We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Standing in the doorway of our child’s bedroom, watching their face glow in the blue light of a tablet. That moment when the screen seems to be winning the wrestling match with our attention. Parenting in this digital age is less about finding perfect answers and more about the gentle dance we do every day – balancing between two worlds, both of which we need our children to understand. I’ve watched you find your way through this dance with such grace – the quiet way you set the phone aside when they come to you with a question, the way you move from the green glow of a work email to the soft light of a bedtime story. Those moments tell me everything about what’s possible.
Balance Isn’t About Perfect Timing – It’s the Breathing
There’s been this quiet shift in our parenting these past few years. We stopped trying to perfectly divide the day into ‘screen time’ and ‘real time’ and instead started watching the rhythms of our children’s needs.
Remember when they used to play that game on the tablet? The way we learned to set it down after the first two levels, before the screen-haze could settle in their eyes? I’ve watched you show them through your actions, not through the rules we set, that the world is a dialogue between the digital and the tactile.
The real magic happens in those moments between, when a child’s question about the cosmos on the tablet leads to laying on the grass looking at actual stars. That’s balance – not the clock, but the breath between engagement and the lived world beyond the glass.
When Boundaries Become the Soft Places We Need
Boundaries are hard, but you’ve taught me something important: they’re most effective when they’re not walls. We don’t talk about the tablet as a ‘bad thing’ – we talk about the ‘why’ behind the limits.
We noticed how they look at the time, not with resentment, but with growing understanding. The way we talk about the kitchen table being a place for conversation, where screens are gently set aside – that’s as much about sustaining connection as it’s about limiting screen time.
The way you’ve taught them to recognize when they’ve had that ‘glassed-over’ look from too much mindless scrolling – that’s not about controlling their time, but about teaching self-awareness. We’re all going to make mistakes, but the moments when we’ve failed to set a boundary? They become the best teaching moments of all.
Talking About the Digital World
The most important lesson I’ve watched you teach them? That technology isn’t something to either fear or worship. Remember when they asked about the weather app? Instead of just giving the quick answer, you showed them how the data came from satellites, and the next day we were reading about clouds together.
You’ve taught them that digital tools are just that – tools, not masters. The patience we’ve learned to show when they ask to play a game – that’s the moment we can ask ‘What do you think we get from the digital world?’ and ‘What do we need to protect ourselves from?’
We’ve started talking about those invisible algorithms behind their favorite videos – raising them to be critical thinkers in a world that wants to keep them scrolling. It slows us down, but that’s how seeds grow.
The Role Model We’re Growing Into Together
We’ve had our own hard lessons to learn, haven’t we? The way our own phones pulled us into the work email vortex when we promised to be present. The most powerful thing we’ve done? Apologize when we’ve crossed that line.
That’s the real lesson for our children – that we’re all in this together. The way we practice being present – the way you put your phone face down when they come in with the school project – that’s shaping their future more than any lecture.
We’re not perfect protectors, we’re fellow travelers. That’s been your greatest gift to them – not the ‘right’ answers, but the vulnerably human way of figuring it out alongside them.
The way we navigate this together creates the space where they’ll learn to navigate eventually.
Our Shared Journey Through Pixels
As we move through the years, we’ll both know the truth: parenting isn’t about technology, it’s about connection. That moment when a child’s eyes light up in wonder, whether it’s from a new app or a butterfly in the garden – that’s the magic we’re all seeking.
The struggle isn’t to eliminate screens, but to make sure we’re always looking up from them. The way you’ve always been there when they need to talk about the online world – that’s helped them keep the digital world in perspective.
The balance we’re striving for isn’t about perfection, it’s about awareness. We’ll keep watching, learning, adjusting – and through it all, we’ll finally see the most important truth. That between the digital and the real, the most important connection is the one we build with each other – through every shared moment of wonder and confusion.
Source: Is my relationship with ChatGPT weird? Let me ask it, CBC, 2025-09-28