The Question

We were at Melissa's grandfather's house on Saturday to celebrate his 85th birthday and Aric surprised one of the wild rabbits that lives there when he chased a football under a shrub. He was startled but also elated. Now keep in mind, Aric is the child who ponders things for weeks on end. Last year he had to research Orioles for a project at school and he talked about them for months. For the last several weeks or more everything had been about the olympics. So just as this is starting to wear off this bunny thing occurs and so he has rabbits on the brain.

He informs Melissa yesterday that he want to raise rabbits for the 4-H livestock show this year. Melissa tells him that we don't know anything about raising rabbits. To this he quickly replies, "Mom, that's what they created the internet for!" Seriously. And he's only nine years old. It occured to me then that my children will never know a world without the internet. Or a world without cell phones or iPods or GPS. Or even video games. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Unlike the generation before me, I've never known a world without telephones or television. Or a world without washing machines and automatic driers. How about no microwave ovens or coffee makers? I love to hear my mother talk about what it was like when she was growing up and I often wish that I could go back to that time just for a little while and experience what it was like. But am I better off having grown up with all the materials that existed and were available to me during my informative years. Better yet, how will all the technology of today mold and shape the person that my child turns out to be?

It's a question I'm not likely to answer, but will never stop asking myself. I guess that as a parent, all I can do is teach my children responsible use of the resources to which they have access and pray that they will make the right decisions when utilizing the tools that are available to them in today's world and in the world of the future.