There is a movement afoot. It’s called “Take our children to the park and leave them there!” Let me back up. It’s summertime and conversation in the parents’ corner of the playground often turns to dealing with our kids and technology as the days stretch expansively before us.
There is hardly a doubt that technology offers amazing opportunities and is an assured part of our future. However, as parents, our most common complaint is our children’s observable mood shift post technology sessions. For many of us parents, this mood dip has led to imposing tighter restrictions and a more conscious approach to device time.
I don’t want to get bogged down in the heavy details of the device debate. All I really want is for my children not to lose these most treasured and important aspects of growing up human.
Let’s start with a connection to nature. As a “free range” kid myself, I spent hours each day outdoors. Granted, my mom often pushed us out the door, but she had to call loudly to get us back inside. We romped in the woods of my Grandin neighbourhood, rode our bikes on the streets and collected various creepy-crawlies. Time in nature is restorative, even in adulthood. Our bodies and minds evolved to be connected to our natural environment and there are plenty of studies to demonstrate the benefits.
Next, an active lifestyle. Bodies are designed to move. From better-regulated blood sugar to improved immune function, we benefit from moving. We even learn better when moving. If we aren’t moving, we may look for unhealthy outlets to channel stress.
Then there’s creativity. It is interesting to watch the chain of events unfold the moment we insist our kids unplug. After the groaning and moaning subsides, after the accusations of being the only parents who are this strict peter out, after the declarations of boredom and our offer to provide a list of chores with which they could occupy themselves, there is a resigned exit stage left. Shortly, we hear the sounds of happy children engaged in creative play.
Reading. In my childhood, through my adolescence, and into adulthood, I have received so much pleasure getting absorbed in a good book. I am so grateful the many hours my husband and I spent modeling reading and reading to our children has paid off. We have voracious readers. Their attention spans, vocabulary and communication skills have benefitted.
Social skills. Eye contact, facial expression, body language or verbal tone. With increased technology usage, our kids are missing opportunities to develop these face-to-face communication skills. It can be as simple as modeling setting down the device to make eye contact while our children speak to us. It takes effort fighting the gravitational pull of the screen, but the message sent is loud and clear: You are worth connecting to.
Now, could we all turn off the kids’ devices, unlock the front doors and send them outside? I need to be sure there is someone outside for my kids to play with!
Jill Cunningham grew up in St Albert, has a Bachelor of Education from University of Alberta and is passionate about nature, the environment, and building community.
