I don’t have many regrets as a parent. Learning moments; too many to count. But actual regrets, few. But I regret, I mean, wish I could turn back time, getting my kids a cell phone.
We had such good intentions. It was for safety and for staying in contact with us at friends houses and on trips with family. Instead, it became a portal to all the things we work so hard to protect our kids from. We forgot that even the BEST kids don’t have fully developed brains to make wise decisions. We forgot the pull of peer pressure. We forgot just how much is on the other end of safari. We forgot they are technologically smarter than we are (we’ve learned A LOT). We got lazy in keeping up with restrictions and time limits. It was so easy (back in the days when we grocery shopped freely with our kids) to hand them my phone and let them watch you tube.
But our house has changed. No more phones. No more tablets. No more watching other kids unwrap toys (I never understood the allure of those anyway 
). No more TikTok dances.
I’m not judging!! It may work famously at your house! But please check what your kids are watching. See who they’re talking to. Read their conversations. I used to feel guilty like it was an invasion of their privacy. Now, I think it’s just being good parents in the age we live in. Talk, talk, talk to your kids. Make them answer the hard questions. And love them big.
Someone told us last week, “the greatest act of love a parent can give their kids is discipline.” After showing them Jesus, I believe that’s true. Really loving our kids means they don’t like us sometimes. Do it anyway. 
#Pagersandpayphones2021.
