I
t is now widely accepted that if
you let kids go outside and play, to
discover the world around them, it
will help them learn to become more
creative. At a recent talk in Perth, UK
parenting expert Carl Honoré, author
of Under Pressure and star of Australian
TV show Frantic Family Rescue, spoke
to a large crowd, and his message to
parents was to switch the screens off
at set times, have screen-free rooms in
your home and slow down.
Honoré said parents should not
schedule in every moment of the day.
They should leave time for children to
get bored as this allows them to use
their imagination. Let them go outside
and play, discover the world around
them and be creative. He warned
families should understand how a
‘roadrunner culture’ is not always
good for emotional stability and
development.
Low-tech lives
Honoré reported that he had recently
spent time speaking to executives of
Google, Apple and Microsoft in Silicon
Valley. “And what are they doing with
their children? I’ll tell you what they are
not doing, they are not putting them in
front of iPads and Baby Einstein videos,”
he said. “They are switching off the
screens and giving them wooden toys,
and sending them out to play in the
garden and the woods.”
Honoré said former Apple executive
Steve Jobs didn’t let his kids have all
the computer gadgets. He said Jobs
knew everyone needs space to get
away from technology to find their own
narrative – away from algorithms that
are handed down.
Kids also need strong relationships
with parents, and for parents to be
present in the moment, not half-
listening to children, he said. .
De-screening
programme
By limiting electronic entertainment, we leave room for our children
to develop an imagination, writes
Cate Rocchi
.
The infomania epidemic
More stimulation, especially of the
electronic variety, is not necessarily
going to be better for children. Any
electronic stimulation in the early years
is coming under serious review. Honoré
revealed that in the United States, the
company behind Baby Einstein had
been forced to offer refunds to the
parents who bought the products.
“Why? Because the claims in the
packaging and marketing just don’t
stand up to scrutiny in the cold light of
day,” he said. “Because the way you
create a world-famous physicist is not to
plonk them in front of a screen.”
Honoré said it was very hard to get
teenagers to switch off and he was
certainly not against technology. Our
electronic devices may be good for the
classroom, socialising and learning, but
they all have a little red button. “And
when we don’t use that button, it starts
to backfire on us, and not just on us as
grown-ups but on our children,” he said.
Hewlett Packard published a study
in 2005 claiming constant electronic
interruption, with workers addicted to
checking email and text messages, can
cause IQ to fall 10 points. It dubbed the
fall in intelligence ‘infomania’. So in our
own interests – and in the interests of
future generations – isn’t it time we all
used that little red button a little more
often?
Cate Rocchi is a writer and lives in Perth,
Western Australia. She has worked as a
reporter for more than 20 years and has
written for companies including Rainbow
Fun
.
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advice
