, just Google it, will likely be the response. There is so much information available at our fingertips that it is changing the way we parent.
In many situations, parents may do an online search before prescribing a course of action for a common cold, or for determining punishments. Even potty training has gone digital.
There are now many apps related to potty training your child. Have Elmo teach your little one to use the potty if you are having difficulty.
Of course, I only know this because I am like everyone else – mindlessly Googling to find the best solutions to life's everyday problems.
Isn't it great? Is it great?
By nature, I am a researcher. I like to have tons and tons of information, and then make my decision based on that information, and also based on what I likely would have done without all that information.
But, information overload can make it difficult to make any sort of decision.
This site tells you to go this way; another tells you an opposite way. How do you choose? Or, do you just call up your mom or grandmom and ask her what to do?
Often I find myself crowd-sourcing information. I will do my online research, then talk to my mom, then talk to a friend who is a mom. Then maybe I will move forward.
It seems that with all this information, it would be easy to make a decision. That the best answer would be right there, but it's not. Parenting is still an on-the-ground, 24/7, make the best decision for your child, for this situation, kind of deal.
When Droolface is playing outside, finds a mud hole, loses his shoe in said mud hole and then wants to come inside, throw out the research, throw the baby in the bath, and forget about making it a learning experience.
Happy Monday droolers!
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Real Parents. Real Food. Real Fun.
Welcome to Adventures in Drool! Talking about green living, getting rid of plastics and toxic chemicals in our homes and raising happy kids on a budget. Join the conversation (www.adventuresindrool.com) and don't forget to Like us on Facebook!
Rachel Swick Mavity, author of the blog, lives with a reformed drooler (Droolface), who at age 3 loves to get muddy, drink homemade smoothies, giggle and flirt with old ladies. Her current drooler (Birdy) enjoys spitting up on work clothes and leaving drool trails as a way of showing her love.
Mavity previously worked as a journalist for seven years at newspapers from Pennsylvania to Maryland and Delaware. In Sussex County she worked for several newspapers, including the Cape Gazette. She lives in Lewes with her husband, Ryan Mavity, their son, "Droolface," and daughter, "Birdy."
