no hot showers

F that.

This is why on a Saturday morning kids run to the TV game or computer. When I was young we grabbed a ball and mitt or basketball and got out of the house early.

This will be the first generation to die younger than the previous. Obesity and diabetes will be their downfall. If you don't even get exercise when you are young what will adulthood be like.

And on top of it they can't spell without spellcheck or do math without a calculator.

It's easy for parents to say "stop playing on the computer" and "stop playing video games" when the parents themselves are too busy to spend times with their kids.

Moderation starts at home. I -wish- I could have someone to play board games with. The last time I asked my dad to buy me a board game was years ago, and in response he said "well, who are you going to play with?"

now I play board games on the internet, whose fault is that?

Ok so I have read the story and the replies and I sit here in disbelief. I know the torture of not having electricity and the water being cutoff and praying that my kids won't freeze in the winter. I do not think any of those experiences made me or my children better people I think it caused anger and resentment and if you all think otherwise you are kidding yourselves. Forcing your children to go through things like that makes me think you may need to seek mental help or not have children to torture. You should utilize every advantage there is to educate your children. We live in the age of technology. I am thankful that during our various ordeals that CPS didn't get involved and that my children didn't get sick.

Balance, people, balance.

Well stated and true.

@got 2be real, I too, hate it when the electricity goes off or my Internet doesn't work, but there really are other things to enjoy and ways to take care of ourselves without electricity. It is something we should all think about and be prepared for in case our electricity grid fails for some reason or another. Being able to take care of ourselves is extremely important as well as being mentally able to cope with not having the convenient media. Basic survival skills.....something I am sure this modern generation severely lacks, as well as the mental function to be able to think so .....primitively. Kinda scary.

Having said that, my kids and I love playing video games together as well as board games, card games and even yard games like paintball (Ouch!) and laser tag. They are both VERY skilled at doing these things while texting with minimal interruption of the games. :) My daughter is a blackberry addict, and the lady at my phone company told me she broke the record for texting.....16,303 and we were only 3 weeks into the billing period. Sadly, we had to suspend our blackberries temporarily, and I thought she would have withdrawls, but she is just fine, probably because of the other things we do together.

I really hope today's kids never have to overcome anything major that can't be solved with an app. they will be lost.

It's too extreme. Life is all about balance . . . and you can easily balance technology and other activities.

Everyone scoffs at technology, but fail to realize that the ONLY jobs out there are all computer related. People look down on social networks, yet companies are dying to find experienced social media marketers.

Yeah I agree, if you cannot balance technology and life you need to blame yourself not your kids for it. Be at parent not a tyrant, doing without electricity and living out of a cooler is called camping not life at home.

Your GrandKids would not believe you!! When I go into the details of life for my family and me during the 30s I get met with blank stares and downright disbelief! Life in a house in northern Ct without heat or electricity from 1932 to 35 when my Dad finally found work again other that odd jobs was what he termed years later as character building. There were no hot showers. Baths were in an old lion clawed tub of cold water. Food was more than a bit scarce and we hunted and fished for a big part of our food and went to bed many times hungry enough to have a gut ache. In the winter being afraid to go to bed because I was afraid I would freeze top death in my sleep. Lots and lots of really nice childhood memories!

I grew up in the 60s and 70s. We never had to go to bed hungry, but I remember quite a few times with my mom baking granola in the oven and going to the pantry to get something we had canned while I went out and gathered the eggs and milked the cow and goat.

I know my parents were tired of the concrete jungle and wanted to get back to the land. When the evaporative cooler fell apart, we just sucked it up and later my dad installed an attic fan. That did the trick. When my dad quit Motorola and got his profit sharing, they had the house remodeled. The corner of the house that was a useless appendage was extended to make a utility room, the utility room became the bathroom and the bathroom became the larger kitchen where we put the wood-burning cook stove. New cupboard and counter tops were put in and the gardens were even more productive than before.

Alas, my parents split up in May of 78 and the house went down the creek in the flood of December that year. Oh, the memories I have of learning to sew, can, bake, cook (sort of), crochet, knit, milk, collect eggs, butcher, grow and harvest.

yet companies are dying to find experienced social media marketers.

you mean it's not just going to facebook and posting, "omg, like, lol, buy this bc it's like in, or whatever, lol"?

@Thoughts from Cali: What you stated is a major issue. There is a belief that the only jobs out there are computer related. That's not only untrue, but a gross misunderstanding of the economy and where it's headed. While computers make many jobs (maybe even most jobs) easier to do, they are not a necessity. If my heating system goes out at home I am not going to call someone who knows computers. If I want a house built I want someone who knows what they are doing on the construction site.

People underestimate the need for blue-collar workers. I worked in that industry for a while and there are some really good paying jobs that require little to no computer experience.

Maybe you should put at least a 60 minute "ban" on the phone or internet when they visit you - it IS your home. I make myself shut off everything when I visit my mom. She IS my mom and why drive 100 miles to visit if I'm just going to surf the net at her house? Just DO IT!!!

Maybe she had to leave her cell phone with her mom. I think kids spend a lot more time texting than anything else, so just eliminating the phone could have freed up a good amount of time.

