Technology is beginning to take its toll on quality time. There are screens in restaurants, screens at school, screens at home, screens in strollers and even now, parents can buy screens for cribs. They are everywhere.
When you go out to eat now, instead of seeing families around the table conversing, laughing and enjoying one another, you see instead family members absorbed in their screens.
Relationships are dwindling.
Face to face time is dwindling.
Connection is dwindling.
This is the polar opposite of how I want to raise my son. The Lord is clear in scripture that He desires to spend one on one time with us. He loves being in relationship with us. That being true, it would behoove us to be in meaningful relationships with our families. This is how God has designed us.
God created us to live in community, not in technology.
Because of this recent negative phenomenon, bedtime has become a precious priority for us each evening.
As a single mom, I consider bedtime a sacred space for my son and I to connect by:
This all happens in the evening when his body is still, but his emotional mind is still awake. This is our time to link our lives, our time to listen and discover new things about each other or simply enjoy the things we already know. It is our time to bond through finger plays, to have hard conversations about honesty, and to laugh when we tell silly jokes or make silly faces.
Whether we had a great day, busy day, or rough day, the end of our day will remain unchanged, a time free from distractions and technology. Our bedtimes are set apart for special talks, sharing spiritual truths, laughter and connection.