In today’s technology-driven world, I find myself reflecting on how fortunate I was to be at the cusp of the explosion of technology. As a kid, I was never exposed to very much of it. Now, it seems normal for children to have iPads, iPhones, even Apple Watches. In this week’s blog, I wanted to take a moment to talk about the importance of human interaction, and remembering the days of playing on the playground, instead of on a screen.

As a kid, I LOVED being outdoors. I was a bicycle rider, roller blader, and skate boarder. I was never afraid of being outside, even during the hot Arizona summers. I just slapped on some sunscreen, and when I could, found a tree that provided some shade. In elementary school, I remember other kids starting to get cell phones in about 5thgrade. Of course, at the time, I didn’t understand why they had one and I didn’t. Instead of playing on the playground at recess, they’d all be staring at their phones (that weren’t even smartphones!)

My time came for my first cell phone when I was a freshman in high school. It was a flip phone, and I really couldn’t do a whole lot with it. I think because I went most of my childhood without one, I was able to get a healthy dose of playing outside, and actually interacting with other people. Now, whenever I see kids in a grocery store, walking home from school, or even in a restaurant, they’re all staring at the latest and greatest iPhone.

I guess the moral of this story is, we should be giving our children the opportunity to be children. With all of the chaos going on in the world, the last thing they need is to be exposed to it every day. Their lives shouldn’t be dictated by how many Instagram likes they have, or how many Twitter followers they have. So please, take away the screens, and tell your children to go play on the playground!