I was driving to the store when I noticed that a child in the vehicle next to me was watching a portable DVD player. The scene is not uncommon, and it is unsettling. I asked myself, “What has the world come to when a child cannot sustain a simple car ride without some form of technology as a pacifier?”

Although parenting is a difficult and exhausting job, too often parents use some form of technology, whether that be a DVD player, TV, iPod or video games, to essentially baby-sit their children. This trend is worrisome. By pacifying children with these shallow forms of entertainment, parents are robbing themselves of the opportunity to connect with their children and teenagers through simple conversation. That’s not to say that these advancements are bad. Rather, they simply need to be used with a modicum of moderation.

Parents and kids should engage in ongoing, open dialogues, but it seems with the onset of technology those valuable times and experiences are wasted. In our own generation we had little to entertain ourselves with while in the car, but kids now have an array of toys and electronics to distract them. I am a firm believer they have an appropriate place and time. Parents, who rely too heavily on advancements to help raise their children, create a barrier between themselves and their children.

There is no doubt that gadgets, movies and games are fun and, indeed, extremely popular. The fanatic crazies that lined up for hours and then duked it out to get their hands on Sony’s Playstation 3 last Christmas made America look like the technology-addicted country that it is.

Microsoft reported that it sold a whopping 10.4 million Xbox 360 consoles in 2006, and expects to sell another 13-15 million by June. Besides the distraction of game consoles, a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation last year showed that eight out of 10 children younger than six average about two hours a day watching TV, playing video games or using the computer. This compared with 48 minutes of reading time.

Clearly, parents are letting their kids play and watch all they want at home, but the presence of this trend in cars is overkill. Junior might have just been shooting ogres on his Playstation at home when mom suddenly had to go shopping, and he goes from sitting in front of a TV in the living room to sitting in front of a TV on his way to Safeway.

Instead of using this opportunity to engage in conversion with their kids, parents let it slip away and let the TV be in charge. It is a parent’s job to become informed and involved in their child’s daily life, and some of these parents probably don’t give the games and movies their kids are playing a second glance. Well, they should. Studies conflict about the influence certain video games and TV shows have on children, but either way, parents need to pay attention. Violence, sex and drugs are all common themes in many of the games floating around out there, and unless parents want their kids learning life lessons about these subjects from TV, they should make an effort to be more engaged with their children.

If a kid has an iPod, a Playstation, their own personal DVD player and maybe even a fancy cell phone, it’s easy for a parent to lose control over them. An over-saturation of technological advancements that disconnects a child from their family and environment will inevitably lead to a degree of materialism and self-centeredness.

As many of us have probably experienced, parent-child relationships are fragile things that often take a lot of work to protect. Unconditional love and trust is not automatically reciprocal, and parents must seize opportunities early on to build their children’s trust and gain their attention through one-on-one time. Throughout any child’s youth, a parent can stay involved by simply having what I like to call “car-ride” conversations.

As many recent news stories have articulated, parents have often resorted to spying — like looking at a teenager’s MySpace page without their knowledge –— to know what is going on in their children’s lives. Parents should never need to resort to these clandestine measures to know what their children are doing. By starting early and having a few simple conversations in the car, picking up football or going out for a walk, parents can tremendously improve their relationships with their children. It’s unfortunate that technology has taken on the role of parenting, and it’s time for American parents to tune into their children and tune out of those distractions.

Reach columnist Chris Heide at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.