Unplugged

If you can't list your dinner table a tech-free zone without buzzing cell phones in this digital era, try your luck on the bike trail with your kid.

This is exactly what I did last weekend after reading Jonathan McKee's 52 Ways to Connect with Your Smartphone Obsessed Kid. I didn't ride a tandem bike with my daughter; we rode our own bikes, with only short distance between us, and ventured out on long stretches of road.

No matter how tech sucks us in, hands occupied with the bike handles are too busy to pick up a smartphone. Simply put: cycling helps the two of us bond.

I encourage you - no, I flat-out dare you - to read McKee's book and then you will - like me - realize that it's we parents who should get unplugged.

If I am being completely honest, I'd have to say that I'm addicted to my smartphone way more than my daughter. Let's face it: we all are. Our kids learn to stare at their phones because they are learning from us.  

Duh.