Do as I say, not as I do

So, regular readers know my husband and I tend to be pretty strict with what they call screen time.

My kids earn their minutes before the screen through responsible behavior, and have limits on how much and what they can watch or Google.

With that in mind, imagine my surprise when I caught sight of my own bedside table over the weekend. Teetering in piles were a laptop computer, iPod, Nook E-reader, and cell phone.

E-gads!

I have worked hard to teach my kids life can be entertaining without electronic gadgets, and yet when they go to sleep I immerse myself in them like a chocoholic at a candy store.

My family doesn't watch TV, I boast. Fat lot of good that does when we are at arms length of the internet at all times.

So now you know my dirty secret. Even as I write this I am thinking of excuses for this electronic excess — I work at night sometimes, I need my laptop close at hand! How will I ever find time for my podcasts if my iPod isn't there for falling asleep to, the Nook is a book - really! Just because I can get on the internet from it doesn't make it less of a book right? And my phone, well. I have woken the kids up just to find out school is delayed far too often for my comfort.

But I make it a point to not be duplicitous, so if it means either loosening the rules with the kiddos or unplugging myself after hours, I guess I will have to unplug. Or maybe I will just run on battery power?