The Veldt Response Paper
Arleny Paulino
City College of New York
Writing for Engineering
Maryam Alikhani
Due September 17,2018

When I was first read The Veldt, I was really surprised to see how they were so technologically advanced in that house. I felt like in years from now our houses will be so advanced like the one in the veldt. Technology was created to advance and help society but by reading The Veldt I couldn’t help but notice the negative effects that having a technologically advanced house would have. How it was so advanced like this is what a house in todays society would aspire to be like. In the text The Veldt, Lydia has a sense that she doesn’t belong in the house. She converses to George that, “ You look as if you didn’t know what to do with yourself in the house, either” (The Veldt). The house has taken much of the responsibilities that people usually have when they have a house. Usually you have to clean, cook, and do necessities to the house that are required of it. But in their case they have to do it. And so it has left Lydia especially with a feeling of not belonging because their isn’t anything that she could do in the house.
The two children Wendy and Peter are two characters that are in conflict with their parents George and Lydia. I’ve noticed how Wendy and Peter are very similar and comparable to how children now a days are raised. Usually parents, in my case that group up in poverty always tell us how spoiled we are and how good we have it. But by seeing how Peter and Wendy behave I can understand now why my parents suggest it. Peter and Wendy have taken advantage of all the technological advantages that the house has given them. They haven’t been raised to do chores in fact they were raised not by their parents but by the house, specifically the nursery. The nursery is used as a way for Peter and Wendy to deal with emotional problems. The nursery in reality has been their to stabilize and help deal with the children’s emotions. Now from observing I believe that parents should be involved in the emotional wellbeing of their children. It is an important part of the development of the children and their relationship with their parents
In today’s society, children are being raised in a similar fashion to how the Peter and Wendy are being raised. It is becoming common to see children being raised by their phones. When parents see their children crying and making tantrums they usually don’t hold their children and tell them sweetly that everything is going to be alright giving them comfort. But now parents have decided that the way to control their 2 year old is by giving them a phone. I see a similarity between today’s children and Wendy and Peter. Just like Peter and Wendy children now are begging to use phones. In the article, How do Smartphones affect childhood Psychology suggest that, “smartphones and handheld devices were interfering with bonding and parental attention.” Children at a young age learn about handling emotions and interactions through watching adults interact with each other. By being busy playing on phones they are missing a lot of things that are fundamental to the development of children.
Wendy and Peter are not exposed to fundamental aspects of development causing their relationship with their parents to be strain. They both develop this relationship where they don’t feel love and attachment towards their parents. They don’t mind if their parents are killed. The conflict between Wendy and Peter vs George and Lydia is a result of the negative effects of technology with child development.

Citations
Bradbury Ray. 1950. The Veldt.https://www.juhsd.net/cms/lib/CA01902464/Centricity/Domain/256/2016_The%20Veldt.pdf.
Williams, A. (2016). How Do Smartphones Affect Childhood Psychology?. Psych Central. Retrieved on September 16, 2018, from https://psychcentral.com/lib/how-do-smartphones-affect-childhood-psychology

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