Another thing.... The restrictions placed on the authors family were for a full 6 months. The daughter only lived elsewhere for 6 weeks. We can assume then, that even she was "unplugged" for the majority of the time. I'd like to know at what point in the experiment she decided to move out!

Injun,s whats an indian ha ha ha ..... Bet the young lads can't even pronounce ( hand me downs)..................:-)

Or be happy with socks and undergarments for Christmas!

I wore hand-me-downs for years when my dad quit his job at Motorola and went to work in a dairy. He would come home on the weekends with a bag or two of clothes that the three of us would go through to see what fit.

We grew and cooked our own food. Our Christmas "tree" was a tumbleweed and we wrapped our presents with newspaper.

Now, as a 50 year old, I like used gifts. Buying new just doesn't get it. My computer is used all except for the printer/scanner. I didn't get a cell phone until 2001 and that was because I got AAA insurance and thought it would be really stupid to have the towing service and have to walk to find a pay phone. I don't have any other electronic devices. My car is used and I will drive it until it drops. Most of my clothes are old and won't be thrown out until they fall apart.

A little be late but WELCOME TO MY WORLD!! :>))

Although I must say that we didn't use a tumbleweed. We just didn't have a tree until much later! As my Dad used to say and I said somewhere else tonight, "what you did was build character"!

And consider that you being 50 I am 86! Small world after all, eh?

Yep. My parents never told me it was character building, but I do think I have it better than some people because I know what it is like to have a serious economic downturn and NEVER hear my parents say we were broke!

There was never any whining. We just did what we had to do and got by.

How UN PC of you Gleis...Now it would be Cowboys and Native Americans right? But I know what you mean. While we DID watch cartoons on Sat mornings, the rest of the day we were outside making up games of our own invention. It was called using our imaginations.

Move the computer / console out of the kid's room and put it in someplace where there are people constantly around (like the family room) my home my computer was on the kitchen table until I was 18. Kinda hard to not talk to anyone when the parents ask what I was working on.

And you survived, didn't you?

I would stick with it too if my mom bribed me with some of the book proceeds.

I'm with you on that, Mike!

Where are you sending this comment from?????

Owned in the first response. LOL

If we need a computer we use the one at the library, or Im able to use the computer at work.

So you're stealing work time from your employer to surf the WWW on your employer's computer?

Zonsb...did you not read his post??? The computer at work, or the LIBRARY.

The comment was made at 7PM, so it is either right after work, or at the library... If she does not use the computer at home it is logical to stay at work longer and pay your bills and read some news...

If you have unrestricted access to internet at work, chances are you are allowed to take coffee & news brakes or surf at lunch... Not every boss is a slave driver and people need brakes to maintain focus...

You are right, Pax, but brakes are on your car; the word here is "breaks."

Technically the "books" are a waste of real nature (trees), because you can get every book on an e-reader.

oh, what a sweet waste of a tree though. I don't buy into this 'green' horse @!$%# much either. After all, in the 70's we used to recycle everything. When the generation of convenience came along is when the wasting started.

And trees are our only renewable resource.

It started back in the late 40s, when WWII was over and our GIs came home. The depression and dust bowl were over and we had people and could produce almost anything, as long as it was made from petroleum.

By the 70s my parents went back to the land. We moved out of Scottsdale, AZ to Camp Verde, AZ and bought chickens, goats, milk cows, a pig and a beev. My dad and I planted all the gardens and my mom and I did the canning. I made goose down jackets and a comforter. I made most of my clothes by the time my mom had a part-time job. I was in charge of all the gardens and animals and really enjoyed reading Mother Earth News, Organic Gardening and Prevention.

Now, all that is a fond memory. Growing my own food now is due to food allergies and not wanting GMOs or irradiation; antibiotified or hormonalized food they can keep!

We also went back to making out own food since we didn't understand what was on the labels any more. We do much more home cooking and avoid buying the over salted and over sweetened boxed stuff from the store. Really! We are happier because of it.

One day my sister and I went shopping. We both somehow managed to spend the same amount of money, but I got about 1/3 more food than she did. My secret? I cook from scratch and she buys ready made.

How did you get from CT to AZ growing up?

I have a simple problem with what you're saying. Some people simply do not like who they live around. I am a bit anti social. That is not to say I do not have friends, but that I do not have a ton, and only one lives within walking distance. As for family I am starting to resent every last one.

I am not a social person, either. I prefer to hang out on the computer or curl up on the couch with a good book.

@In cognito, get a life!

@ In cognito: you sound like you would benefit as much as, if not more than most of the people posting here.

Have you never had your electricity stop due to a storm or other natural or manmade cause?

Many, many years ago, after being incapacitated by an auto accident( I was in a wheelchair for 6 months and on crutches for another 4 months and I still walk with a limp), I lost my job and because of my injuries couldn't get another one. The electricity was off and the gas was off. I managed to keep the water turned on and pay most of the rent. Cold showers, food heated on the barby food kept in a cooler, no TV, no phone, no car for close to a year. It's amazing what one can do when you have to. I won't say that I enjoyd it but, after a while I didn't miss the "modern convenieces."

key word there HAVE to not want to, BIG difference

Sorry cognito, but I hope you never have to go too long without electricity....

You'd NEVER survive!