Amanda Lamb: No time to ponder

Have you ever been with a group of people when someone has a question that no one knows the answer to and suddenly everybody's phones are out and they're Googling? I confess, I'm guilty of this.

I would venture to say this knee-jerk process is repeated many times a week in most of our lives, including our children's. Before we even have a second to ponder the answer, it is given to us or them. It's almost like it's a race to see who can find the answer first.

We did not grow up this way. We had to think about questions, roll them around in our minds and discuss possible answers. I'm concerned that our children are not getting an opportunity to do this. With the answers to so many questions at their fingertips, how will they learn to think critically and to problem-solve?

Maybe, even more importantly, will they be given the space and time to do this in a world where everyone wants answers immediately? Don't get me wrong. Technology is an incredible tool. It has made us more efficient and able to do so many things that we could have never dreamed of when we were children. But it's imperative that we don't allow it to think for us.

So, maybe the next time one of my kids asks me a question that I know can be easily answered by my iPhone, I might just say: "Well, what do you think? Let's talk about it. "

Put your phone down and turn your brain up.