Non-electronic toys & activities....do they exist?

[SandyLM]

Originally Posted by betjet

and try very hard to keep the electronics/video games to a minimum in our house don't you ever feel like your child will be "left behind" for lack of a better choice of words if they are not electronically inclined like the rest of the world?

Not only am I not concerned for the reasons already mentioned, but I am much more concerned about what they "lose" by being so electronically inclined. I have a 19 year old babysitter who is just a wonderful girl; however, she is completely tied to her phone texts people instead of talking to them. I witnessed her and a friend send a text message to their other friend this summer to ask if they could come and swim at her pool. She responded instantly, so apparently she was also holding her phone at that moment. But rather than speak to each other, they abbreviate via text.

She also showed me an email she sent to someone about an argument [long story but it was relevant] and I was shocked to see that she basically wrote in all lower case letters with no punctuation. Just one big run on sentence. But it was sent via phone so apparently that didn't matter?

And....the worst story from this girl....her friends text each other while they drive.

[seals]

My almost 8 yr old DSs made a tv out of a cardboard box -- cut it so it was open on both sides like a frame. Then they made a Wii and Wii game cartridges out of cardboard pieces drawn on with markers. Then they lay down on either side of the box and put toys inside and played the Wii games they made up using the toys. They were laughing and playing for a long time. I asked if it was more fun than a real Wii -- one said yes and one said no. I have a Wii stored away that they'll be getting for Christmas but I hope they keep playing their own version too.

Sue

I love it

Bettina