I was out shopping today after a horde of hungry teenagers turned up at my house and I rashly invited them for lunch, then realised I didn't have enough food in the house. Walking past one of the shopping centre hair dressers, I noticed a toddler having his haircut. Not so unusual, except he was set up in front of not the more traditional choice of a mirror, but a widescreen television. And he was sitting beautifully still, and the hairdresser was able to cut in peace without being swatted away, or chasing a moving head around as he tried to dodge her.
Initially, I saw the attraction and the sense in such a set up. Brilliant, really. But then I started thinking about when mine were little, which doesn't seem that long ago, and I have one still who is still under ten, so I'm not completely out of touch (just to completely justify my right to comment on this particular parenting phenomena), and honestly, I don't recall it being a huge drama getting hairs cut. I've also done the hairdressing, I still cut the girls hair now, and always have, and when the boys were younger we had clippers and I was reasonably confident in shearing them. I know for some children it is a huge horrible deal, and if that helps those kids and their mum's to get through something that would be otherwise extremely traumatic, then thats a good thing. These children though are the exception, for your average toddler, I think learning to sit quietly is a good skill to practice, and I think we are taking that away from children.
This new generation are plugged in and switched on from a very early age, navigating phones and tablets with ease before they can even read, but are they able to entertain themselves? Do they have the opportunity for quiet reflection, for creating something from nothing, for being amused simply by their own thoughts? And if they lose that ability, what will that mean for the sum of human creativity? Will there be no more Shakespeare's, no more LM Montgomery's, no more AA Milne's? If they aren't allowed time to day dream, when will they have time to create imaginary friends, and games? Constant entertainment may make it easier to navigate childhood, but is it really better, I'm not convinced it is. And if they lose their ability to create, who will be the game makers and movie makers of the future? Who will dream the dreams that lead to the next big thing?
Looking around at little children hunched silent over their screens, it all seems so passive, they are spoon fed their entertainment as often and as much as they want. When I was a kid, cartoons happened as a filler between scheduled programming, you never quite knew when one would come on, and it was exciting, and over too soon. My brother and I would always call each other to make sure we didn't miss it. Cartoons were an event. Then we went back to the business of being a kid - playing.
I don't think that the way I parented my children 19 years ago was the only to do it. I am sure there are some exciting things going on in the parenting world, and even now I see stuff that I wish I'd had when I had littlies. But all this screen time bothers me. Not to be an old fogey about it, but it does. And if it doesn't wreck their creativity, then it will surely wreck their eyesight and their hearing. That's all I'm saying.
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