Photo by enarcadie

The family meal may be threatened with extinction but “High-Tech” parents are now communicating much better with their teenagers and giving them more freedom, says child psychologist Richard Woolfson.

“The consultation, negotiation and mutual respect that goes on between parents and teenagers in families today would probably shock the mums and dads of 50 years ago,” Woolfson said in a study of how family communication has evolved.

Sitting round the table together for a meal was once the bedrock of family life. It is now becoming a thing of the past but Woolfson stressed that was not the end of the world.

“Now we have today’s high-tech family where family communication takes place by email, internet, webcam and mobile phone as well as face-to-face of course,” he said.

I’d have to agree that the means of communication have expanded quantitatively and qualitatively. Does that therefore mean that the quality of those communications has also improved? I’m not as certain of that.



  1. Hillary says:

    A friend was remarking to me on how much he paid a month for “communication”
    Extra phone line – that was for aol , now we have broadband
    – well its good and convenient to have the extra line
    we have a new rule now with the kids after all the bills and threats from aol “No AOL in this house”
    – cell phones for kids
    – have cut donw on their long distance
    – broadband intenet

    – well at least the broadband itnernet provides value i noted
    – the question is “Can you talk to your kids at all ?”
    the answer was negative

  2. Ben Waymark says:

    I wish Tonka would build a mobile phone my teenagers can’t break….

  3. Improbus says:

    Is there such a thing as a MIL spec cell phone? What do the Marines use?

  4. edwinrogers says:

    I have trouble believing that a PDA or mobile phone can replace parental supervision. An early sign that a family is disfunctional and that the children are neglected, is when parents don’t see and speak to their kids on a regular basis. Texting “RUOK” doesn’t cut it.

  5. RBG says:

    With exceptions, I think the societal norm in the olden days when I was a kid was that parents did their thing and kids did theirs and the twain just never met. Dads read the paper, they certainly didn’t play with their children. And no one thought anything of it.

    Now, I think, kids are more apt to be treated to some extent like miniature adults and parents take a direct interest in what their kids do and what they have to say. Instead of the old “just be back for dinner.”

    RBG

  6. no one important says:

    Yeah, I miss the good old days too RBG.

  7. Mister Mustard says:

    They should be playing X-BOX online. That way they could communicate with each other through their headsets, as they sit next to one another.

    The End Times are near….

  8. Half Moon says:

    What broke up the family was the pernicous enemy: commercial TV. Commercials feed upon humans’ weaknesses (basically the 7 Cardinal sins) and turned them into robots who obey the TV network mind control. Grant it, it’s great for the economy, but the damage to humanity is evident all around us.

  9. OhForTheLoveOf says:

    I wouldn’t presume to instruct parents in raising children. It isn’t like I did such a great job myself. But personally I don’t think any kid (and by kid, I mean anyone not old enough to vote) needs a cell phone.

    I damn near got killed today at lunch when an SUV driven by a 16 year old kid decided to get into my lane while texting…

    In fact, no kid (and by kid, I mean anyone under 40) needs an SUV.

  10. Mister Mustard says:

    >>In fact, no kid (and by kid, I mean anyone under 40) needs an SUV.

    Truth be told, no one over 40 needs one either. But I guess for the old duffers, once the ED kicks in, they make up for the floppy unit with a hard, stiff, throbbing, Massive Car.


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