Are we there yet?

In a world where teenagers can text message faster than you can dial the operator; where information is a mere keystroke away; where entertainment is available in cars, planes and tiny digital devices that fit in the palm of your hand; in this information age where we are turned on, tuned out and trained to move at warp speed, the uncertainty of young mothers reverberates. On the cusp of worldly influence, new moms are a particularly vulnerable bunch, and without benefit of a teenager in the house, they are loathe to accept technology too quickly into their intimate domain.

For parents with kids fresh out of diapers, MySpace can seem a terrifying thing indeed.

Like most things unknown to us, the age of technology can be pretty overwhelming, and knowing when to introduce everything from basic computer skills to video games, iPods to cell phones, can keep moms rooted in fear. After all, when we hear of predators on the Internet going after prepubescent girls, it’s no leap to understand why moms want to lock up the computer and throw away the key.

Even for those well-versed in the world of high tech gadgetry, it does seem too much at times. We’ve all been annoyed by a cell phone that rings at the wrong time or a teenager incessantly texting. Sitting in a restaurant recently, I spotted a couple with their young child at dinner. Dad checked his Blackberry and Mom eyed the menu while their preschooler sat plopped in his booster seat with a portable DVD player on hand to entertain. So much for a night out with the family.

If this age of communication is part of the birthright of 21st century kids, then it ought to come with a few ground rules, and no DVD players at the dinner table ought to be one of them.

Still, as difficult as it is to see families with their faces buried in their hand-held devices, it would be even more difficult to say there is something inherently bad about it. Just as we all choose different partners and different career paths, so, too, will we raise different kids.

“Is it wrong that I just want to bake cookies with my kids?” one mom lamented recently. Well, if that’s a result of the Information Age, then take my cell phone now. I can’t live without a few chocolate chip cookies in my life, and I’ve baked enough with my kids to feed every classroom for the past nine years.

But I know what this young mom is really saying. She’s really saying, “It all happens so fast. There’s so much they are exposed to; on television and in the movies, on the streets and on our computers. It will all come at them soon enough. Can’t I just hold onto these beautiful little moments together without the interruption of cell phones and iPods? I know he needs to learn to navigate the world of computers and the 21st century … but is it wrong that I just want to bake cookies?”

And she’s right, you know. Our kids have the world at their fingertips and it will come at them very fast. So forget MySpace and YouTube for now. Heat the oven to 350 and relax. All things in good time.

Charla Belinski's columns appear every other Sunday in the Glenwood Springs Post Independent.