A CURIOUS case of periodic deafness has struck my children.

Getting the kids to listen has always been a challenge, but this has been something else entirely. Conversation and more particularly requests or instructions just disappear into the ether.

I’m having long conversations with myself about cleaning up my 12-year-old son’s bedroom, how he should maybe take an interest in gardening, vacuuming, feed the guinea pig or stack the dishwasher.

My boy’s bright orange headphones have become a nearly permanent fixture on his head, and it’s much the same story with his eight-year-old sister, only her head is adorned with a headset in vibrant pink. Even calls that dinner is ready can go unanswered, though the kids’ ravenous appetites usually bring them to the table sooner or later.

This isn’t an entirely new phenomenon. I can remember my mother complaining about me with my Sony Walkman.

Admittedly, the new headphones do have their advantages. I highly recommend them for long car trips so the kids can keep themselves entertained while leaving adults to enjoy some peace in the front seats. It’s also a blessing when my son is chatting with his friends on Skype, although I still like to keep tabs on who he’s talking to.

That said, I’m not entirely comfortable with the kids disappearing into a technological cone of silence. This may not be a big problem in our home because our boy and girl are very active and sociable kids. They do a lot of sport. They’re also as likely to be trying to build a robot, drawing, making paper planes, doing origami, walking the dog or organising a Barbie fashion show as they are spending time on electronic devices.

However, the behavioural changes that have accompanied the arrival of big headphones have reminded me how easily new and often addictive technology can cut into physical activity and family communication with kids and their parents withdrawing into their individual, high-tech cocoons. So, like all these new things, it’s a question of balance.

There’s no point avoiding or shying away from technology. On the contrary we ought to embrace it for all the benefits our interconnected world brings. But at every step along the way it’s a question of balance. Right now that means the headphones will stay off for most of the day. That will probably bring a few complaints, but I’d rather the kids hear the birds tweeting in the backyard and answer my calls that dinner is ready. Technology can be wonderful, but one has to set some limits so that we control it and it doesn’t control us.