Did you read the article in Sunday’s “Parade” about how Generation Wired (kids today) are suffering from being connected 24/7? It’s actually changing how kids live and think and some researchers worry that it is negatively altering how a child’s brain works. According to the article, the amount of time all kids spend online daily has tripled in the past 10 years.
Sherry Turkle, director of MIT’s Initiative on Technology and Self worries that children may never learn how to be content spending time on their own, which is crucial for healthy psychological development.
It was ironic that this article was in today’s paper after the evening we had with our grandchildren yesterday. As their parents were enjoying a wonderful fall afternoon at a college football game in Blacksburg (go Hokies!), the 3 kids were enjoying time at Camp Gigi for the weekend.
We decided we would go on an adventure trip and so we prepared a few snacks and drinks for the long journey from the house out to the “barn” in the backyard (okay, it was a few dozen feet – but snacks were needed). Papa Z pulled out some boxes from the upstairs barn loft that he had been saving for just such an occasion. Every time I send boxes out to put in the recycle bin, he saves the best ones.
There were plenty of sturdy cardboard boxes in all shapes and sizes from some of my recent UPS deliveries (that’s a story for another day!). Some of the boxes were filled with styrofoam ‘peanuts’ and other packing materials. Bubble wrap was a real hit with the kids.
The kids started building a clubhouse right away – complete with a garage, mailbox, closets, and even a stove so they could cook. They took old markers and crayons to create the surfaces of their burgeoning development. Doorways were carefully marked and windows were outlined as they gave their architectural design lots of thought. They used their little sister who is only 2 to test out some of their ideas and she loved the game because she got to hide in small boxes with tiny doors and climb through make-believe windows.
The game literally went on for hours – yes, hours!
The youngest would occasionally tire of the game and head over to pull the 30+-year old Radio Flyer wagon around and fill it with rocks and grass, or ride the antiquated tricycle around that was once her mothers.
As I sat watching them and occasionally helping them create a structure or hold a wall in place while they painted pictures on it, I couldn’t help but think about this “cheap fun”. And then I thought about the hundreds – okay thousands – of dollars of electronics they all have. Ipods, Ipads, Wii, iTouches, DVDs, CDs, cell phones, video games, and plenty of other electronics — which I don’t have a clue about — are all strewn about their house. It’s only natural for kids today to have access lots of electronics at home and at school.
There are times I’m likely referred to as “old-fashioned” because of my lack of understanding why kids need so many of the technology gadgets they have, which comes from growing up when paper, pencil, and a rotary dial phone with a long cord were the norm.
But here they were – using their creativity and imagination to have more fun than they could have ever had playing an electronic game. They giggled and laughed and played with the cardboard boxes and other things they found that would make their clubhouse cool. They painted names and an address on their unusual mailbox and even wrote letters to put in the mailbox.
The recycle bin was like a treasure-trove of discovery for them as they found even more fun things to decorate their new club house, and it was good the recycling wasn’t until next week.
Yep, this is definitely Generation Wired and they know more about computers at their young age than I’ll probably ever know. As a matter of fact, my 2-year old grandchild showed me a shortcut for viewing pictures on my new iPhone!
But they also know how to have an incredible time with some simple recyclable materials and a sunny, fall afternoon.
As I read that article in “Parade” today, I smiled knowing that children can learn to balance technology and simply living when they are exposed to just the right amount of both. And when it comes to teaching kids the value and fun of playing in creative ways, I don’t mind being called “old-fashioned” at all.
