Clearly, screens are attractive. (I mean, here it is, a glorious Sunday morning and what am I up to???) But when we tsk tsk about kids’ screen time, we have to make sure that they aren’t turning to tech because that’s the only place we still allow them to hang out together. At Let Grow we discuss dana boyd’s research on kids and screens, and ask for your stories, too. Click here (since you are obviously online now too. Hi, my friends!).
3 Comments
I’m baffled. Adults are NOT spending tons of time on screen(s)? And yes: aren’t parents, schools requiring much of this from kids, each other?
I don’t limit my kids screen time mostly due to the fact that they would rather play with their friends.i read the article to say that If given a choice during their downtime, kids are more likely to choose their friends if their playtime is really theirs.
My kids spend a lot of time especially during the summer, going to the park with their friends. And if a friend comes over to invite them to play outside, they put their devices right down to go play. If I was a helicopter parent, they would most likely have more fun on their devices than real life play.
My kids are 8 and 9. Their friends range in ages 8-12.
Lenore. Well done as always. The start of the school year is a critical time for parents and teachers to make decisions about the activities and freedoms that the youngsters in their care will have. I hope they elect freedom, joy, improvisation, and the outdoors as primary needs in kids lives. It might be helpful for adults to have a look at our website http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/childhoodmemories in order to help rekindle some of the authentic play forms that need to remain part of our culture and that are being rapidly lost in this post-modern world of ours.
Keep up the great work!
Dr Garfield Pennington, Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia