A while back I was in a parking lot as my husband dashed into the store to grab something. I sat in the passenger seat and do what I always do. People watch. Yes I am those people. In the car next to me there was a boy about aged 8 and his sister about age 6. I watched as the boy had his head down gazing at a device of some sort as the sister sat staring out the window. After a few minutes I saw the brother reach across and swat the sisters hand – obviously as she was getting bored and offering an invitation to engage / play. It went on for a while back and forth, back and forth until finally the parent came to salvage the situation that seemed to be going down south fast.
Siblings have their squabbles – as is normal and expected. These are two different people with two very different interests in life who have been made to in essence cohabitate, play and share things and manage each others temperaments. Enter screens and device use. This is just an extra addition to the already dicey situation as now conflict can easily arise when say (as is the case above) one child is gifted a device and the other is not yet of age. Personally the biggest for me is the manner in which there is an almost sudden degradation of play between siblings or even a decline in moments of connection as in they are being pulled into this digital vortex away from each other. So instead of learning how to solve healthy regular day to day conflict, have conversations, form strong sibling bonds; they are made to forego these moments of physical connection for virtual reality.
Protect the sibling bond. Make communication for siblings more face to face as long as they are under the same roof. minimize favoring one sibling – whether it is an extra show or request for the latest device it is okay to schedule time to discuss your Family Media Plan and if any thing has changed