Some awesome pictures man! Don’t know if you have been to the city in your account namesake but it’s starting to look like that these days!
I’ve never been to Chicago and may go one day, not sure yet but I do like the architecture!
It’s awesome and important that you stayed off your phone when you were with your family and kiddos. I’ve made it a point to do that and it’s been years but I notice the dividends it pays in terms of my son. They are incredibly aware of what they see around them and will emulate that when they get older. They deserve our attention at these tender ages as much as we can give them, because at 14 or so that will change and we can use it more if we want, but this time is fleeting!
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!