This story was originally published in our Sept/Oct 2022 issue as "(Virtual) Reality Check." Click here to subscribe to read more stories like this one.
My husband and I were eating out with our son, Eddie, who was then 2, when a couple came in with a young boy wearing headphones and staring at an iPad as he walked. For the entire meal, the boy was glued to his screen while his parents chatted amicably as if he wasn’t there.
“What’s the point of having a kid if you’re not going to talk to him?” I said to my husband.
We vowed not to buy our son an electronic device until he’s 30. And video games, one of the main reasons children want these devices, would be verboten.
So far we’ve stuck to that agreement, though it has not been easy. When other parents would go out for a meal ...
