Are Our Children Learning Good Communication Skills?

Will today’s easy to use technology turn out to be the worse thing that could have happened when it comes to children learning to interact with others? Patch put the question to our local families for input:

Laura Alesi Prince-Vomvos

Is anyone wondering what communication and social skills of our children will be like 10 years from now? I do. I wonder because it seems to me that all communication is done now via text messages and Facebook and emails! In fact, I don't think I've heard a telephone conversation in years. Anyone else getting tired of trying to sit through a show with your children, but all their attention is aimed at looking down at their phone and responding to texts constantly? What about the earplugs in the ears connected to their iPod and music? Some of the best conversations used to take place on a drive in the car when you finally had their attention now they have plugs?!! Any thoughts on how we as Moms stay "plugged in" to them?

JoAnn Patriarca Rota

Ok I hate to admit this but I might be as bad as my kids! I can’t remember the last time I had a normal phone conversation (except with my parents. They are electronically challenged...!) I text everything..I don;t think it;s only the kids that are losing social

Skills. I text my kids When dinner is ready! My husband & I always wear our iPods on long car rides so we hear our music instead of the bickering in the back seat. I think it’s horrible but I’m getting sucked right into it instead of trying to stop it.

Laura Alesi Prince-Vomvos

JoAnn you crack me up! I too must confess, especially in my field of real estate, that I am heavily addicted to texts, email and blackberry! But I do not text my husband to come to dinner, because he can't text back! LOL You are right though, never thought of it that way, if the children are not expected to be socially skilled because the adults are no longer socially skilled I suppose it all works out?! Or does it?! All I know is that I can't "hear" what is going on in their lives, and I don't like it one bit.

Valerie Mineo-Rivera

I have to agree, I am definitely as bad as my kids sometimes! The one thing that got me a few years ago was that from the day we moved into this new house i hadn't seen a "live" person in about five months!! He was always on the Xbox and I'd here him talking. Finally I asked him who are you talking to? He said Alex... I then asked where Alex lived and to my surprise Alex lived two blocks away! I yanked the Xbox away and told him to get his butt on his bike and actually go interact with Alex in real life! If I allowed it (which I don't) my kids would have their headphones on from Friday at 3pm till Sunday night before bed. It's crazy! And I wonder why their social skills stink... not so much!