Have we become a Nation of Lazy Parents?

Often when I call children into my room to be examined they are sat playing on their electronic devices and sometimes even refuse to put them down whilst I am seeing them. I’ve even had Mums and Dads happily sit there whilst their child continues to play on their device without saying anything at all and I’ve had to insist that they stop. It feels like we have lost any sense of etiquette with these devices. They don't even acknowledge that they are taking up your precious time or being rude by not paying any attention to you.

I often wonder wheather this is something that should be addressed in school, but teachers are already so overburdened, with so many children being diagnosed with neurodiversity disorders and requiring more attention than they can provide. There is no doubt in my mind that we have become a lazy society that expects everyone else to do the job of parenting or even looking after their own health for them. I wonder if electronic devices have stopped children from being able to just be able to sit and be patient as their minds need constant stimulation or they get incredibly restless. Don’t even get me started on phones at school. I completely disagree that they are neccessary. We never had them growing up and there is absolutely no reason for them to be used at school.

I have friends and relatives that allow their children to spend endless hours playing on gaming devices or watching youtube as its easier than actually paying them any attention or having to parent them. I am also guilty of doing so in the past in a previous relationship with my son. He is very intelligent and always had a counter argument every time I asked him to get off his x-box, like "I’m talking to my friends about an essay" or "its great for my hand eye co-ordination". Now he is much older and realises that he wasted a lot of his childhood playing computer games and it makes me very sad I didn't intervene more. My daughter was the complete opposite and couldn’t wait to get outside to play with her friends.

The best thing I did for my son was to pay for him to join an Drama school. It really brought him out of his shell and he thoroughly enjoyed every minute. He is now an actor with a BSc in Drama.

I have read several articles on this subject and have to say I disagree with the notion that letting them play on electronic devices for several hours is just allowing them to entertain themselves and find out how much they are capable of doing on their own. I feel there needs to be a limit on electronic devices and encouragement to entertain themselves by using their imagination, building things, dressing up, crafting or playing an instrument. I’m not saying that parents have to watch over their children whilst they are doing this just limit the time they are spending staring at a screen or scrolling through social media. Evidence has shown that doing this can actually make your child feel very lonely, depressed or isolated.

I would love to hear what everyone feels on this. I am by no means perfect and constantly struggle to get my children off their electronic devices. They are just so addictive!