The title of this blog needs a little explaining. Why “watching the rollercoaster”? Parents are all aware of the rollercoaster that is raising kiddos. It’s all about the ups and the downs. The screams of joy and terror. And a fair amount of throwing up along the way.

As I have faced the task of raising my kiddo through the teenage years, I have become more aware of how challenging this phase of the rollercoaster can be (especially when technology is involved). I could handle the circular mine car coaster of the younger years, that went slightly faster than I could walk. I could even handle the kiddie coasters at the State Fair, of elementary school. Stomach churning, but no flips. But now, I am in the midst of the Corkscrews of teenage years. High speed and flips when you least expect it! Yikes!

This blog covers a broad amount of topics, but centers primarily around technology, and how technology has changed the world and every person trying to live their lives in it, especially the generation currently in those teenage years.  A long time ago I started thinking about the difference between riding the rollercoaster and watching the rollercoaster, that is our kiddo’s childhood. Watching the rollercoaster means active parenting, but also not always taking control, or supporting every decision. Sometimes you get into it and sometimes you stay silent and wait to see what happens. It’s a hard way to parent, but for my family it has fostered an environment of trust that has seen us through some hard times.

We live in a world that is very divided. Polarized is the word often used. And that often means we are either in the bunker with people who think like us, or we feel like we are alone on an island by ourselves. Neither is where I want to live my life. Neither is what I want my kiddo to learn. We find the way forward when we listen to each other and realize that we are all just doing our best with the tools we have in our hands and in our minds. This site will share my thoughts, and I hope they are helpful to some folks out there.