We live surrounded by technology and it is inevitable that this will be incorporated as one more tool in parenting. In addition to apps that help with things ranging from designing your baby’s room to managing the calendar of children with separated parents, devices such as tablets, mobile phones or smart speakers are here to stay. Proof of this is the growing use of Alexa as a timer that children obey without question (or at least without protesting as much as their mother).
It is an increasingly heard topic: Alexa, in addition to snitching on homework answers or playing music, is being used to control those typical deadlines that we parents manage “5 minutes and go to sleep.” I know first-hand cases in which, if the mother says that those 5 minutes are up, her children either refuse or ignore her. If Alexa says so, they calmly obey.
I confess that as soon as they told me about it, I was a little shocked because I have not given so much space to technology in raising my daughters, although it is also true that they are small and I firmly believe that the image of positive authority that a father should exercise is essential for the child to understand that there are limits and that he has someone to guide him, especially during the early years.
In the same way, the meaning of respect put into practice, or even negotiating deadlines, or “letting them win small battles” also seem to me to be important elements in the upbringing and in the development of their personality.
But not everything is black and white
However, parenting can sometimes be very hard, and if you were to choose between shouting and threats, and Alexa’s voice saying “it’s time to go to sleep”, I’d take the latter.
That is why Alexa has become a companion that helps alleviate a little (or a lot), the tension that appears in critical moments like this -moments in which we are generally tired after a day of work- and works very well to organize us. with routines, because it is good to anticipate to children what we are going to do, since it is something that gives them security.
In social networks we have also found mentions on this topic:
I use Alexa to set timers for my son. Example: “I’ll give you another half hour to play and then we’ll go to the shower, okay?” and to watch TV, for school time… And it works! Alexa is not frustrated. 😅
– Veronica Camarzana (@VeroCamarzana) October 14, 2022
Another thing to keep in mind is that children are amused when Alexa tells them “it’s time to go to sleep”. They take it as a game and it’s much better than mom being the one who comes to say it. It is the parents who set the rules but Alexa helps them to comply. They are a team.
In short, no one can judge the way in which we raise our children and I am aware that denying that technology is part of our lives and our work as parents is to want to cover the sun with a finger. All smart devices have the potential to help us boost both routines and learning, but like everything in life, I think the important thing is to always try to find a balance , because everything in excess is bad (and if there are children involved, plus).
