No Cell Phones, iPhones, iPads, tablets, electronics, or games at Thanksgiving Dinner?

Wow, has time changed over the years. “I remember when….there were no cell phones….” yes, I just dated myself a little bit!

Many of the ways youth/teens communicate is thought texting, tweeting, instagraming, snapchatting, Facebooking, facetiming, using Kick, emoji’s, gaming, lol.. brb…j/k…yolo…tbt…bff…and the list goes on. (If you would like to know more about these things and how to monitor what your youth/teen is using or saying, contact me, www.peekcounseling.com)!

Let’s not forget about adults, checking our emails, both work and personal, texting, Facebooking, Instagraming, dating websites (Tinder, Match, eHarmony), checking our sport stats, tumblr, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google +, Twitter, and the list goes on…

Although you may communicate with your youth/teen via electronics, I wonder what it would be like to sit around Thanksgiving Dinner without any electronics at all. Could this start up conversations, connecting with each other while looking into each other eyes, noticing facial expressions, laughing together, and re-connecting on a more personal level!

I encourage some families to do this at least once a week to help re-connect with each other! An idea would be to bring out a box/hat/bin and have everyone in the family (yes, you too mom and dad) and put electronics away for that specific time. Now, if needed, and to compromise, as parents you may have a time during dinner when everyone can check their phone for a limited time?

Let Thanksgiving be a time to celebrate and give thanks to family and friends and being together 🙂

Text me if you have any question…lol..j/k.

~Katie