I haven’t made it to Boston yet, but I’m hoping to visit soon. Something that stood out to me about Chicago was how the buildings seemed to have a bit more space between them compared to other cities.
I totally agree that time flies by. People are often surprised when we go out to dinner, and neither of my boys is on a phone or tablet. We bring things for them to do, like drawing or coloring, but honestly, they spend most of the time talking about what’s going on around us.
The biggest thing I’ve noticed is that when we all use less technology, the kids fight a lot less and have fewer tantrums.
Oh absolutely it's so important how more receptive and responsive the kids are when they don't have the technology stimulus. We don't give our son anything technology especially when we are out. Sometimes he will use the phone to help us navigate directions but that's it. Otherwise he's singing, watching outside, or building Lego in the back seat or when we are out. What we did as kids!
At the same time, if they DO need to use technology, enabling the "night mode" on the screen is crucial. It significantly reduces the blue light exposure their eyes and brains are getting. The blue light is what is so bad for us and our brains. All of my devices have night mode turned on especially at night. The screen ends up looking orange anda little weird but it's important for our health. We sometimes will let our son use an iPad to soak in the tub a little longer and I give it to him with night mode on, regardless of the time of day and he's much less activated when that happens. Something to keep in mind!