I remember how as a small child in the fifties my family would go on Saturday to lunch at my grandma’s. It was quite a tiring walk across town (we had no car then) and it had occurred to me that as we had no telephone either, there was no way to cancel the get together if there was an unexpected need. But of course there wasn’t; life moved much more sedately then, and the meal would be waiting for us time after time. There was little need of frequent communication.

That was then. Now, we were having dinner at a restaurant with some friends when their cellphone rang. It was one of their kids with some minor query. After a while, their cellphone rang again.  It was another of their kids with some minor query. After a while, their cellphone rang yet again.  It was the third of their kids with some minor query.

Of course, parents do like to be in touch with their kids, but this made me wonder: what impact do cellphones have on the child/parent link? These days practically every child, and every parent, carries these little wonders of radio communications. In the past, when landlines ruled, a parent might ring home once during an evening out, to check with the babysitter. Today, communications flow far more frequently, in this case interrupting the parents’ evening rather than the child’s. Such constant communication would have been neither possible nor necessary until quite recently.

So what do you think – is this a change for the better or for the worse?