If I Had To Do It All Over Again, I Would Never

give my son a game system. As a 20 year old young autistic male he doesn't do much else. He goes to online college because we work and he doesn't drive, he works on the weekends because that is when we can drive him to a job and he doesn't try very hard to much of anything except game. 

I understand we are all different but I don't believe game systems would be in his life if I could rewind things and do it all again. 

Not just for him but for all the folks he is playing online with during the day and evening. I see it for myself and my husband, even my very talented daughter. We sit on the couch from 7:30 pm until bedtime on our respective devices. My husband, his computer researching various interests, my daughter, Pinterest obsessed and myself texting, reading, Facebooking with friends or playing Monopoly with friends on my phone. However, we all are involved with other things, this is our downtime. He does a few classes online, walks up and down the block and games. THAT IS IT! Other than various tasks or chores I give him and things he has to do like litterboxes, garbage and cleaning his room (he needs to be reminded often) he does nothing else. 

I try to throw other things his way but I work from 7:30 to 4:30 and when I get home about 5-5:15 I shower, cook dinner, and get ready for the next door. 

Tablets, phones, computers and game systems have changed us all. I see it with us, I see it in my preschool kids over the past few years. Even this weekend I was at a baby shower and the one child there was on their tablet the whole time and she is no more than 3. She was not engaging with anyone. She was not meeting her extended family, making eye contact, listening to relatives bad jokes or struggling not to laugh while someone plays peek-a-boo or does anything to get you to smile. She was completely and totally engrossed in whatever she enjoys watching on her tablet. Everyone is doing it! We all need to make a conscious effort to CHANGE.  THIS IS NOT HEALTHY and the next generation will struggle making connections. I see it already!