Technology and social skills

Before game systems, ipods and social networking sites, the primary form of entertainment was face-to-face human interaction. Does being "plugged in" isolate kids and keep them from developing the social skills that they need to function in the real world?

For many parents, the public school system is the answer for socializing children. What could be a better social experience than spending seven hours a day with peers? Unfortunately, school is not the answer for helping kids learn real-world social skills. Lunch time might be the only twenty minutes during the day that your child gets to interact with other kids in an unstructured way. Even then, he is only learning to interact within an artificial environment where everyone is his age. No, it isn't enough just to send kids to school. Social skills are learned in the home.

To keep kids from missing out on developing social skills, unplug them from their audiovisual isolation and try some of the following activities:

• Even if it is only once per week, institute a family meal time where conversation is the main course. An often-cited Columbia University study indicates that kids who eat dinner with their families are more likely to stay away from drugs, perform better academically and have healthier relationships than kids who eat alone.
• Have a family game night and invite another family to join you.
• Go on a road trip without the DVD player, ipod or game system. Entertain yourselves with old-fashioned travel games and conversation.