another article about how kids' lives are different

[timepiece]

Here's an article (editorial, I guess) about the incredibly different lives kids lead. This one is a little more all-encompassing than the nature-deprivation one:

The Boredom Machine

She certainly makes some good points. When was the last time you saw kids making up their own games? Playing outside unsupervised? They just expect to be entertained by others, thus the "I'm bored" refrain.

Comments

[miep.livejournal.com]

i work with kids who do this every day. at our end-of-year picnic, about 50 kids between the ages of 3 and 12 played happily for two or three hours with minimal adult intervention beyond supervision, in mixed age groups, with no electronic devices whatsoever.

[timepiece]

Yes, but you work with kids whose parents are obviously more involved than average and place high value on education, having placed them in not only a private school, but one following a particular teaching philosophy. I don't think the average kid in public school is like that anymore.

true

[miep.livejournal.com]

but my point was that i agree it is a symptom of the surrounding culture. i have been spoiled by working with these families, and it's hard for me to imagine childhood without time to be bored -- boredom is the root of creativity, i think.

Re: true

[timepiece]

But I don't think these kids have been trained to be creative - they may not be capable of it. If there's always been a DVD to pop in, or a videogame to play, and if they're an only child and they're not allowed to walk to playmates houses by themselves - they may simply not have the facility to come up with any kind of tea party/cops & robbers/indians & cowboys scenario.

Re: true

[miep.livejournal.com]

absolutely. we spend a lot of time at our parent meetings, especially in the early childhood classes, helping parents to find other things for their children to do,rather than plopping them in front of a screen. we ask that the children have no "screen time" on school nights or mornings. it really does make a difference.

children are naturally creative and full of fantasy -- we squelch that by telling them that the images they see are the truth. magic can only look one way then.