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No, I Don’t Want To See Your Photos [XXIX]
Or… Training my children to use their words
Hard And Fast Rule
I have a hard and fast rule:
“No devices at the dinner table.”
The only caveat is if the device is being used to look up knowledge which will add to the conversation for example — looking up the word ‘Floccinaucinihilipilification’ — which, fittingly is defined as the estimation of something as valueless (I hope you can see the irony in the word).
So when I ask what they did in the day, and they want to show me a photo — I tell them to use their words and describe the photograph to me, rather than just a quick visual snippet.
I want my children to be able to make polite conversation, to use their words, and be interested and interesting in the language.
Of course, I am polite with other people and ‘happily’ look at their photos on their devices.
Please can we use words?
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