Five on Friday: Modern Parenting (Technology Edition)

Modern technology really influences parenting these days. It can help, it can hinder and it can really keep things interesting.  I gave one example last week of how I wasn't sure where my son was so I searched his location with my "Find My Phone" and it nearly gave me a heart attack by erroneously reporting he was at the hospital. That counts as a parenting/technology FAIL 😒

Here are some other recent examples of the good and bad of technology's influence on modern parenting, both wins and fails:

1. Find My Phone isn't always a fail. It's actually usually pretty accurate which is helpful when a kid needs a ride home and you can't remember the address of the friend whose house they are at and of *course* they are not answering your texts asking "which house number is it?"

Which bring us to another great feature of Find My Phone: the PLAY SOUND button. When I'm trying to get in touch with a kid and they appear to be ignoring me, I am not above pushing this (which makes the phone sound repeatedly until someteen turns it off . . . works even if it's on silent). WIN 😊

Ignore me, kid. I will use this.

2. Teachers entering zeros online for multiple assignments but they don't really mean it. This particularly drives my husband crazy and then he starts hounding the kids to check on those assignments and then he starts hounding me to hound the kids to make sure they've checked on those assignments so eventually we're all miserable and nine times out of ten it's just that the teacher didn't check the work or enter the proper grade yet. FAIL 😒

3. Being able to threaten phone confiscation to get the kids to react/comply WIN 😊

4. Menstrual period tracking app. I won't go into details so you'll just have to believe me, this is a total WIN 😊

5,  Texting! This is a huge perk in modern parenting, particularly when you have two alleged adult offspring that live five hours away.  Calls are a big commitment, but quick texts can be sent almost anytime and really help us stay connected. 

Me: Look what's happening in the family room!

(sent back with no comment)

I send them messages, pictures and videos of things like their at-home siblings' athletic feats, what's for dinner, things the ridiculous dog is up to and memes that completely age me. Then they call me a boomer, just like they would if they were home. I'm calling this one a total WIN-WIN 😊